Holmes County commissioners back Sexual Assault Awareness Month outreach

OneEighty is telling Holmes County residents exactly where help starts: call 800-686-1122 any time, day or night, for hospital advocacy, counseling, safety planning, legal referrals and support groups. With Holmes County commissioners backing Sexual Assault Awareness Month outreach, the local emphasis is on getting survivors and families to real services quickly, not just marking a calendar observance.

April 2026 marks the 25th official anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s theme is “25 Years Stronger: Looking Back, Moving Forward.” The campaign’s roots go back well before 2001, to grassroots advocacy and the first rape crisis center founded in San Francisco in 1971. That history gives the county’s support added weight: this is part of a national effort built around prevention, survivor support and public education.

The case for that work is clear in Ohio data. Ohio law enforcement agencies reported 12,376 victims of sexual assault in 2024, and the state’s April 1 proclamation noted that 12% of female victims and 3% of male victims who experienced sexual violence were assaulted by an intimate partner. It also said 78% of incidents involving female victims and 87% involving male victims involved someone they knew, which is why awareness campaigns keep stressing consent, respectful relationships and early intervention.

The state also pointed to school-age risk: in the 2023-24 school year, one in 10 high-school girls and one in 20 high-school boys in Ohio reported sexual violence. In Holmes County, OneEighty serves as the rape crisis center for both Wayne and Holmes counties, so the county proclamation connects directly to a regional network already working with survivors, hospitals and advocates in Millersburg, Wooster and surrounding communities.

OneEighty says trained staff and volunteers are available 24/7, and its outreach extends beyond emergency response. The agency says it provides prevention education and community education designed to reduce stigma and make services easier to reach in schools, churches, workplaces and homes. For survivors, families and friends, the local takeaway is straightforward: help is available now, and county officials are using April to make sure more people know where to find it.