So, let's hear it! What is your pumpkin personality? And, most importantly, have a happy and safe Halloween! (Any extra candy can be dropped off at my office!)
Colby and I are currently in training for Colby to be a therapy dog. Colby has visited University Hospitals since she was a puppy and has the ideal personality to be a therapy dog! After we are certified I would like to bring her along for a F2F call, she gives lots of love and great hugs which a survivor can definitely use at a traumatic time.
One look into her beautiful golden eyes and you would love her in an instant!
All of us have been called to work with survivors and their loved ones for one reason or another. Advocacy is extremely rewarding and life-changing work, though the work can be heavy on the heart at times. As the CRCC Advocacy blog and the Volunteer Training modules continue to emphasize, it is so important that we make self-care a priority in each of our lives. I know that the team at the CRCC is devoted to helping ensure this happens for all of you amazing volunteers, and I am invested in this too.
While underreporting of sexual assault in civilian life continues to be a problem for many complex reasons, the problem has reached epidemic proportions in the United States military.It is not difficult to ascertain the reason for so few sexual assaults being reported in the military. Jen Hogg of the New York Army National Guard told IPS, "I helped a woman report a sexual assault while she was in basic training. She was grabbed between the legs from behind while going up stairs. She was not able to pinpoint the person who did it."Furthering the difficulty many military women face is the "sexist and misogynistic" culture of the military:
Hogg explained that her friend was afraid to report the incident to her drill sergeant, and went on to explain why, which also sheds light on why so many women opt not to report being sexually assaulted.
"During training, the position of authority the drill sergeant holds makes any and all reporting a daunting task, and most people are scared to even approach him or her," Hogg told IPS, "In this case, the drill sergeant's response was swift but caused resentment towards the female that made the report, because her identity was not hidden from males who were punished as a whole for the one."
The incident displays another tactic used in the military to suppress women's reportage of being sexually assaulted - that of not respecting their anonymity, which opens them up to further assaults.
Like countless others, Guzman learned early that the culture of the military promoted silence about sexual assault. Her experience over the years has convinced her that sexual violence is a systemic problem in the military.One note of hope on this issue is discussed in the article. Several former soldiers who experienced sexual assault in the military have begun to organize and speak out on the issue, such as Guzman herself. Guzman is one of the founding members of the Service Women's Action Network (SWAN), which works to advocate for women in the military on numerous problems, including sexual violence.
"It has been happening since women were allowed into the service and will continue to happen after Iraq and Afghanistan," Guzman told IPS, "Through the gossip mill we would hear of women who had reported being raped. No confidentiality was maintained nor any protection given to them making them susceptible to fresh attacks."
"The boys' club culture is strong and the competition exclusive," Guzman added, "To get ahead women have to be better than men. That forces many not to report rape, because it is a blemish and can ruin your career."
"When victims come forward, they are ostracised, doubted, and isolated from their communities," Fitzsimmons told IPS, "Many of the perpetrators are officers who use their ranks to coerce women to sleep with them. It's a closely interwoven community, so the perpetrators are safe within the system and can fearlessly move free amongst their victims."
In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was gang-raped by her Halliburton/KBR co-workers while working in Iraq and locked in a shipping container for over a day to prevent her from reporting her attack. The rape occurred outside of U.S. criminal jurisdiction, but to add serious insult to serious injury she was not allowed to sue KBR because her employment contract said that sexual assault allegations would only be heard in private arbitration--a process that overwhelmingly favors corporations.
This year, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) proposed an amendment that would deny defense contracts to companies that ask employees to sign away the right to sue. It passed, but it wasn't the slam dunk Jon Stewart expected. Instead the amendment received 30 nay votes all from Republicans. "I understand we're a divided country, some disagreements on health care. How is ANYONE against this?" He asked.
He went on to show video of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) arguing that it's not the government's place to decide who the government does business with and juxtaposed that with Republican sentiment on how the government should deal with ACORN. "I guess it's an efficiency thing. You don't want to waste tax-payer money giving it to someone who advises fake prostitutes how to commit imaginary crimes, you want to give it to Halliburton because they're committing real gang rape."
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/15/jon-stewart-takes-on-30-r_n_321985.html
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Rape-Nuts | ||||
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You can use this information about public policy advocacy for CRCC, but it also works for any issue that you are passionate about!
