Mayor Paul Soglin and city advocates for victims of sexual assault, child abuse and trauma, met April 1 to raise awareness for National Sexual Assault Awareness month and National Child Abuse Prevention month this April.

Violence toward children and women is at an unprecedented level, Cheryl Kato, the director of the Rainbow Project, a Madison organization that provides resources to victims of trauma, said.

Kato cited statistics such as five children die every day as a result of child abuse in the United States. She said a report of child abuse occurs every 10 seconds in the U.S.

She said child abuse is an especially serious issue in young children. Children younger than age three have the highest victimization rates of all children, and 45 percent of child fatalities happen to children younger than one.

She said abuse or trauma can affect victims throughout their life. She said victims of child abuse and neglect are 59 percent more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28 percent more likely to be arrested as an adult and more likely to commit a violent crime.

Kato said society frequently wants to block out that these crimes are being committed, but she added this will not help prevent the crimes or help the victims.

The largest population of homeless people are children and youth, she said.

“We need to listen to what children and youth are experiencing,” she said. “We have to be strong to listen because we cannot solve problems when we do not know they exist.”

Victims need to be provided with a responsive, consistent and empathetic environment, she said. She said early intervention, prevention and child mental health services are important. For every dollar spent on these services, Kato said the state saves between $17 and $28.

She said people need to think about child abuse intervention every day, not just this month.

“As a community, we need to understand how to care and get involved,” she said.

Soglin said throughout the course of 2012 and 2013, there have been four homicides, and all of them were domestic-related. He said the vast majority of homicide and violent crime that has occurred in Madison and Dane County during the past decade have been related to domestic and sexual abuse.

The community also needs to be responsible for helping the victims, Soglin said.

“The important thing to understand is the tragedy is not limited to those who died,” he said. “There are tens of thousands of young people around Wisconsin who have been the victims of sexual abuse and violence, and they carry that with them throughout their lives.”

He said abuse impacts how the victim’s form relationships, how they raise their children and their ability to perform in school and hold jobs.

He said victims discuss their abuse with family and friends, and people who listen to them need to know how to react. He said victims, perpetrators, their friends and their families need to know what resources are available.

“This is not one of those issues that is someone else’s problem,” Soglin said.