PROCLAMATION: Parish President Mitch Orgeron has proclaimed the month of April 2026 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. #TeamLafourche encourages everyone to wear Teal every Tuesday throughout April f

PROCLAMATION: Parish President Mitch Orgeron has proclaimed the month of April 2026 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. #TeamLafourche encourages everyone to wear Teal every Tuesday throughout April for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Sexual assault, at its core, is a devastating abuse of power — one that affects people of every age, race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, socioeconomic background, and religion. It is the responsibility of each of us to stand up and speak out against it, not only to improve the laws and services available to survivors, but also to change the culture and attitudes that allow sexual assault to proliferate. Every 68 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted, and every 9 minutes, that victim is a child; and 9 out of every 10 victims of rape are female. 94% of women who are raped experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the two weeks following, and 30% of women report symptoms of PTSD 9 months after the rape. Out of every 100 rapes, 40 are reported, 10 lead to an arrest, 8 are prosecuted, 4 lead to a conviction, 3 rapists will spend a day in prison, and 97 rapists will walk away free. In 2025, The Haven assisted 109 survivors of sexual violence, provided 45 survivors with legal and/or medical advocacy, conducted 157 therapy sessions to survivors of sexual assault, and facilitated 41 Sexual Assault Response Team meetings. Victims should have support to find the compassion, comfort, and healing they need, and sexual perpetrators should be punished to the full extent of the law, while important partnerships have been formed among criminal justice agencies, allied professionals, and victim services to assist victims of sexual violence and their families. It is important to recognize the compassion and dedication of the individuals who provide services to victims of sexual violence and work to increase public awareness of sexual violence and its prevalence, and to eliminate it through prevention and education. Our Parish has a moral obligation to work on the prevention of sexual assaults and the severe trauma it causes to those affected. #AprilisSexualAssaultAwarenessMonth