Reunion Online

This is probably the most complicated and least understood aspect of child sex abuse. 90 percent of all perpetrators are known to the victims, with 30 – 40 percent coming from the victim’s immediate family and only 10 percent strangers. The other 50 – 60 percent of perpetrators include older kids, babysitters, teachers, ministers, coaches and leaders in youth-serving programs. So to state the obvious, in most cases victims usually know their offenders and are related in some way before the abuse starts.

April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), and a great time to highlight the discussion about sexual assault. We are honored to join our partners across the nation in spreading information about ways we can prevent sexual assault and better serve survivors in their path to healing.

We at Joyful Heart are thrilled to be a part of NO MORE Day, happening tomorrow, March 13. This day marks the public launch of NO MORE, the nation’s first unifying awareness symbol to end domestic violence and sexual assault. In communities across the country, advocates will join forces to address the need to end domestic violence and sexual assault by launching NO MORE, the first overarching symbol that is bringing together all people in our society to end domestic violence and sexual assault. We invite you to join us—from wherever you are in the country—to help launch NO MORE and participate in one of the most concerted and collaborative efforts to end domestic violence and sexual assault.

Even though 1 in 4 women and nearly one in 7 men are directly affected by domestic violence in the U.S., it remains a largely hidden epidemic. Because we all have a role to play in preventing violence—and because talking about it is one of the first steps to ending it—the Verizon Foundation and CBS Sportscaster James Brown are helping to get the conversation going during a special #YourVoiceCounts Twitter Chat before the Super Bowl on Thursday, January 31 from 4:00 – 5:00 pm ET.

2013 is just around the corner and we know now, more than ever, how necessary and important our work is. Thanks to supporters like you, in 2013 we will continue to heal and empower survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse and the professionals who serve them. We will extend and grow our reach and we will respond to new community needs.

What would it be like if we, collectively, really saw surviving abuse or assault without blame, stigma or shame? Unafraid to listen to someone's story and unafraid to say "NO MORE?"

We are proud to announce our first awareness campaign, 1BlueString. This campaign is aimed at raising awareness for the 1 in 6 men who are survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Our 1BlueString campaign is simple. We are asking guitarists at all levels to replace their low E guitar string (one of six strings) with one of our free, blue guitar string to symbolize the 1 in 6 men who have had unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood.