By Mary Vail Ware, Director of Social and Health Equity and Community Safety
Our community is strongest when everyone feels safe, respected, and supported. As we close out April, we recognize Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM).
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)’s, most recent data brief[1], nearly half of women in the United States experienced some form of sexual violence in their lifetimes and 1 in 6 men experienced sexual violence in their lifetimes. The good news is that “Sexual violence is a preventable public health problem. Comprehensive, multi-sector and multi-level prevention efforts that seek to teach skills, change norms, create protective environments, address structural factors, increase economic stability, and support victims may be helpful to prevent sexual violence on a large scale” per the CDC data brief.
The Endowment provides funding to many New Hanover County resources that are focused sexual assault prevention, intervention, and recovery across a variety of populations. This includes the Carousel Center, the Criminal Justice Center, Keep Your Hands Off Me, and Five14 Revolution.
Key resources for survivors in New Hanover County include Coastal Horizon’s Rape Crisis Center, call 910-932-7460 or visit https://coastalhorizonsrcc.org/ and the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners at Novant New Hanover Regional Medical Center Novant SANE resources. The number for the National Sexual Assault Hotline is 1-800-656-4673.
What can you do to help?
Start By Believing: Know how to respond if someone discloses sexual assault to you. This website can help: https://startbybelieving.org/
Volunteer for a local program that helps victims, every effort from answering phones to bringing treats matters!
Donate to your local programs who rely on donations and other funds to operate.
Learn more about ways to prevent sexual assault. https://www.nsvrc.org/get-involved/
[1] Leemis RW, Zhang Kudon H, Zhu S, Smith SG, Chen J, Friar NW, & Basile KC. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2023/2024 Sexual Violence Data Brief. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2025.