00:02Every April, we see the teal ribbons, we hear the slogans, but this year marks a significant
00:11milestone. 25 years of SA Awareness Month. And while we have grown stronger in our advocacy,
00:22the numbers remind us of the mountain that we still have to climb.
00:27In the United States, someone is SA'd every 68 seconds. That is over 460,000 people every
00:40single year. And these aren't just data points. They are our neighbors, our colleagues, our
00:49friends and family. The statistics by gender are staggering. Roughly one in five women will
00:57experience a completed or attempted grape in her lifetime. For men, the number is approximately
01:06one in 33. When we broaden the scope to all forms of sexual violence, including harassment and
01:14unwanted contact, nearly 81% of women and 43% of men report being targeted. But here is the most
01:23harrowing statistic of all. The percentage of survivors who ever see a courtroom, let alone
01:31justice. Out of every 1000 SA's, only about 310 are ever reported to the police. Of those reported,
01:42only 50 lead to an arrest. And when we look at the final outcome, only 28 out of 1000 cases
01:52results
01:53in a felony conviction. That means nearly 98% of perpetrators walk free. And y'all wonder why we
02:01are where we are today. This is not okay. Why? Because our civil system is built on a foundation that
02:10often interrogates the survivor more than the accused. What's wrong with our society doing that?
02:18We live in a culture where victims are asked what they were wearing, how much they had to drink,
02:27or why they didn't fight back harder. This purity culture places the burden of morality on the victim,
02:37while grape culture excuses the perpetrator's actions as an inevitability of nature. The fuck?
02:48It is time to end the era of excuses. We must dismantle the structures that protect abusers under the
02:56guise of reputation or potential. Accountability isn't just a buzzword. It is a mechanical necessity
03:11for a safe society. And we all deserve that. We should all make it happen.
03:19Holding assaulters to a higher degree of accountability means more than just longer sentences.
03:26It means believing survivors when they first speak.
03:31It means clearing the massive backlogs of untested grape kits that sit in evidence lockers for years.
03:40It means teaching enthusiastic consent in our schools and rejecting the toxic idea that anyone's body is a conquest.
03:51This April, we look back at 25 years of progress, but we move forward with a demand for more.
03:59We don't just want awareness. We want action.
04:04We want a world where justice isn't a 2% miracle, but a standard guarantee.
04:10We need to flip the script. 98% of perpetrators need to be made accountable.
04:16If you or someone you know has been affected, you're not alone.
04:23You can call the National SA Hotline at 800-656-HOPE.
04:29Let's end the silence. Let's end the culture. Let's demand accountability.
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