ROCK SPRINGS– Mayor Carl R. Demshar Jr. proclaimed the month of April 2018 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month at Tuesday night’s city council meeting.

The proclamation states that “the City of Rock Springs recognizes the importance of designating a time devoted to increasing the general public’s awareness of sexual assault and support of agencies providing services to victims of sexual assault.”

The proclamation can be found here on page 20.

In 2017, the YWCA Center for Families and Children served over 86 sexual assault victims in Sweetwater County.

How the Community Can Show Support for Sexual Assault Survivors

Teal bracelets will be placed in numerous locations in both Rock Springs and Green River for the community to wear to help raise awareness of sexual assault and to support victims of sexual assault.

There will also be a 5K/10K Sexual Assault Awareness Run/Walk in partnership with local law enforcement on April 28 that the community is encouraged to participate in to support sexual assault survivors. The run/walk wil start at 9 am at Expedition Island in Green River.

The proceeds from the run/walk will benefit the YWCA Center for Families and Children. To register, click here.

Sexual Assault Facts

The council was presented with the following sexual assault facts during the meeting:

• Approximately 1 in 5 women in America are raped at some point in their lifetime.
• Nearly half of all American women will experience sexual assault other than rape during their lifetime.
• 91 percent of victims of sexual assault and rape are female, while 9 percent of victims are male.
• 54 percent of sexual assault victims are between 18 and 34 years of age.
• Approximately two thirds of all assaults are committed by someone who knows the victim.
• Rape is one of the most unreported crimes in America: 63 percent of sexual assaults go unreported to authorities, and only 12 percent of sexual abuse and sexual assaults against children are reported to the authorities.
• Contrary to popular belief, false reporting is not very common. Depending on the study, only 2 to 10 percent of reported assaults are false.