PLAINVILLE — Chief James Floyd and the Plainville Police Department would like to share resources with community members in recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
April is recognized by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) as Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM).
Throughout the month, awareness is raised through campaigns focused on raising visibility about sexual assault and sharing how it can be prevented, whether through education about healthy sexuality, consent, or bystander intervention.
This April marks the official 21st anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and this year’s campaign is “Building Safe Online Spaces Together.”
In recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Plainville Police Department would like to share the following resources with community members courtesy of the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN):
- National Sexual Assault Hotline: The National hotline, operated by RAINN, offers support 24/7 to survivors and those impacted by sexual assault. Whether you’re looking for help, advice or a referral for services, you can call 800-656-4673 (HOPE) to be connected to your local sexual assault resource center.
- NSVRC’s Massachusetts Directory: The NSVRC maintains a directory of organizations that lists state and territory sexual assault coalitions, victim/survivor support organizations and local communities of color sexual assault organizations.
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: The lifeline, 800-273-8255 (TALK), provides crisis suicide intervention, self-harm counseling and assistance, and local mental health referrals. Calls are routed to local centers.
- National Sexual Violence Resource Center: Offers a wide variety of information relating to sexual violence including a large legal resource library.
- U.S. Department of Justice: National Sex Offender Public Website: The only U.S. government website that links public state, territorial, and tribal sex offender registries from one national search site.
- Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Survivors and Black Survivors resources
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 (SAFE) connects individuals to local direct service resources (safehouse shelters, transportation, casework assistance) and crisis intervention.
For international resources, please click here. For statistics on sexual assault, please click here.
Know Your Rights and Options
Victims of sexual assault have certain rights mandated by Massachusetts law. RAINN offers the following databases of information pertaining to sexual assault incidents:
- Sex Crimes: Definitions and Penalties in Massachusetts
- Consent Laws in Massachusetts
- Mandatory Reporting Requirements for child abuse and elderly abuse
- Confidentiality Laws
- For more laws, click here
Those who are victims of sexual assault are encouraged to notify police about situations that may have occurred, even if years may have passed since they were victimized.
In an emergency, call 911.
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