Dr. Kilbourne is the creator of the video documentaries Killing Us Softly, on images of women in advertising, and Generation M: Misogyny in Media and Culture; as well as three other documentaries and three books on the media and culture. She has been described as “a superstar lecturer” by the Boston Globe.
Dr. Kilbourne will be speaking as part of
JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY FEMINISM WEEK
funded through
a Mandel Foundation Grant for Conversation and Inclusion,
and an SAF Diversity Initiatives allocation.
For more information, please contact: 216-397-4283
After the perpetrator assaulted Jennifer, he slit her throat and left her to die. Doctors did not think Jennifer would be able to speak again, but amazingly, she made a full recovery and has used her voice to tell her story. Jennifer’s story is a paragon of what many sexual assault survivors go through. Like Jennifer was literally silenced by her horrible injury, so many sexual assault survivors are silenced by those around them.
When victims come forward for intervention and treatment after an assault, their journey is often just beginning. It is common for victims to experience significant post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety-related symptoms, clinical depression, substance abuse problems and repeated episodes of sexual victimization.
Although the SANE/SAFE approach to caring for this specific patient population is recognized as the most effective, a greater emphasis is currently placed on evidence collection rather than overall patient health. The International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) is working to change that by collaborating with victim advocates.
A wrap-around support system in the form of victim advocacy is critical ... Through education, both the advocates and forensic nurses can become familiar with the range of services each profession provides. When SANE services and victim advocates work together, the immediate and long-term needs of victims are best addressed.
I'm sure many of you remember the story of Elizabeth Smart, who was abducted from her bedroom in Salt Lake City, Utah and held captive for nine months back in 2002."Smart was poised and composed while testifying for just under two hours.
She was 14 when she was abducted from her Salt Lake City home at knifepoint in the middle of the night. Shortly after her abduction, Smart said Mitchell took her to a mountain camp and performed a ceremony she said was intended to marry the two.
"After that, he proceeded to rape me," Smart said.
She said he held her captive with a cable attached to her leg that had
a 10-foot reach. That line was attached to another cable strung between two trees.
Smart said Mitchell plied her with alcohol and drugs to lower her resistance.
"He said that he would kill anybody that would come into the camp, or kill me if I ever tried to escape or yell out," Smart testified.
Smart said Mitchell was motivated by sex and used religion to get what he wanted.
Mitchell's defense attorneys had sought to limit Smart's testimony to her experiences with Mitchell, without her opinions about his mental state.
The defense objected to the 39 so-called "lay witnesses" proposed by prosecutors, including Mitchell's family, friends or workers at Utah State Hospital, because they lacked the expertise to evaluate competency.
In a ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball rejected the argument as it relates to Smart, saying her testimony may help the court settle differences in the findings of experts who have evaluated Mitchell.
Experts have split opinions over Mitchell's competency and have relied on statements from others — including Smart — and past evaluations to prepare reports for the court. Kimball's ruling said Mitchell has been uncooperative with evaluators and refused to participate in diagnostic tests.
In the state court system, Mitchell was twice found incompetent to stand trial."
The government is spending $225 million in stimulus money on programs that deal with violence against women, and $100 million more to help victims of crime. This comes amid a general decline in private and state funding for such programs. The money is spread among states, territories, American Indian tribes and nonprofit social service providers.Stay tuned for updates about how we'll be making use of these funds!
Domestic violence and other programs have been laying off workers as private donations shrink and states including California and Illinois cut their domestic violence budgets.
Advocates are reporting more violence in crimes — even as the FBI says the number of violent crimes declined slightly in 2008 for the second year — and needier victims as support systems fray in the bad economy, said Susan Howley at
the National Center for Victims of Crime.Foundations and big donors are giving less, while some deficit-ridden states have cut aid to the programs, Howley said. Many are laying off workers. Some are even closing their doors for good. Fighting crime was one of the rationales for the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — but most of the focus has been on police, not victims.
"These funds are a vital component in our effort to not just revive our economy, but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity and security," President Barack Obama said in March. "By keeping police officers on the streets whose jobs were threatened by budget cuts and ensuring states and municipalities have the tools and equipment necessary to fight crime, this money will simultaneously help jump-start the American economy and protect our citizens."
