Saprea Launches ‘Believe’ Campaign During April

SALT LAKE CITY, April 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — In connection with Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the global nonprofit Saprea is launching a month-long campaign to raise awareness of child sexual abuse.

One in five children in the U.S. will be sexually abused before their 18^th birthday and endure the effects of trauma long after the abuse has stopped. “This is happening in every community around the world. These survivors are our sisters, our friends, our neighbors, our mothers, and our daughters,” said Shelaine Maxfield, Saprea’s founder and board chair. “Empowering [these] survivors in their healing process is something we wholeheartedly believe in.”

Saprea has created free healing resources for survivors of child sexual abuse including the Saprea Retreat, the Saprea Healing Webinar, survivor-led support groups, and a library of online healing resources.

The Saprea Retreat is a free, clinically informed in-person, four-day experience for adult women who were sexually abused before age 18. The Saprea Healing Webinar is a free 4.5-hour interactive and educational experience designed to help survivors jumpstart their healing from home. Saprea’s online healing resources provide research-based tools and strategies to help survivors.

“One of the worst things about sexual abuse is someone not believing you, someone telling you something isn’t happening to you, but you know it’s wrong,” said Ashley, a survivor who has used Saprea’s resources. “If there is one thing I would say to inspire and empower survivors, it’s ‘don’t be afraid to speak up. Even if the first person doesn’t listen, go to someone else.'”

The Saprea “Believe” Campaign will kick off April 5 with Start by Believing Day – a national day of awareness created by End Violence Against Women International to help foster safe and supportive environments for survivors to disclose they have been sexually abused.

“My hope is that every survivor will have the opportunity to find healing and feel the support of others. I want to send this message to every survivor I can. I believe you. I believe in your ability to heal. I believe you are worth it,” Maxfield said. “Together, we can create a world free from child sexual abuse and its lasting impacts.”

Those interested in joining the fight against child sexual abuse are invited to donate at saprea.org.

SOURCE Saprea