CRCC Advocacy - Beyond the Shift Reports

Thanks Giving

2010-11-24T09:20:00.001-05:00

I hope that you all have a wonderful, relaxing and safe holiday.

I will spend the day reflecting on all that I'm thankful for, including a wonderful and inspiring group of Advocates.

A Message from OVW Director Susan B. Carbon

2010-11-23T08:56:00.001-05:00

from the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women
edited in this post, you can find the entire letter here

Dear Friends,

First and foremost, on behalf of the Office on Violence Against Women, let me congratulate all of our grantees and others in the field on a very successful Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Organizations from across the country spent this last month having important conversations, increasing awareness, and h elping end domestic violence against women. We are proud of your efforts!

Additionally, it was an incredible honor for the White House to host an event centered on the Administration’s unprecedented coordination across the Federal government to combat violence against women on October 27th. President Obama, Vice President Biden, Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett and Advisor on Violence Against Women Lynn Rosenthal addressed the need to continue to confront domestic and sexual violence in this country. The importance of better communication between law enforcement and direct service providers, enforcement of protective orders, and changing public attitudes were discussed at length. President Obama specifically highlighted the financial barriers of domestic violence and the need for emergency relocation and housing accommodations so that “no one has to choose be tween a violent home and no home at all.”

...

The Office on Violence Against Women worked with Attorney General Holder to re-charter the National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women (NAC) to provide advice and recommendations to the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services on how to improve the nation’s response to violence against women, with a specific focus on successful interventions with children and teens who witness and/or are victimized by domestic violence or sexual assault. The committee includes highly regarded advocates, justice system and child welfare professionals, and researchers.

...

OVW worked with the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to develop the “Sexual Assault Kit Backlog Action Research Project” to identify long term solutions to eliminating the backlog of untested sexual assault kits that have not yet been submitted to a crime laboratory.

...

As Domestic Violence Awareness Month has now closed, we begin our focus on April: Sexual Assault Awareness Month. When the Violence Against Women Act was passed in 1994, sexual assault was included as on e of the crimes to be addressed. There is a general consensus, however, that for a variety of reasons, sexual assault has not received the same level of attention as has domestic violence. As a result, sexual assault remains a tragically pervasive and costly problem.

In preparation for what we hope to be a very effective Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, we wanted to begin a national conversation about sexual violence: what it looks like now, and what we want to be able to accomplish in the next five years. With this in mind, OVW was proud to collaborate with the White House Council on Women and Girls to host a first-ever national sexual violence Roundtable. Advocates, law enforcement, judges, survivors, prosecutors, medical professionals and federal employees travelled from all across the country to heighten our discussions as well as develop a plan of a ction to address this unacceptable epidemic. While advocates and experts from the field discussed a public awareness campaign, federal experts were able to listen to the needs of the stakeholders on the ground and hear how the federal government can and should heighten their assistance to address sexual violence in America. The Roundtable allowed those in the field and at the national level to effectively communicate how each can help the other to achieve mutual success, both at the local and the national level, by establishing next steps to ultimately end sexual violence against women.

It is clear from our discussions, as well as the comments from the champions of this cause in the White House, that awareness must be a cornerstone to our actions moving forward. For many community members our advocates and experts interact with each day, the myths of sexual violence are pre valent and hard to un-learn. Contrary to what many Americans believe, sexual violence does not just occur in dark alleys, perpetrated by strangers. Sadly sexual violence is often perpetrated by someone known to the victim, in places where the victim feels the safest, such as at home or at a friend’s home. Sexual violence spans every demographic: every race, socioeconomic background, geographic location, sexual orientation, and age group. On average, one in six women will be sexually assault in her lifetime. For certain populations such as for women on college campus, in assisted living facilities and on Native American lands, this number increases to staggering levels. As President Obama stated: “It is simply unacceptable.”

In a country that has made such progress in addressing domestic violence, it is a moral imperative that we develop a nation al dialogue and focus on ending sexual violence against all women, children and men. As we continue our multi-disciplinary conversations about sexual violence in America, we will be asking for assistance from every member of the community. It will require each and every one of us to end this tragic problem. And as Vice President Biden stated at the White House last month, “It’s not about reducing; it’s about ending.” It’s not only time, it’s beyond time.

