Sexual Assault Awareness Month – April 2022   In April, Rape Response commemorated Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), an annual campaign to raise public awareness about sexual assault and educate communities and individuals on how to prevent sexual violence. Staff wore teal outfits and ribbons to recognize the month’s liturgical color. Staff also took part in a number of on-campus events, including UNG’S Clothesline Project and Healthy Relationship Hut. We also tabled at North Georgia Tech’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month March. And to top off the month, we hosted a Rape Response Volunteer Documentary Night, viewing the acclaimed film, ‘Procession‘, & leading a discussion about the impact of the message! Thank you to the staff, volunteers, and interns who participated in SAAM events. We are always honored to represent our organization, mission, and survivors any chance we get!                                           

America Ferrera – Survivor Spotlight! America Ferrera is a widely-recognized Honduran-American actress best known for her roles in Real Women Have Curves, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and most famously as Betty Suarez on the ABC’s comedy-drama television series Ugly Betty. An LA native and youngest of 6, many know that she began as a child actress when she was a teenager. What some may not know is that America was unfortunately sexually assaulted by an older man as a young girl. “I told no one and lived with the shame and guilt thinking all along that I, a 9-year-old child, was somehow responsible for the actions of a grown man,” said America in a 2017 #MeToo Instagram post. “I had to see this man on a daily basis for years to come,” she continued. “He would smile at me and wave, and I would hurry past him, my blood