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The Los Angeles County Office of Violence Prevention (OVP), housed within the Department of Public Health, works to strengthen coordination, capacity and partnerships to address the root causes of violence, and to advance policies and practices that are grounded in race equity, to prevent all forms of violence and to promote healing across all communities in Los Angeles County.
OVP monitors the trends and circumstances of violent deaths affecting Los Angeles County to inform decision makers and program planners about ways to prevent and intervene on violence in the community, at home and in the workplace.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), a time to collectively raise awareness and take action to prevent sexual assault and all forms of sexual violence. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2015 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey:
43% of women and 25% of men reported experiencing some form of sexual violence, including rape, attempted rape, sexual coercion, and unwanted sexual contact and/or assault.¹
81% of female and 71% of male survivors of rape or attempted rape reported that their first assault occurred before age 25. ²
One in five women reported experiencing sexual violence from an intimate partner.³
In the early 2000s, the primary goal of SAAM was to raise awareness through the visibility of the teal ribbon and its significance. By the mid-2000s, SAAM expanded to include prevention efforts, focusing on communities, workplaces and college campuses. Today, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) provides national SAAM campaign resources focused on individual and community actions to prevent sexual assault before it happens by promoting respect and behavior change.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Key Milestones
1971 – The first rape crisis center was founded in San Francisco.
1978 – The first U.S. Take Back the Night event was held in San Francisco.
1993 – The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was first passed.
1999 – Peace Over Violence developed the Denim Day campaign to bring awareness to victim blaming and destructive myths that surround sexual violence.
2001 – The first national observance of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) took place.
This year’s SAAM theme, “Together We Act, United We Change,” reflects the goals of the recently established Los Angeles County Sexual Assault Council which aims to create a comprehensive, coordinated trauma-informed response to sexual violence across the County.
The Office of Violence Prevention will officially launch the Los Angeles County Sexual Assault Council (LAC SAC) at Denim Day and reconvene SAC stakeholders at the end of April 2025. The April meeting will focus on partner engagement, identifying sexual violence prevention, intervention and healing needs and prioritize strategies to address gaps and barriers to accessing services. Stakeholders will help shape the Sexual Assault Council’s focus areas and begin planning to drive action to remove systemic barriers that impact service accessibility and delivery for sexual assault survivors.
Violence is preventable and everyone has a role to play. Below are some resources and ways for you to get involved.
1,2Smith, S. G., Zhang, X., Basile, K. C., Merrick, M. T., Wang, J., Kresnow, M., & Chen, J. (2018). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2015 data brief – updated release. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 32023 Los Angeles County Health Survey; Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Denim Day
Founded in 1999 by Peace Over Violence’s Executive Director and CEO Patti Giggans. Denim Day was inspired by an Italian court case that overturned a rape conviction, arguing that because the victim was wearing tight jeans, she must have helped her attacker remove them. Denim Day encourages people to wear jeans on April 30 in solidarity with survivors and spread awareness around sexual violence. Learn more and get involved at denimday.org.
“Red Lips, Hoops On: Invincible!”
The East Los Angeles Women’s Center’s campaign challenges stereotypes and cultural myths that normalize sexual violence, using red lipstick and hoop earrings as symbols of empowerment and resistance. Learn more and get involved.
SAAMLAND
USC’s Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention and Services is holding a special event on April 10 from 12p.m.-3p.m. in Alumni Park. The event is SAAMLAND: Building Connected Communities and will feature a festival of community building through activities, education, and community engagement. Learn more here.
YWCA Candlelight Vigil and Survivor Speak Out
YWCA Greater Los Angeles is hosting a survivor speak out and candlelight vigil on April 24 from 4p.m.-7p.m. Come shine a light and speak out against sexual violence. The event will be held at the South Bay Empowerment Center 920 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 101, Long Beach, CA 90813. Register today.
The Office of Violence Prevention invites you to the upcoming Los Angeles County Sexual Assault Council (LAC SAC) Stakeholder Session on Monday, April 28, 2025 from 10:00a.m.-1:30p.m. at 510 S. Vermont Avenue, 9th Floor Terrace, Conference Rooms A & B, Los Angeles, CA 90020.
