Nonprofit launches Colorado campaign to provide survivors of sexual violence a venue to safely speak up

July 26--Global Change Project is launching its online initiative MapYourVoice.org in Colorado to give survivors of sexual assault a safe place to speak up and access help in conjunction with a statewide campaign to bring attention and resources to the issues of sexual violence.

"Break the Silence Colorado: Sexual Violence Awareness and Support for Survivors" is a statewide effort to encourage more than 2,000 survivors who are still silent about their victimization to use the free, anonymous MapYourVoice online platform to report and access local support.

"A major objective of our 'Break the Silence Colorado' campaign is to shrink the gap between people who are victims of sexual violence and those who feel safe enough to tell someone and reach out for help," said Jeni Ambrose, Founder and Executive Director of Global Change Project, in a company news release. "While it's been so encouraging to see thousands of survivors speak up publicly with #MeToo, we know that the vast majority of survivors still remain silent about their victimization."

An estimated 87 percent of survivors of sexual violence have never reported their assault, according to the release. In Colorado, the lifetime prevalence of sexual violence by any perpetrator for women is 23.8 percent, which is higher than the national prevalence of 18.3 percent, according to Colorado Department of Health and Environment.

The campaign is a nonpartisan community partnership comprised of support organizations, law enforcement, public health officials and elected officials. The goal is to raise awareness about the various ways sexual violence impacts Colorado communities, including child sexual abuse, sexual assault, sex trafficking, forced prostitution, domestic abuse and workplace violence, among others.

MapYourVoice can be accessed by computer or smartphone device to set up a free, anonymous account. MapYourVoice is an assault reporting process designed by sexual trauma therapy experts to make the experience of sharing one's story safe, therapeutic and educational.

When the report is completed, the survivor gets a pinpoint on the map, which is randomly placed for anonymity in the zip code of the assault. Each pinpoint shows a summary of the assault report according to the privacy preferences selected by the survivor. The public can click on the pinpoints, witness the survivor's experience and show their support directly by clicking one of four support buttons.

For more information, go to MapYourVoice.org.

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