A very serious guest post from a dear friend.

When  a good friend wrote to me and asked if I would please do a post on an organization called RAINN,  I said "Yes." because not only is this an important issue in our society  (and the world) but making people more aware of the horrific assaults against woman is just the right thing to do. 
This is what my friend sent me and will show you some scary statistics.
This is personal for her. She wrote...

"I just saw a little bleep about today being the "International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women."

If you have the time and energy, I'd love for you to write something on your blog."
and then...
"I would really like to see the day come when women don't accept blame, or even partial blame, for being raped; whether it's by a stranger, friend or relative.  No one has the right.  Ever.  For any reason.  I want women to start talking about it OUT LOUD."

So here it is, my dear friend: For all the men, woman and children who face or have faced terrible assaults in their lives. This is the day that will, hopefully, bring awareness to this problem and maybe, someday, this horrible behavior will cease to be.

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 WHITE RIBBON DAY

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/11/25/2989101/facts-white-ribbon-day/

THANKS!!  I've been there.

   HERE ARE A FEW ASTONISHING FACTS PRESENTED BY "RAINN".  JUST AMERICAN STATISTICS, NOT INTERNATIONAL.
1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime PERSONALLY, I THINK IT'S MORE THAN THAT. (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape).
15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12.

• 29% are age 12-17.
• 44% are under age 18.³
• 80% are under age 30.³
• 12-34 are the highest risk years.
• Girls ages 16-19 are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.

7% of girls in grades 5-8 and 12% of girls in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.

• 3% of boys grades 5-8 and 5% of boys in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.

In 1995, local child protection service agencies identified 126,000 children who were victims of either substantiated or indicated sexual abuse.⁵

• Of these, 75% were girls.
• Nearly 30% of child victims were between the age of 4 and 7.

93% of juvenile sexual assault victims know their attacker.

• 34.2% of attackers were family members.
• 58.7% were acquaintances.
• Only 7% of the perpetrators were strangers to the victim.   

  Effects of Rape

  Victims of sexual assault are:

  3 times more likely to suffer from depression.
6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
13 times more likely to abuse alcohol.
26 times more likely to abuse drugs.
4 times more likely to contemplate suicide.

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The 25th of November is also the INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMAN and you can find more statistics about the world wide issues here.https://www.un.org/en/events/endviolenceday/

I usually write about dogs, chickens, nature and photography... and I have had the good fortune to have safety and kindness in my life...but today is for all the victims of violence and abuse that are suffering at someone else's hands. This must stop. There are no excuses.