This strategic planning session will bring together stakeholders working to address sexual violence in Los Angeles County. Community members, service providers, and survivors are encouraged to participate in discussions on LAC SAC’s mission, vision, and goals, explore branding and messaging, and review previous feedback on priorities, activities, and objectives. The meeting will take place from 10:00am-12:30pm, followed by lunch and networking from 12:30p.m.-1:30p.m. For more information contact the Office of Violence Prevention at SAC-OVP@ph.lacounty.gov or by calling (626) 293-2610.
The L.A. Care/Blue Shield Promise Community Resource Center in Palmdale invites you to attend a Gun Safety and Violence Prevention Panel. This event will feature voices from Mom’s Demand Action, the Office of Violence Prevention, the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station and more. Free gun locks and gun safety resources will be distributed. $20 Food for Less gift card provided.
The event will be held on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 from 10:30a.m.-11:30a.m. at 2072 E. Palmdale Blvd., Palmdale, CA 93550. Please call the Community Resource Center at (213) 438-5580 for questions.
OVP is Distributing 60,000 Gun Locks; Free, No Questions Asked
On Tuesday, April 2, the Department of Public Health’s Office of Violence Prevention publicly launched an initiative to help prevent the devastating impact of gun violence including the tragedy of unintentional shootings – which disproportionately affect children – and gun suicides. As part of the initiative, OVP will be distributing 60,000 gun locks; free, no questions asked.
The locks, educational materials and community resources are available through this Gun Lock Request Form and six County medical facilities: Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, High Desert Regional Health Center, Los Angeles General Medical Center, Martin Luther King Jr. Outpatient Center, Olive View – UCLA Medical Center, and Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center.
“Far too many families have experienced the terrible pain of losing a child or teen-ager to gun violence,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Director of the Department of Public Health. “In a number of these cases, the simple act of locking and safely storing firearms would have prevented a tragedy.”
Dr. Ferrer was joined by several speakers at Rancho Los Amigos for the official, public kickoff of the gun lock distribution program, including Dr. Shannon Thyne, Director of Pediatrics for the L.A. County Department of Health Services, and two survivors of gun violence.
A total of 13 gun safety and community organizations participated in a resource fair at Rancho Los Amigos following the end of the formal ceremony.
Distribution of gun locks is part of OVP’s comprehensive strategy to reduce gun violence in our communities, which includes developing the 40-point Gun Violence Prevention Platform, providing education about various restraining orders, supporting federal and state gun safety legislation, a school safety initiative, and partnering with health care providers on discussing safe storage with their patients.
Youth Suicide and Suicide Attempts in Los Angeles County
The Los Angeles County Office of Violence Prevention has released a new report, “Youth Suicide and Suicide Attempts in Los Angeles County,” which highlights suicide and suicide attempt data among Los Angeles County youth ages 10-24 between 2016 and 2020. The report includes general demographics, methods most frequently used, and suicide trends during the five-year period. The report also briefly overviews reported suicides and attempts during 2020, with the acknowledgment that there is still much more to understand about this unprecedented time. The report concludes with links to prevention resources that reduce stigma and normalize mental health as an integral component of health and wellbeing. Click here to view the report.
OVP supports the County’s LA vs. Hate Initiative led by the Human Relations Commission in collaboration with community partners. LA vs Hate is a community-centered creative campaign to encourage and support all residents of Los Angeles County to unite against, report, and resist hate.
If you are the victim, or witness of, a hate incident or hate crime you can report the incident/crime with 211 LA. Your report is confidential and 211 is not affiliated with law enforcement.
After extensive review and input, the Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) Early Implementation Strategic Plan was adopted by the County Leadership Committee and Community Partnership Council in September 2020. Read more about OVP Early Implementation Strategic Plan here.
The OVP Strategic Plan is a live document and we welcome your ongoing feedback, specifically as it pertains to our priorities, goals, objectives and strategies. Please provide your input by sending an email to ovp@ph.lacounty.gov or email Andrea Welsing, OVP Director, directly at awelsing@ph.lacounty.gov. We hope you will provide your thoughts, comments and recommendations for the Strategic Plan and that you will continue to be part of our violence prevention and healing efforts as we work together to advance strategies to prevent violence and promote healing.
