Marked each year in April, Sexual Assault Awareness Month calls attention to the widespread nature of sexual violence and its impact on women and girls of epidemic proportions. It is a moment to raise awareness, support survivors, and drive urgent legal and cultural change.
This year’s theme, “25 Years Stronger: Looking Back, Moving Forward,” honours the history and growth of the movement to prevent and eradicate sexual violence in all its forms for women and girls, while reaffirming our commitment to a safer, more just future for all.
Governments, donors, UN bodies, and civil society must act together so that no woman or girl continues to live in a world where her bodily autonomy is in question and her rights are infringed upon.
This month is about awareness and action. Ending sexual violence starts with transforming the systems that allow it to persist.
Sexual violence is a form of gender-based violence that includes rape, sexual assault, harassment, abuse, and any unwanted sexual contact or behaviour. 1 in 3 women have reported some form of physical or sexual abuse, usually by an intimate partner.
It also includes sexual exploitation and trafficking, nonconsensual image sharing, and exposure or any other sexual acts carried out without consent.
Because 1 in 3 women have reported some form of physical or sexual abuse, usually by an intimate partner, Equality Now is intensifying our focus on ending gender-based violence by advancing stronger laws, shifting harmful norms, and ensuring survivor-centered justice worldwide as part of our new strategic plan.
Despite increased visibility through movements like #MeToo, most survivors still face significant barriers to justice. Laws remain inadequate, justice systems are often shaped by bias, and many marginalised communities are left without protection.
Sexual violence is not inevitable; it is time for justice systems to address it.
Despite the pervasiveness of sexual violence, laws around the world are insufficient, inconsistent, not systematically enforced, and, in some instances, even promote and perpetuate sexual violence. This contributes to near impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence in many countries.
One example of how laws are failing survivors of sexual violence is that many rape laws around the world are still based on force, not consent. These laws require survivors to prove violence, threats, coercion, or resistance.
In practice, this places the burden on survivors to demonstrate they fought back or behaved in a certain way, reinforcing harmful myths about what the impacts of sexual violence “should” look like. The consequences are far-reaching. Survivors are discouraged from reporting, justice processes can be retraumatising, and perpetrators are too often able to act with impunity.
Awareness has increased, but justice has not kept pace. Ending sexual violence requires strong laws grounded in a simple standard: sex without consent is rape. It also demands proper implementation, through training, continuous learning, and survivor-centered approaches, and systems that work for everyone, regardless of who they are or where they come from.
Ending sexual violence requires urgent, systemic change, starting with the law and extending across institutions and society.
Governments must adopt consent-based definitions of rape in line with international human rights standards, where rape is defined by the absence of freely given, voluntary, and mutual agreement. But legal reform alone is not enough.
Justice systems must also work in practice. This means addressing the gender bias, stereotypes, and rape myths that influence how cases are handled. Survivors should not be judged based on assumptions about their behaviour, resistance, or credibility. Instead, cases must be assessed in their full context and handled impartially, thoroughly, and without discrimination.
Sustained investment is essential to drive this change. Ending sexual violence requires funding to support legal reform, strengthen implementation, and build the capacity of police, prosecutors, and judges. At the same time, civil society plays a critical role in amplifying survivor voices, sharing knowledge, and advocating for accountability and reform.
If we are to build a world where consent is respected and justice is accessible to all, we must confront the structural barriers that allow sexual violence to persist and commit to transforming the systems that uphold them.
Equality Now is working to end sexual violence by transforming laws and shifting harmful norms.
We partner with legal experts, activists, and policymakers to advance consent-based definitions of rape across jurisdictions and support the development and implementation of survivor-centred laws and protocols.
We also work to challenge stigma, stereotypes, and rape myths by equipping journalists, educators, and the public with the tools to change how sexual violence is understood and addressed.
Our goal is clear: to build legal systems that protect survivors, hold perpetrators accountable, and ensure justice is accessible to all.
