Sexual Assault Prevention and Child Abuse Prevention Social Media Campaigns Launching at Peace House

COVID-19 has prompted many changes. With the necessary reduction in public engagements, the Prevention Education team has been adapting by increasing our virtual presence. Peace House will launch two social media campaigns in the spring of 2021 for Sexual Assault Prevention Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month. 

From March to June of this year, Peace House in conjunction with the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) and Penna Powers will launch a comprehensive sexual assault awareness campaign. In 2020, UDOH received one-time Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding. VOCA was created by Congress in 1984 to provide federal support to state and local programs that assist victims of crime. VOCA uses non-taxpayer money from the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) for programs that serve victims of crime, including state-formula victim assistance grants. This funding is being utilized in Utah to help victims of sexual violence connect with local resources. To create materials that provide a meaningful connection between sexual assault victims and the services available in each region and county of Utah, UDOH employed marketing agency, Penna Powers, to develop a statewide advertising campaign. The process to developing this campaign began a year ago with a series of interviews conducted by Penna Powers on the services each domestic violence agency and sexual assault service agency provides. After conducting focus groups, Penna Powers developed the campaign which includes radio public service announcements, videos, Facebook, and Instagram entries. The social posts include awareness, quotes, resources, statistics testimonials in English and Spanish. All demographics are addressed women, men, Native Americans, Spanish speaking communities, LGBTQ+, rural and urban communities. We are so grateful to have these wonderful resources at our disposal.

In addition to the sexual assault collateral, Peace House Prevention Specialist Sam Janse has created materials for our Child Abuse Prevention campaign, “You don’t have to wear a cape to prevent child abuse (but it makes it more fun.)” While child abuse can seem like a daunting public health concern, one that could only be stopped by a superhero, there are methods, supported by scientific evidence, that our community members can advocate for to prevent abuse. This campaign focuses on factors that can help prevent child abuse such as support systems in the community for caregivers and social connections. Being an advocate for and showing up for the children in our community is the first step to ending child abuse.

Look for information and upcoming presentations in April 2021 on sexual assault prevention and child abuse prevention at Peacehouse.org