No More campaign headlines the month

April is Sexual Assault Awareness month, and Annika Vik, a sexual assault prevention advocate for St. James Family Center, is using the No More campaign to encourage dialogue about what continues to be taboo subjects, domestic violence and sexual assault.

The campaign hopes to remove the shame and stigma attached to these topics by keeping it in the public's consciousness.

Pictures have been showing up on Facebook of local residents holding signs that say "No More", followed by a personal message. Some of the responses include "No more excuses", or "No more violence" or "No more silence."

"If the average person can't talk about this issue," Vik said, "how can we expect victims to talk about it?"

According to the No More Campaign, one in three women and one in four men experience violence from their partners in their lifetime. One in three teens experience sexual or physical abuse or threats from a boyfriend or girlfriend in one year. One in five women are survivors of rape. One in two women and one in five men have experienced some form of sexual victimization in their lives. One in four women and one in six men were sexually abused before the age of 18.

No More hopes that people will look beyond these numbers and see these statistics as individuals, as friends and family, acquaintances and co-workers.

Vik meets with high school and middle school students to educate them about such matters all year long, but April has this special focus, and they have been talking about what to look for and how to help a friend.

"Start off by believing them," Vik said. "If you don't, their chances of getting help drops dramatically."

The campaign encourages individuals to learn about domestic violence and sexual assault and start a conversation with a friend or family, to be supportive of survivors, to challenge the language that perpetuates the blaming of victims and to donate time and money to shelters, crisis centers and non-profit programs that help victims overcome trauma.

To learn more about the No More campaign, go to nomore.org.