With deep respect and gratitude,

Susan B. Carbon
OVW Director
U.S. Department of Justice

Continuing Education Series 2010

2010-11-22T08:47:00.000-05:00

I want to thank everyone who has come out to the Continuing Education Series in 2010 making it a great success. And I particularly want to thank those who came out to the event on Thursday evening.

What a great note to end the Series on. It was wonderful hearing from so many advocates. We heard from some who have been Advocates for a few days or weeks, and Advocates who have been doing this for years. Advocates new and old shared Hotline and F2F calls that were difficult and challenging. It was really great hearing the positive feedback among the volunteers and tips that Advocates who have been doing this for a long time were able to give.

Some feedback from fellow advocates

Liked the story sharing, it was helpful
Great participants, very helpful with tips and what others have experienced. Thank you!
Great to hear all the stories- both good and bad!!

So thank you again. I look forward to the CES of 2011!

Help free imprisoned Iranian women

2010-11-12T09:12:00.003-05:00

from the Feminist Majority Foundation

Women and women's rights activists continue to be threatened in Iran. Right now, two women need your help. Prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been on a dry hunger strike (no food or water) for more than a week while protesting her imprisonment. Sakineh Ashtiani, who was sentenced to death by stoning after an adultery conviction, is facing imminent possible execution by hanging.

Petition for Sotoudeh's release and Ashtiani's life now!

Sotoudeh, who defended many political activists and campaigners in Iran's presidential elections last year, has been held in Tehran's Evin Prison since September 4, when she was arrested and charged with "acting against state security" and "propaganda against the Islamic Republic." She is in grave physical condition as a result of the dry hunger strike. Sotoudeh has been refusing food and water to protest the intolerable conditions of prison and the improper investigation of her case. Activists are concerned she will soon fall into a coma or die.

Ashtiani was scheduled to be executed by hanging last Wednesday, but her execution was suspended. According to Iranian officials, her file is "under review," but the regime has been known to execute people whose files were under review in the past. Ashtiani was convicted in 2006 of having extramarital relations with two men who killed her husband. While she initially received a sentence of 99 lashes for adultery, during an appeal of her case, the court sentenced Ashtiani to death by stoning. This sentence has since been commuted to death by hanging. Her case has caused international outrage due to the inconclusive evidence presented and the barbaric nature of execution by stoning.

Please voice your support for these Iranian women as they struggle to overcome the flagrant disregard for the rule of law displayed by Iran's authorities and the barbarity of this execution sentence.

Indecencies to human rights and to women's rights in Iran, cannot be tolerated. Take a minute to express your solidarity with women in Iran. Your action is needed to save Nasrin Sotoudeh and Sakineh Ashtiani's lives.

We must not be silent in the face of this oppression.

For Women's Lives,
Eleanor Smeal

President

Feminist Majority Foundation

P.S. Your support and emails have helped in the past and these courageous Iranian women need your help again. Please send an email to help Nasrin Sotoudeh and Sakineh Ashtiani.

Thank You, Veterans

2010-11-11T09:37:00.001-05:00

Ending Slavery in Ohio Town Hall Meeting

2010-11-10T08:59:00.002-05:00

A Discussion about Human Trafficking

Thursday, November 18, 2010
6:30pm – 8:00pm
Case Western Reserve University
Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations
10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106

Details: Please park in the Cornell-Mayfield parking garage – Lot #34. For detailed directions, visit www.uhhospitals.org. Click on Patients & Visitors / UH Construction Corner / Alternate Driving Routes.

For more information, contact Erin Michel at (614) 461-4484 or intern1@naswoh.org.

Sponsored by:
National Association of Social Workers-Ohio Chapter, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences-
Case Western Reserve University, Renee Jones Empowerment Center, Ohio Abolitionist Coalition

The CRCC's very own VP of Client and Clinical Services, Kirsti Mouncey, will be participating as a panel member!

Private Practice

2010-11-09T08:49:00.001-05:00

Whether or not you watch this show, I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments on last week's episode...

from www.thestar.com

"It's not anything that the audience can't handle," KaDee Strickland stresses as she sits in the living room of Sam's beachfront house on the Private Practice set during one of the few days she's not covered in prosthetic cuts, scrapes and bruises.

