FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 5, 2022
Contact: Heather Jones/Brian Heaton
publicaffairs@victims.ca.gov
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —The California Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB) is collecting donations of jeans and other denim items in April to support victims of sexual assault and the organization WEAVE (When Everyone Acts Violence Ends), which provides crisis intervention services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Sacramento County.
CalVCB has a collection bin in the lobby of its office building, at 400 R Street in Sacramento. The lobby is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Members of the public are encouraged to visit the lobby during those hours to drop off any denim donations they have.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. On average, there are 463,634 victims (age 12 or older) of rape and sexual assault each year in the United States, according to data from the U.S. Department of Justice.
CalVCB received 3,311 applications from, and paid more than $2.8 million in benefits to, survivors of sexual assault in the year ending June 30, 2021, the most recent completed state fiscal year.
Anyone who has been a victim of sexual assault can seek help from WEAVE by calling (916) 920-2952 or the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline by calling (800) 656-4673.
They can also visit CalVCB’s website, victims.ca.gov, or call (800) 777-9229 for assistance filing an application with CalVCB. CalVCB can help sexual assault victims with medical bills, relocation costs, home security measures, mental health counseling and other crime-related expenses. A police report may not be necessary if other documentation is available. CalVCB also funds trauma recovery centers across the state to help victims recover.
“CalVCB is committed to helping survivors of violence in their hour of need,” said Lynda Gledhill, Executive Officer of CalVCB. “Survivors of sexual assault and other violent crime are not alone, and our mission is to help them begin to restore their lives.”
Sexual Assault Awareness Month includes Denim Day, on April 27, when everyone is encouraged to wear denim in support of sexual assault victims.
Denim Day originated when women of the Italian Parliament wore jeans in protest of the high court’s decision in the 1998 to overturn a rape conviction. The court justices ruled that since the 18-year-old victim wore tight jeans, she must have helped the attacker remove them, thereby implying consent. Subsequently, the rapist was set free.
CalVCB provides up to $70,000 in benefits to survivors of violent crime. As a payor of last resort, CalVCB covers crime-related expenses when insurance or other sources are not available to pay them.
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The California Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB) provides reimbursement for crime-related expenses to victims who suffer physical injury or the threat of physical injury as a result of violent crime. CalVCB helps crime victims and their families cover unforeseen expenses such as medical bills, mental health treatment, funeral and burial expenses, income loss and more. To learn more about CalVCB, visit victims.ca.gov. Follow CalVCB on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.