In Ohio, the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center is getting more than $770,000 in stimulus grants. It plans to hire 10 people to add therapy services, staff satellite offices and see more rape victims in hospitals. Executive director Megan O'Bryan said demand is up dramatically in the last year.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Like most of my classmates waiting for class to start, I paged through the Daily Kent Stater, just sort of scanning the articles. I don't think that the majority of people realize that most sexual assaults happen to someone that the survivor knows.When I spotted the article, "It Was Stolen From Me", it really hit home. I don't know Denise Wright, and I can't begin to comprehend the courage it must have taken to not just write this article but know it was going to be published in a college newspaper. Not only did she put her story out there with her name attached, but she encourages people to email her. I hope that this article helps people understand how prevalent sexual assault is, and how detrimental the effects can be.
While not every sexual assault can be prevented, she does include a few good tips. I really love that she never seems to blame herself in this article (something I tend to deal with a lot on the Hotline). While I'm sure the article does not contain anything new or groundbreaking, I thought others might appreciate hearing this strong young woman's tale.
I'd like to add a thumbs up to Kent State for publishing this piece and acknowledging that sexual assault is a problem everywhere - including on their campus!
It Happened to Me
assault topics from Michigan State University and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. According to the team’s consultant, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center was identified as a best practice model in large part due to its effective collaboration between community, government and business entities, the high level of involvement and outreach of its staff and advocacy volunteers, and its strong growth in its 35 years of existence. 
Group and Outreach Therapist
The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center (CRCC) seeks a clinician to provide individual and group therapy to adult survivors of sexual assault and rape. The Group and Outreach Therapist will assist in implementing new programming such as support groups to underserved populations in mental health and substance abuse treatment settings, as well as individual therapy in satellite locations.
A qualified applicant will have experience in working with trauma survivors, mental health and substance abuse as well as a degree in Social Work, Counseling, or Expressive Therapies. Master’s degree, License (LSW, LISW, LPC, LPPC) preferred. Must be able to work some non-traditional hours. Position involves travel. This is a full time, contracted, time limited (12 months) position funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The CRCC is EOE and seeks diverse applicants. Submit cover letter and resume to Outreach Therapist Search, CRCC, The Leader Building, 526 Superior Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114; or email to kirstim@clevelandrcc.org. No phone calls.
Family Therapist
The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center (CRCC) seeks a clinician to provide individual and group therapy to child & adolescent survivors of sexual assault as well as non-offending family members, guardians and other close supporters. The family therapist will assist in implementing new programming such as a child survivor support group and a psycho-educational parent group.
A qualified applicant will have experience in working with trauma survivors of all ages, as well as have a degree in Social Work, Counseling, or Expressive Therapies, such as Art or Music Therapy. Master’s degree, License (LSW, LISW, LPC, LPPC) preferred. Must be able to work some non-traditional hours. This is a full time, contracted, time limited (12 months) position funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The CRCC is EOE and seeks diverse applicants. Submit cover letter and resume to Family Therapist Search, CRCC, The Leader Building, 526 Superior Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114; or email to kirstim@clevelandrcc.org. No phone calls. No phone calls.
Case Manager
The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center (CRCC) seeks a qualified individual to assist survivors of sexual assault over the phone and/or face-to-face with initial needs outside of therapeutic realm such as emotional support; referrals for services within CRCC and to appropriate community agencies; facilitation of follow-up care and discharge planning.
A qualified candidate will have experience in working with trauma survivors of all ages; knowledge of community resources and local social service providers as well as a degree in Social Work or related field, LSW preferred. Must be able to work some non-traditional hours. This is a full time, contracted, time limited (12 months) position funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The CRCC is EOE and seeks diverse applicants. Submit cover letter and resume to Case Manager Search, CRCC, The Leader Building, 526 Superior Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114; or email to kirstim@clevelandrcc.org. No phone calls.
Thank you!
The support groups are most appropriate for survivors who have had the opportunity to do some work in individual therapy and are now looking for an opportunity to focus on some aspect of how each person’s trauma history impacts their life in the present. Some common themes that arise in these present-centered support groups include relationship issues, communication concerns, difficulties dealing with family, self-esteem problems, anxiety, boundary issues, etc. Though many common themes emerge, each group member sets her/ his own goal to work towards during the 12- week group module.
I’ve been so excited to get this round of groups going. We’ve had a lot of interest in support groups over the summer and many people have been patiently waiting for group to start. In our old space we had only one official group room and here in the new space we have more spaces available for that purpose, so I’m really hoping that our support groups will only continue to become more and more popular.
I oftentimes get calls from people who have heard about our support groups through calling the hotline, so thank you all for your part in getting the word out about this program. I’ve recently created a new flyer promoting our survivor support groups and thought I’d share it with you here:
