Tempe Police Department raises awareness about sexual assault and prevention

Tempe police are pushing support and consequences for national Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.

“Tempe police are not only going to be supportive of victims,” said Molly Enright with the Tempe Police Department, “but we’re also going to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law for those who are suspects and found responsible for the act of sexual assault.”

The annual campaign partners with many local organizations and this year will be talking to fraternities and sororities as part of the campaign.

“So we want to raise situational awareness, number one,” she said. “Situational awareness means that when you’re out and about and whether you’re partying or whether you’re walking to and from home, from school or from work…that you’re aware of what’s going on around you.”

This is necessary for the sensory input you may need as a warning if you’re being approached by a stranger or someone you don’t know, she said.

“And if you’re going out and you think you’re going to be with friends and maybe your situational awareness is a little bit lower than it would be,” Enright said, “work in the buddy system and have your friends look out for each other.”

Tempe police are also urging people who are victims not to be ashamed and to call and report it.

“Sexual assault is often committed by people who are known to one another,” she said. “The crime of sexual assault remains a crime and the level of acquaintance is irrelevant in the sense that the victim is not to blame for being the victim of rape.”

One in five women and one in 71 men will be sexually assaulted at some point in their lives, according to statistics provided from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

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