U.S. Attorney's Office in the USVI Commemorates April as Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month

A release issued Tuesday says that every April, the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the U.S. Virgin Islands join survivors, advocates, and communities nationwide in observing Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. "Sexual violence is far too prevalent, and it is important to not only raise awareness of the myriad forms of sexual violence, but to engage in meaningful prevention efforts, take action to hold offenders accountable, and to care for survivors in a trauma-informed manner," says the release. It adds, "U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert joins the Department of Justice and the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) in applauding the recent passage of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022 (VAWA 2022), which treats sexual assault as the serious violation it is and creates new programs and initiatives that provide survivors of sexual violence with increased access to services and justice." According to the release, VAWA 2022 expand...