To bring awareness to Sexual Assault Community Action Day on April 6th and throughout April, The Women’s Center of Tarrant County (The Women’s Center) is selling teal t-shirts for $25 during its Victory Over Violence – Hope Starts Here campaign. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month.
To kick off the campaign, on April 6th at 10 a.m., the nonprofit organization will address the Tarrant County Commissioners Court and will receive a proclamation declaring the day “Turn Tarrant Teal” Day (Tarrant County Administration Building, 100 E. Weatherford Street, Suite 502A, Fort Worth, Texas 76196).
The Women’s Center encourages the community to wear their teal t-shirts on April 6th and throughout the month to raise awareness about issues of sexual violence, as well as to support survivors of rape, child sexual abuse and intimate partner violence. Supporters are also invited to wear their teal t-shirts for Denim Day on April 28th.
During the month of April, The Women’s Center is also partnering with local universities—including TCU, UTA, TCC and UNTHSC—during on-campus events to educate students, faculty and the community of sexual and relationship violence prevention.
Confirmed events include participation with TCU’s “Take Back the Night” program, which raises awareness about sexual violence on college campuses. On the first Tuesday of April, The Women’s Center will participate in Teal Talk Tuesdays presented by UT Arlington. Additional events include TCC Southeast’s Sexual Assault Awareness Presentation with the Family Empowerment Center, as well as presentations with DASHH (Drugs, Alcohol, Sex, Harassment, and Hazing) Prevention Squad.
Funds raised from teal t-shirt purchases and donations to The Women’s Center help provide continuum of care for the more than 100,000 women, men and children served in the Rape Crisis and Victim Services Program. Through this program, survivors receive the tools needed to heal from the devastating effects of violence, children and teens learn how to reduce their risk of abuse, and the community is empowered to prevent and respond to interpersonal violence through education and training.
Visit https://www.womenscentertc.org/victory-over-violence-hope-starts-here-campaign/ to purchase a t-shirt or make a donation to the organization.
The Women’s Center hopes to raise awareness on these startling statistics:
- Every 73 seconds, someone in America is sexually assaulted (RAINN.org).
- Nearly one in three Texans will experience sexual assault in their lifetime, with women being twice as likely to be victimized as men.
- One in four girls and one in six boys experience some form of sexual abuse before their 18th birthday.
- Eight out of ten rapes are committed by someone known to the victim (RAINN.org).
Laura Hilgart, The Women’s Center’s President and CEO, said, “Child and adult victims of interpersonal violence, already vulnerable and traumatized, have been made even more so by the COVID -19 pandemic. The Women’s Center is preparing to see an increase in victims seeking services, as many have been trapped in unsafe situations and may have experienced more extreme levels of violence. Since we are unable to have our Victory Over Violence Walk/Run, we need the community’s support to raise critical funds to sustain our work—work that prevents violence and helps survivors heal.”
About The Women’s Center:
Established in 1979, The Women’s Center addresses significant problems of violence, crisis, and poverty experienced by women and families in Tarrant County. The founders of The Center created a place of transformation that has served hundreds of thousands of women, men, and children over the past 40 years. This has been made possible through the commitment of expert staff, generous donors, dedicated volunteers, a passionate involved board of directors, and community partnerships. The mission of The Women’s Center is to inspire and empower women, men, and children to overcome violence, crisis, and poverty. For more information about The Women’s Center, please visit https://www.womenscentertc.org, or call 817.927.4040.