OPINION: Sexual Assault Hotline recognizes its first year

As of Oct. 21, the New Mexico Sexual Assault Helpline has been operational for one year. As someone who has been doing this work since college, this milestone is monumental, and the data from our first year of service are a testament to the dedication of so many people. From the helpline responders who are answering your calls and messages, to the helpline co-directors, Abbey Boynton and Sonya Romero, who are traversing the state spreading awareness of this service, and the network of sexual assault service providers throughout New Mexico who offer compassionate care for their communities in times of need. We owe all of these people a debt of gratitude for their work to provide survivors a place of connection.

In the helpline’s first year, our team answered over 1,200 calls, texts and online messages from survivors looking for a place to talk. We reached people in 25 of New Mexico’s 33 counties, based on information volunteered by callers. The helpline was designed to be a place for connection for survivors to reach someone trained to listen first, with resources available upon request. Approximately 80% of those who reached a helpline responder in the first year were reaching out to talk, and 20% were looking for referrals to services like the nearest sexual assault nurse examiner or counseling.

The dream of the helpline was born from the pandemic. Sexual assault service providers and prevention experts know that survivors are already often isolated from those who might help them. In the midst of lockdowns that increased this isolation, we imagined a helpline that was accessible and intentionally built to reach those in isolation, to provide a space where they could connect with us if they couldn’t connect with anyone else — and so we set out to build the infrastructure to support it. By listening to people all across New Mexico, we built a helpline with accessibility at the center. The helpline may have been dreamed up in a time of crisis, but its impact extends well beyond, a vital resource in offering connection and healing everywhere survivors are.

We are an added layer to the existing network of services spanning New Mexico, committed to moving upstream not only to address sexual violence, but violence at its source. Violence doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it’s deeply connected to housing insecurity, economic instability and systemic oppression. The helpline exists to provide opportunity, connection and belonging to address the intersectional realities facing survivors. We are a resource for people of color, for our Indigenous communities, for our LGBTQ neighbors. We are here for everyone in New Mexico to have a place to be heard.

With the support of the governor, the Legislature, Sen. Martin Heinrich, our sexual assault service providers and so many more, we know this will be the first of many anniversaries for the New Mexico Sexual Assault Helpline. Our communities are strongest when everyone feels safe, seen and supported. In the spirit of the strong bonds and our deep sense of community here in New Mexico, can I give you our number? I hope you’ll never need it, but the data shows that over half of the people in New Mexico have experienced some form of sexual assault. Save it just in case, share it with those in your life, so that together we can help more people in the year ahead.