Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Calls to an Ohio rape crisis center are on the rise

April is National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, and Ohioans are encouraged to become allies for survivors. Nearly 1 in 5 women in the U.S. have experienced rape in their lifetime, as well as 1 in 71 men.

Gina Patterson, clinical director of OneEighty, a northwest Ohio behavioral health organization, said calls to the group’s Rape Crisis Center decreased during the pandemic but are now on the rise.

“There was never a doubt in our mind that these crimes were occurring,” Patterson pointed out. “And being a small county, we only have about two to three reported rapes a month and last month we had 10 reports, which is probably the highest we’ve ever seen.”

Amy Dudley, director of the Center for Survivors of Sexual Violence at the YWCA of Dayton, said they have also had more calls for assistance.

“We have survivors that are calling for something that happened 10, 20, 30 years ago,” Dudley noted. “We have survivors that are calling for a something, not even understanding if what happened to them was rape. Reaching out for support is so crucial because that’s where the healing comes in.”

Dudley emphasized education is prevention, and urged people to learn the signs of sexual violence and what constitutes assault, as well as understand what consent really looks and sounds like, and also how to intervene as a bystander.

Lydia Strauss, outreach coordinator and survivor advocate for the Ohio Sexual Violence Helpline, said sexual violence occurs in every community throughout the state.

“Survivors come from many different backgrounds, many different situations,” Strauss said. “Many different races, religions; no age is discriminated against. No one is free from sexual violence happening in their community.”

Patterson added survivors need to know they are believed, and crisis centers and other organizations are available to provide support 24/7.

“It could be shelter, it could be safety planning, it could be referrals to other places for other assistance,” Patterson said. “It could be counseling, because if people are assaulted, many times there’s post-traumatic stress disorder or depression.”

The Ohio Sexual Violence Helpline is 844-OHIO-HELP. Other resources are available from the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence.