Stepping Stones Shines a Light on Sexual Assault Awareness in 2025
April marks Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), and the Stepping Stones awareness campaign is in full swing. As in past years, we’re taking a community-centered approach to raising awareness and amplifying support for survivors. This message is amplified each night with teal “guiding” lights illuminating the Stepping Stones office.
2025 boasts new opportunities to show your support for our friends and neighbors affected by sexual violence. Stop by Medford’s County Market on Wednesday, April 30th, as Stepping Stones holds their annual Denim Day awareness display and fundraiser, which will include Am’s Cakes & Bakes and their gourmet baked goods. Can’t make it? That’s okay; residents and area businesses alike are encouraged to participate by wearing denim and submitting a photo for a Denim Day video that is to be published on Stepping Stones’ Facebook.
It’s a simple but meaningful way to stand together against sexual violence. Taylor County taverns will also have an opportunity to be centerstage in the 2025 SAAM campaign, as materials have expanded to include drink coasters with special SAAM messaging, as well as posters brandishing the partnership between Stepping Stones and Embrace. This is, of course, in addition to the consent flowcharts and FRIES consent cards offered in the 2024 campaign. The correlation between sexual assault and alcohol is well known and undeniable when we review the statistics. One study found that 70% of women and 80% of men had been drinking when a sexual assault occurred. Another study found the odds of sexual victimization occurring on days of heavy drinking (4+ drinks) were 19x higher than the odds on non-drinking days. Considering Wisconsin’s notorious drinking culture, this should catch everyone’s attention.
The most effective tool in preventing sexual violence is engaging in open and honest conversations about it. Stigma and shame benefit only the perpetrators of sexual violence.
Talking to friends and family about the realities of sexual assault helps shift us away from harmful narratives. For example, “stranger danger” comes up time and time again, yet did you know that not even 1 out of every 5 sexual assaults is committed by a stranger? In most cases, the perpetrator is not only someone the survivor knows but also someone they trust. Though it may sound obvious to some, we all must consciously recognize that sexual assault can happen to anyone while, in the same breath, noting that the groups at the highest risk are those with the most inherent vulnerability, such as children and people with disabilities.
On the other end of the spectrum, we as a society have done a great disservice to juvenile and adult males by failing to recognize them as survivors of sexual violence. By focusing exclusively on the narrative that it is only happening to women and girls, we enable perpetrators to inflict sexual harm unto everyone else, those we don’t associate with “victimhood,” with little to no disruption.
Here at Stepping Stones, we will continue trying to facilitate uncomfortable conversations in hopes of ensuring that survivors in our community who have historically been overlooked never feel invisible again. We hope the kind citizens of Taylor County are also motivated to take steps toward awareness, prevention, and healing—because ending sexual violence takes all of us.
