Content Warning: discussions of sexual assault, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, rape, racism, and trauma

Hi there! My name is Matt (he/him) and I am the new Operations Manager at Pro-Choice North Carolina. This is my first blog post, so I am excited that I get to write about a cause very significant to our work. 

SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH is observed every April on the heels of National Stalking Awareness Month and Cervical Health Awareness Month in January; Black History Month and Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month in February; and National Women’s History Month and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in March. While I only work in one small but mighty corner of the advocacy world, SAAM necessitates coinciding awareness of all the ways that oppressive systems impact survivors, not just including the patriarchal norms that lead to the prevalence of abuse.

Advocacy against sexual assault in the United States goes back hundreds of years, including advocacy done by Rosa Parks, who investigated assaults white male law enforcement officers perpetrated against  Black women in the Southern U.S. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was just as much about protesting sexual violence white men carried out against Black women as it was about the broader issue of racism and segregation in this country at-large. Rosa Parks was risking significant police brutality in addition to removal from her seat that day, but she also risked her reputation as an upstanding member of her own community while under the scrutiny of the legal system, all for the sake of those who received anything but justice in similar circumstances before her. This month we honor the efforts of all those who have fought for the right to bodily autonomy by carrying the torch, illuminating new history, and living in solidarity with new brave voices that are speaking out against systems of oppression and abuse. 

Sexual assault is described more broadly in the context of the definition of sexual violence, which include acts that are any one or more of the following.

Acts of sexual violence are sexual in nature, and are:

1. Without a person’s consent; 
2. Coercive;
3. Against a person’s will

Statistics tell us that 1 in 2 women and 1 in 3 men will experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetimes.² Sexuality is already heavily stigmatized in our society³, but what’s worse is that survivors are often criminalized⁴ for defending themselves against abuse. People who have experienced sexual violence are often extremely reluctant to disclose their experience, even with the most trusted individuals in their lives. Because reporting their experience of sexual violence can lead to worse outcomes for survivors⁵, advocates and service providers often suspect that sexual violence is more prevalent than we know yet. 

In my former position at a rape crisis center, I saw firsthand how victim services organizations offer programs that are seemingly designed with white, wealthy, and able-bodied identities in mind, even though those who are most vulnerable to experiences of sexual violence are the ones whose identities often preclude them from receiving services. The most vulnerable identities remain underrepresented within victim services organizations’ clientele. However, even in the same organizations, I have seen great strides towards (and big investments being made in) programs that are more culturally competent and inclusive of folks with marginalized identities - those who often feel like an afterthought in program planning. My greatest takeaways during this time were that access means everything for those of us who are most vulnerable, and that there is still immense opportunity to invest in better programs and resources for survivors in our communities. 

We must enshrine the belief that survivors and victims of violence are the best sources of information about their experience and that their stories transcend our society’s stigmatization of race, gender, and sexuality as well as the cultural narratives of victimhood and of property-ownership. Part of my work at Pro-Choice North Carolina is to help link our reproductive rights advocacy to the larger body of work towards liberation. One form of sexual violence that is of particular interest for advocacy here at PCNC is reproductive coercion. Many aspects of our culture(s), of our politics, and of our geography allow this toxic relationship dynamic between intimate partners to exist, no matter what set of identities you may hold.  

What is reproductive coercion? Reproductive coercion is a form of sexual coercion that often involves other sexual behaviors enacted against an intimate partner. 

Reproductive coercion can include: 

• Pressure to become pregnant
• Pressure to end a pregnancy
• Birth control sabotage
• Pressure to not use condoms
• Intentional misuse of contraceptives

Reproductive coercion can sound like: 

• “If you love me, you would...”
• “We’ve done it before, so you can’t say ‘No’ now.”
• “You’re not really queer if you don’t like to do this.”
• “It’s part of my belief system.” 
• “I can’t be known as one of those people in our community.”

