Trigger Warning: Article contains mentions of sexual assault
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a time dedicated to supporting survivors, raising awareness, and facing the realities of sexual violence. For organizations on the front lines, this month is not just a call to action but a reminder that advocacy and prevention extend far beyond April.
For Standing Together to End Sexual Assault (STESA), the mission is year-round. Through advocacy, community involvement, and prevention education, the group works to support survivors of sexual assault and address sexual violence in the community.
“We work off of an empowerment model,” said Elsa Granados, Executive Director of STESA. “We want survivors to feel fully in charge of anything that happens in relation to them having been assaulted.”
Founded in 1974 in Santa Barbara, Calif., STESA aims to empower survivors and provide education to increase awareness and change the cultural norms surrounding sexual assault.
According to Granados, that work often begins the moments after the crisis starts and continues all the way through recovery.
“People come to us at a very vulnerable time in their life,” Granados said. “Many months later, they leave STESA and say, ‘Okay, I’m okay to go now.’”
At the same time, national data highlights the urgency of early education and intervention, especially at the high school level. An estimated 66% of sexual assault survivors are under 18 years old, often between 12 and 17 years old, underscoring the need for accessible support.
As a response, STESA alone has provided 327 survivors and their loved ones with services, 5,140 community members with prevention and information sessions, and 229 community professionals with training through 2023-24.
“We provide services to survivors of sexual assault and their loved ones and survivors at any stage of healing,” Granados said.
STESA offers a variety of services, including, but not limited to, a 24-hour hotline, in-person crisis counseling, long-term counseling, group counseling, advocacy and accompaniment, prevention presentations, community events, self-defense workshops, and sexual harassment prevention training.
“[When survivors] see that they are being treated with dignity, respect, and with belief about what they’re saying, they are more likely to come forward,” Granados said.
In addition to April coming to a close, April 29 is National Denim Day, a campaign run by Peace Over Violence for the last 24 years. It’s a day marked with support and showing support for survivors of sexual violence, marked with activism and the excessive use of denim fabric. The holiday was originally triggered by the Italian Supreme Court ruling against a survivor of sexual assault because of the fact that she was wearing jeans.
The following day, the Italian women of parliament joined together wearing jeans in solidarity with the survivor. Since then, wearing jeans on Denim Day, which is usually the last Wednesday of April, has become a symbol of solidarity with survivors of sexual assault.
As April comes to a close, organizations like STESA continue to emphasize prevention and advocacy going forward through the year. While awareness months bring attention to important issues, only by examining the roots of the issue and the ways society reinforces unhealthy habits will society be able to move forward and destigmatize these issues.
STESA can be reached through its 24-hour hotline at (805) 564-3696, its in-person office at 433 E Canon Perdido St., or directly through its website https://sbstesa.org/contact/.
For students at Dos Pueblos High School, the Wellness Center in T-03 is open to all students to talk to trusted adults and seek assistance.
To find more statistics about sexual assault, visit the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN) website or the UCSB Annual Security & Fire Safety Report.
Edited 4/29/26 added paragraph
