COLORADO SPRINGS — Sexual assault affects one in three women and one in six men, many of these cases occur before the victims reach adulthood.
According to the National Violence Resource Center, sexual assault impacts each individual in a different way. Guilt, shame, and fear are just some of the feelings described by victims.
According to RAINN, "Every 68 seconds another American is sexually assaulted."
In fact, 8.5 million women and 1.5 million men have been victims of rape. Often, these victims feel alone but there is help.
The local non-profit TESSAis the only confidential organization for sexual assault in Colorado Springs. They believe it's important to protect the privacy of those they are helping. Tessa works to help victims heal by offering a safe place and several resources.
"Maybe they may need a lawyer, maybe they need clinical services. Maybe they need some sort of housing or help to move or anything like that. Those are just a number of services that we offer at TESSA but it all depends on that person and what steps we need to take with them," said Rica Molet, TESSA Community Engagement Manager.
"It's all about how can we make it comfortable for you and how can we work with you to just find that peace and understanding from becoming a victim to hopefully becoming a survivor of sexual assault.”
Rica says their door is always open for victims who are seeking help and those at TESSA believe you.
