Teen Survivors Week of Action: An Interactive Virtual Campaign During COVID-19

CHICAGO, April 24, 2020 (Newswire.com) - ​​​​​Girls ages 16-19 are four times more likely than the general population to be victims of sexual assault (US DOJ) and 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18 (CDC). While teens are the most at risk for sexual assault, Teen Survivors Week of Action (April 26-May 2) was created to help prevent these crimes with education and promote healing during the last week of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April.

Led by an advisory group of teens, a coalition of leading national nonprofits have joined together with PAVE: Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment and National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA), a leading victims’ rights organization dedicated to empowering and supporting all survivors of crime.

Partnering organizations include: No More, National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), Raliance, National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV), End Rape on Campus (EROC), BLOOM 365, Sexual Assault Youth Support Network (SAYSN), and I Have the Right to.

Additionally, American Ninja Warrior, PAVE Ambassador Flip Rodriguez will be hosting an Instagram Live on May 1 at 4 p.m. EST to raise awareness about male survivors.

One of the teen advisory members is Abrianna Morales. After being sexually assaulted at age 15, Abrianna founded SAYSN and was crowned Miss New Mexico’s Outstanding Teen 2018. She is passionate about helping other teen survivors and working to prevent these crimes.

Abrianna said, “As a teen survivor, activist, and advocate, I understand what it feels like to overcome the adversity of sexual violence and the importance of educating teens about it. Making this information accessible means meeting teens where they are, which is online. This campaign is led by teens, for teens. Teen Survivors Week of Action provides ways for students to remain socially involved while being physically distant and includes education about cyber safety, intersectional survivorship, and more!”

This week is dedicated to promoting and supporting the voices of teen advocates through engaging toolkits, live social media events and campaigns, and calls to action. This initiative also includes interactive videos and discussion points for parents to help talk to their teens about consent, healthy relationships, and online safety during quarantine. 

PAVE: Promoting Awareness | Victim Empowerment works to prevent sexual violence and help survivors thrive after trauma. PAVE is a movement creating a world free from sexual violence and building communities to support survivors. PAVE was founded in 2001 by Angela Rose after she was kidnapped from a shopping mall parking lot at the age of 17. PAVE has been on the front lines of this global movement for nearly 20 years.  www.ShatteringTheSilence.org​​

Become the movement by bringing positive change to your community this Teen Survivors Week of Action, please visit: TeenSurvivors.org.

Media Contact, Rachel Mackinnon: (877) 399-1346 ext. 7 

Source: Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment (PAVE)