The Problem and Statistics to Prove It
I just wanted to take this time to make you aware of a problem that we need to confront. Sex assault is a harm that not only impacts the victims, but society as a whole.
Consider these sobering statistics for the United States:
- One in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives
- In the U.S., one in three women and one in six men experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime
- The lifetime cost of rape per victim is $122,461
- Annually, rape costs the U.S. more than any other crime ($127 billion), followed by assault ($93 billion), murder ($71 billion), and drunk driving, including fatalities ($61 billion)
- One in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18 years old
- 30% of women were between the ages of 11 and 17 at the time of their first completed rape
- Rape is the most under-reported crime; 63% of sexual assaults are not reported to police
These statistics and their references can be found here with other heart-wrenching data: https://www.nsvrc.org/statistics.
So What Can You Do About this Crisis?
First, did you know that every April, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center puts together the National Sexual Assault Awareness campaign, in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM)? SAAM started in 2001 and as an annual campaign its goal is to increase public awareness and educate individuals and communities on how to prevent sexual assault.
Second, for us here in Hawaii, our firm supports the Sex Abuse Treatment Center (SATC). The SATC’s mission is to support the healing process of those assault in Hawaii AND most importantly here increase awareness. Education helps combat and reduce these terrible incidences. However, the SATC just like any organization needs help, and yes, that includes monetary donations. Every bit counts to address this issue.
So here is the thing. Even a small firm like ours can help. We’ve decided to pledge matching donations (up to $500.00) for SATC in the hopes that people join us in giving money to SATC. We hope this shows you can do your part by joining us and organizations like SATC fight against sexual assault.
Mahalo for your consideration and please find the donation link down below.
Trejur P. Bordenave
