 | Children’s Advocacy Center 2855 Michigan St NE Grand Rapids, MI 49506 616.336.5160 © 2023 Copyright - Children's Advocacy Center of Kent County - Privacy Policy |
Welcome, Teens. We’ve created this page as a resource for you to learn more about sexual assault and its impacts. Sexual assault is a traumatic event, and it is important to understand how it impacts your brain, body, and emotions. Whether you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, we hope to provide you with the resources needed to help. We encourage you to explore not only this page, but the entire CAC website, as you’ll find great resources on practically every page.
If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to one of our Advocates via email or phone call.
Monica Lopez: mlopez@cac-kent.org OR 616.719.4689
Emily Jones: ejones@cac-kent.org OR 616.719.4682
You can also call/text the National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673
What is sexual assault?
“’Sexual assault’ is when you are forced, coerced, or tricked into doing sexual things when you don’t want to. Sexual assault is a form of sexual violence and covers a wide range of unwanted sexual behaviors that can involve strangers or people you know. If you’ve been sexually assaulted, it’s important to remember that it is not your fault, and it is never okay for someone to force you to do something you are uncomfortable with.” For more information click the links below.
Reporting sexual assault:
To make a report of sexual assault, call your local police department. Many victims of assault think they will not be believed, worry about being blamed, or may have been threatened by their offender. If you are worried or scared for any or all of these reasons, talk to a trusted adult, or contact us at 616.336.5160. We can help walk you through the process in a safe and secure manner.
Medical resources:
If you have been sexually assaulted within the last 5 days (120 hours) call the YWCA Nurse Examiner’s hotline at 616.454.9922. They will talk you through what a forensic medical exam is, and you will be given the choice of whether you want to have one or not. If a sexual assault happened outside of those 5 days, even if it was years ago, you still have the right to a medical exam from a trained nurse. The CAC can help you set this up at no cost.
People
There are many brave survivors who have shared their stories to help others. We have linked them below for you to connect with.
Chanel Miller – I Am With You
Courage
Videos
Coping Skills
Consent
Therapy
Human Trafficking
5% of children under the age of 18 are solicited sexually online.
1,000+ suspected child sexual abuse cases are reported in Kent County each year.
75% of childhood sexual abuse is thought to go unreported.
1 in 7 girls and 1 in 25 boys are sexually abused.
