Persons using assistive technology might not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, please send e-mail to: mmwrq@cdc.gov. Type 508 Accommodation and the title of the report in the subject line of e-mail.
Notice to Readers: Sexual Assault Awareness Month --- April 2006
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). Throughout the month, CDC encourages communities to
promote healthy relationships and to increase awareness about the devastating impact of sexual violence.
Sexual violence affects persons at all stages of life. In 2003, approximately two out of 1,000 children in the United
States were confirmed by child protective services as having been sexually assaulted
(1). Many sexually abused children, however,
are not identified by child protective services. In 2003, approximately 9% of high school students reported having been forced
to have sexual intercourse (2). At least one in six women and one in 33 men in the United States have been victims of rape
or attempted rape in their lifetime (3).
The consequences of sexual violence can be severe. Survivors can suffer short-term physical injuries, including
genital tearing, bruises, and broken bones
(4). Long-term health consequences can include sexually transmitted diseases,
irritable bowel syndrome, gastrointestinal problems, and chronic neck, back, and facial pain
(5). In addition, survivors often face serious mental health problems, including
post-traumatic stress disorder (4). Many survivors do not tell friends and
family about the assault and consequently suffer the physical and psychological consequences alone
(4). Those who do disclose their abuse might be stigmatized by their family, friends, and communities.
Communities are encouraged to plan activities in recognition of SAAM. A calendar of national, state, and local events
is available at http://www.nsvrc.org. Information about sexual violence is available at
http://www.cdc.gov/injury.
SAAM materials are available from the National Sexual Violence
Resource Center, 123 North Enola Drive, Enola, PA
17025; telephone 877-739-3895 and at http://www.nsvrc.org.
References
US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families. Child maltreatment 2003. Washington,
DC: Government Printing Office; 2005. Available at
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm03/index.htm.
Tjaden P, Thoennes N. Full report of the prevalence, incidence, and consequences of violence against women: findings from the National
Violence Against Women Survey. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice; 2000. Report no. NCJ 183781.
Basile K. Sexual violence in the lives of girls and women. In: Kendall-Tackett K, ed. Handbook of women, stress, and trauma. New York,
NY: Brunner-Routledge; 2005:101--22.
Jewkes R, Sen P, Garcia-Moreno C. Sexual violence. In: Krug E, Dahlberg LL, Mercy JA, et al., eds. World report on violence and health.
Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2002:213--39.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are
provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply
endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of
the date of publication.
Disclaimer
All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from ASCII text
into HTML. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors in the HTML version.
Users should not rely on this HTML document, but are referred to the electronic PDF version and/or
the original MMWR paper copy for the official text, figures, and tables.
An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents,
U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800.
Contact GPO for current prices.
**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to
mmwrq@cdc.gov.