CONSIDER THESE OPTIONS if you or a loved one is experiencing reproductive coercion:

• Tell someone 
  • free and confidential support from a trained advocate is available 24/7 – call or chat the RAINN national hotline at 800.656.HOPE (of 4673) to be directed to your local resource anywhere in the U.S.
  • or search here⁶ for your local North Carolina resource
• Talk to a health care provider about your reproductive health
• Safety plan for contraception that your partner(s) do not have to know about
• Prepare for future interactions with the coercive partner during which they may become violent

KNOW THIS if you or a loved one is experiencing reproductive coercion:

1. You are not at fault for the harm being done to you. 
2. Your concerns for you and/or your children’s safety and well-being in the context of your relationship with the person causing the harm are valid. 
3. Your concerns about reporting or disclosing the harm is valid.
4. Free and confidential support is available through victim services organizations (as mentioned above)⁶for you and your loved ones, and no one, especially the person causing harm, has to find out about it. 

WE KEEP SAYING “hands off our bodies and our rights,” instead THEY CUT FUNDING for programs that keep our communities out of harm’s way…

Rape crisis centers and service providers for survivors of sexual violence across North Carolina and the entire country are facing attacks on their programs and financial stability. Meanwhile, politicians play favorites with dangerous and deceptive organizations (such as anti-abortion centers, AKA, “crisis pregnancy centers”) and these same politicians would like for us to believe that progress made by the movements against racism, patriarchy, access, and gender equity do not matter.⁷

As a staff member at Pro-Choice North Carolina, I recognize Sexual Assault Awareness Month along with my colleagues and our supporters, because I used to work full-time in operations at a rape crisis center in the Triangle (as have other PCNC staff, in different capacities as victim services providers). The truth is that we all have a role to play to prevent sexual violence and reproductive coercion in our communities. The connections between my lived experience as a survivor, my professional experience as an advocate for clients who have faced victimization, and now as the Operations Manager here at Pro-Choice North Carolina are paramount in my work. One of my former colleagues, a youth education programs coordinator at the rape crisis center I mentioned before, once said to me, “…it takes a community to [end sexual violence], just as it takes a community to allow [sexual violence].” The same rings true for reproductive coercion, and that is why I am writing this today. 

Find and support survivors in your area at your local rape crisis center and take action here with us at Pro-Choice North Carolina this month, and every month! The North Carolina that I know (and that I know you know as well) has a strong history of resistance against oppression, and I’m grateful to fight alongside you as we work together to make our state a safer place for survivors and their loved ones to heal and to seek justice.

In Solidarity, 

Matt Herman

Operations Manager, Pro-Choice North Carolina

If you have experienced or are currently experiencing sexual or domestic violence, support is available 24/7 via phone and chat at the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline (call 800.656.HOPE (or 4673) or by contacting your local SV or DV agency in North Carolina. 

1. McGuire, Danielle L. At the Dark End of the Street : Black Women, Rape, and Resistance : a New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power. New York :Alfred A. Knopf, 2010.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). About sexual violence. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/sexual-violence/about/index.html#:~:text=Sexual%20violence%20is%20common%3A,experienced%20completed%20or%20attempted%20rape. 
3. Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine. (n.d.). Stigma’s toll on sexual and Reproductive Health. https://magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu/2022/stigmas-toll-sexual-and-reproductive-health 
4. Tracy Renee McCarter, Samah Sisay. CUNY Law Review. Prosecutors Must Use Their Immense Discretion to End the Criminalization of Survivors of Gender-Based Violence Who Act in Self-Defense. https://www.cunylawreview.org/tracy-mccarter-prosecutors-must-use-their-immense-discretion-to-end-the-criminalization-of-survivors-of-gender-based-violence-who-act-in-self-defense/#:~:text=It%20argues%20that%3A%20(1),in%20self%2Ddefense%20by%20using. 
5. Goodman-Williams, R., Volz, J., & Fishwick, K. (2024). Reasons for Not Reporting Among Sexual Assault Survivors Who Seek Medical Forensic Exams: A Qualitative Analysis. Journal of interpersonal violence, 39(9-10), 1905–1925. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605231211926
6. North Carolina Department of Administration. NC DOA. (2025, March 5). https://www.doa.nc.gov/divisions/council-women-youth/domestic-violence-sexual-assault/grantees 
7. Clark, D. B. (2025, March 28). A North Carolina political power grab disrupted funding for sexual abuse survivors. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/north-carolina-legislature-power-grab-sexual-abuse-survivors 

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