Sexual Assault Awareness Month highlights ways to help curb violence against women and men

PHOENIX - April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and it started to educate people on the myths and facts that sexual assault survivors face.

The Sojourner Center in Phoenix explains why recognition like this is so crucial for the public and for the survivors.

According to Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence, 1 in 2 women will experience sexual violence in their lifetime, and 1 in 4 men will. The numbers we see might not even show the whole picture.

"We know that sexual assault is severely underreported, so any numbers that we have are going to be low numbers," explains Bailey DeRoest, co-director at the Sojourner Center.

It's one of the largest domestic violence nonprofits in the state and is starting to specialize not just in domestic violence cases, but in sexual assault cases.

"The core advocacy skills to serve those kind of victims, domestic violence and sexual assault, are similar, but they’re not the same. We’re already doing the work of domestic violence which is rooted in power and control," DeRoest explained.

They’re training their staff to match the needs of these survivors through providing shelter, helping through medical care, and providing support while these survivors document their stories to law enforcement.

Zane Frazier, owner of TITLE Boxing Club Arcadia has an ongoing program called "Fight Back" where women can learn to do just that.

"It’s a boxing base program designed by my wife and I, designed to be able to help women build self-confidence, build strength and build endurance. A realistic feel on how to actually defend themselves," Frazier said.

It’s a women-only program because women are often the targets of sexual assault crimes. In class, they’ll learn the basics of punching, striking and kicking.

"They want to know that they’re capable of defending themselves if they have to," Frazier said.

Statistics show many women will need to use these skills at some point no matter where they are in the world.

"I don’t think this is specific to Maricopa County. I don’t think this is specific to Arizona. I think this is everywhere. Everybody is impacted by this," DeRoest said.