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The Michigan Rape Prevention & Education (MI RPE) Program

This program does not provide sexual assault crisis services.

•  Call 911 if you or someone you know is in immediate danger or needs medical care.

•  Call, text, or chat to find crisis services and support through Michigan’s free,
   confidential 24-hour hotline: 1-855-VOICES4 (1-855-864-2374); 
   TTY: 517-381-8470; https://mcedsv.org/hotline/hotline-chat/
 

Information and Resources

  • The MI RPE Program is helping to make Michigan communities safer and healthier for all Michiganders. The program is funded by CDC’s Rape Prevention & Education (RPE) Program.

    Any sexual activity that one or more partners have not or cannot clearly, freely consent to is sexual violence. Sexual violence happens any time a person forces or pressures another person into sexual activity, even if there is no physical contact. See a full list of sexual violence definitions from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

    Sexual violence affects everyone and every community, but some community members, because of discrimination & marginalization, are exposed to sexual violence more often. This includes women, people of color, Native American and Indigenous people, children, people with disabilities, and people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersexed, agender, and/or asexual.

  • MI RPE Goals

    •  Stop sexual violence through strong partnerships, policy change, and sharing successful strategies
    •  Make sexual violence data more accessible.
    •  Support communities to create or adapt prevention strategies that work for them.

    MI RPE is meeting these goals in three ways:

    1. Sexual Violence Prevention Grants Program – This program supports community-level efforts focused on local policy and social norms to help local communities stop sexual violence before it starts.

    Kent County Health Department Create protective environments by promoting positive social norms and strengthening policy through:
    •  Organizational change for K-12 schools and school-based healthcare
    •  Organizational change in higher education health programs

    Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health (Statewide)
    •  Create protective school environments through Culture of Consent
    •  Provide leadership opportunities for self-identified women & girls
    •  Promote positive social norms for healthy youth relationships through a social messaging campaign

    Safe Haven Ministries (Grand Rapids)
    •  Create protective environments for youth through policy training and technical assistance for youth-servicing organizations
    •  Provide opportunities for civic engagement through Young Leaders Against Violence
    •  Promote positive social norms for children & families with the Gender Equity Reading Initiative 

    Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan (Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet, and Otsego Counties)
    •  Promote positive social norms and policy change by engaging men and boys through a social norms campaign
    •  Promote positive social norms focused on youth and their support communities through the Campus Climate Campaign

    YWCA West Central Michigan (Grand Rapids)
    •  Create protective environments by improving organizational practices through the Good Nightlife Bar Program and service providers for the LGBTQIA+ community
    •  Provide leadership opportunities for self-identified girls and non-binary youth

    2. Communities of Practice Project – This project brings together local and state partners to learn from and support each other’s work to stop sexual violence.

    3. Rape Prevention Education Evaluation Project – This project looks how MI RPE works and its impact on sexual violence in Michigan.

  • Michigan

    Adult Protective Services Information and resources for reporting suspected adult abuse or neglect.

    Child Protective Services Information and resources for reporting suspected child abuse or neglect.

    Division of Child & Adolescent Health Public health programs, initiatives and interventions to make sure that infants grow and thrive throughout childhood, adolescence and successfully transition into adulthood with optimal physical and social-emotional health.

    Family Equality Advances equality for LGBTQ+ families through building community, changing hearts and minds, and driving policy change

    Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force A collaborative effort to prevent trafficking in Michigan, to pursue prosecution of traffickers, and to protect and actively support rehabilitation efforts for trafficking victims.

    Michigan Profile for Healthy Youth The MiPHY provides data on health risk behaviors including substance use, violence, physical activity, nutrition, sexual behavior, and emotional health in grades 7, 9, and 11. MiPHY results, along with other school-reported data, will help schools and local communities make data-driven decisions to improve prevention and health promotion programming.

    Michigan Sexual Health Initiative For Transformation A collection of valuable resources for schools, teachers, administrators, and others involved in sexuality and HIV/STD prevention education.

    Michigan Sexual Violence Prevention Survey Report Snapshot of Michigan indicators of violence prevention and community connectedness; includes action steps Michiganders can take to stop sexual violence.

    Michigan Youth Risk Behavior Survey Part of a nationwide surveying effort to monitor students' health risks and behaviors in six categories: unintentional injury and violence, tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy or disease, dietary behaviors, and physical inactivity.

    Uniting Three Fires Against Violence Tribal domestic violence and sexual assault coalition with a mission to support Michigan Tribes in promoting social change necessary to address the disproportionate rates of violence impacting tribal communities.

    National

    Berkeley Media Studies Group Guidelines for effective communication about sexual violence prevention.

    Centers for Disease Control & Prevention—Sexual Violence Prevention CDC’s research and programs work to understand the problem of sexual violence and prevent it before it begins.

    Futures Without Violence Programs, policies, and campaigns that empower individuals and organizations working to end violence against women and children around the world.

    Love Is Respect Engages, educates and empowers young people to prevent and end abusive relationships.

    National Sexual Assault Hotline A national hotline for sexual assault survivors.  RAINN offers 24/7 free, confidential counseling & support.

    National Sexual Violence Resource Center Information and tools to help individuals, communities and service providers prevent and respond to sexual violence.

    PreventConnect Connecting people & ideas, through online media, to advance effective strategies to stop sexual assault and relationship violence.

    Prevention Institute Partners with communities, local government entities, foundations, multiple sectors, and public health agencies to build prevention and health equity into key policies and actions.

    The Public Health Approach to Violence Prevention A four-step process, rooted in the scientific method, that can be applied to violence and other health problems that affect populations.

    Raliance A national collaborative initiative to end sexual violence in one generation.

    Sexual Assault Awareness Month A campaign every April to educate and engage the public for real and sustainable changes to stop sexual violence.

    Social Ecological Model: A Framework for Prevention This four-level model considers the complex interplay between individual, relationship, community, and societal factors to better understand violence and the effect of potential prevention strategies.

    STOP SV Technical Package  A collection of strategies representing the best available evidence to help states and communities prioritize efforts to prevent sexual violence.

    Transforming Communities to Prevent Sexual Violence CDC fact sheet about its RPE Program.

    US Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women Includes links to various organizations working to stop violence against women.

    Veto Violence Tools, trainings, and information to help communities, professionals, and groups work together to improve health, safety, & well-being.