At Salal, we often say that sexual assault is an isolating experience, not an isolated one.

Sexual violence does not happen in a vacuum. It is shaped by broader systems that influence whose safety is prioritized, whose voices are believed, and who has access to power and resources.

Gender inequality, racism, ableism, and colonialism all play a role. So do misogyny, economic inequality, homophobia and transphobia, ageism, and the stigma and victim-blaming that continue to silence survivors.

These systems overlap and reinforce one another, placing women and girls, and Two-Spirit, trans, non-binary, and gender diverse people, particularly those who are Indigenous, Black, or racialized, at an even greater risk of sexual violence.

These systems also shape what happens next.

Conversations in families, workplaces, communities, and online spaces often stop just when survivors need validation and connection most.

Isolation for survivors is created through everyday interactions: a shift in tone, a look of doubt, a change of subject. It is reinforced when news stories of sexual violence are questioned, minimized, or undermined online and in person.

Many survivors are not believed. They are told, directly or indirectly, to move on. To stay quiet.

Sexual assault is not rare. But being believed and supported when speaking about it can be.

At Salal, we believe survivors deserve spaces where they are heard, seen, and met with care. Spaces where they can gather with peers, be affirmed in their experiences, and know they are not alone.

This International Women’s Day, your support helps make those spaces possible.

In the days leading up to International Women’s Day, we will share what it can look like when isolation shifts, and survivors find connection and care in our Support Circles.

For now, we invite you to consider:

What becomes possible when isolation shifts into connection?
What becomes possible when survivors heal in community?

Thank you for standing with survivors.