The "it" in this situation is her character Charlotte's sexual assault and brutal beating in this Thursday's episode of Private Practice (10/9c on ABC).

At the end of last week's episode, Charlotte walked out of her office at the hospital only to encounter a deranged man whose face the audience has yet to see (though we know he's played by Buffy alum Nicholas Brendon). After a harsh smack, he shoved her back into the dark office as the episode faded to black.

"The fact that she has this happen in her place of business is a very powerful statement because she has to go back to it," Strickland says. "It will never be the same thing to walk into that hospital and to have all your control taken away."

Charlotte's initial reaction is one of shame and denial — so much so that the once fearless and hardened leader of the hospital will not share what happened behind closed doors.

"Charlotte is so apprehensive," Strickland says, tearing up at the thought of Charlotte's plight and that of the many real-life survivors. "Charlotte is someone who absolutely lives to control things in her life. In this moment and in this act of crime that happens to her, all control is lost. Out of the devastation and the shock that come with that, she wants to act as if it didn't happen."

Just moments after the attack, Pete (Tim Daly) discovers Charlotte in the hospital. "Pete has a unique sensitivity to it, because right from the beginning he suspects she was raped, but chooses to completely respect her privacy on it," Daly says in his on-set trailer, where a small guitar lays strewn across his couch. "The fact that he doesn't push her makes her more vulnerable. It's easier for her to push back when people are nosing into her business."

Because she's in shock, Charlotte will initially reject being subjected to a rape kit. "Addison is trying to convince her to do the right thing — the rape kit, the HIV test, all the blood labs — these are imperative things," says Kate Walsh, clad in a nightshirt and a red parka to keep her warm following a bedroom scene between her character Addison and Sam (Taye Diggs).

"The dichotomy of that relationship changes dramatically because I need to lean into someone," Strickland says. "I feel safe and I also feel that Addison would never betray me in a situation. The thing that I love about the character of Addison, in terms of her being a hero, is that you really see her stand in those shoes with a very new point of view because this isn't hers to do. It's mine. I'm the one living with it and I bring her into it."

Along with Addison, Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) will step in to assist with Charlotte's injuries. "In the process of tending to her injuries, she and Charlotte start developing a confidence and a bond," Scorsone says. Charlotte and Amelia will also "discover that they have a very significant thing in common, so the bond that they form is immediately deeper and more significant than it would otherwise be," Scorsone adds.

And because Violet (Amy Brenneman) was raped in college, she will help to guide Charlotte. It "opens up a story between a survivor from a college-age and this story of an immediate victim, having to learn how to become a survivor," Strickland says. "It's not always the easiest thing to come to grips with and certainly not in the hours that pass because so much happens."

Next to Charlotte, her fiancé Cooper (Paul Adelstein) will take the attack the hardest. "She's a very strong woman and he has a lot of trouble seeing her so compromised," says Adelstein, who didn't see Strickland in the full makeup until they shot the first reaction scene, hoping to capture an authentic moment. "He's actively pushing Charlotte to be more present in the investigation and calling the police. He's really encouraging her to close this thing."

"I think all of the helplessness, all of the rage, all of the confusion, the element of him not having been able to prevent it, all comes into play," Strickland adds.

The small victories will come in Cooper attempting to make her smile, though she'll be the one trying to buck-up for Cooper's sake. "At one point she gets afraid that he's going to leave her because they're not back to normal," Adelstein says, adding that Cooper will also be in the dark for several episodes before learning the true nature of her attack.

Exiting Sam's beach house, the Georgia native heads to a hallway in the hospital set, where the media village and director's chairs have been cleared away for her to film the PSA that will air with Thursday's episode.

In one take, Strickland delivers this video message.

Watch Strickland discuss Thursday's episode.

RAINN's 24-hour national hotline can be reached at 800 656-HOPE or by going to online.rainn.org.

SANE A - The Male Perspective

2010-11-08T09:00:00.002-05:00

By Peter Eisert, BS, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P

Human beings rarely allow their face to truly express what is deep in their soul. It is something we typically guard against. When you see the emotional pain, confusion, fright, shock, and sadness occurring simultaneously on the face of a patient that was raped, it sticks with you.

It has been three years since this image was etched into my memory, but when I close my eyes I can see her face as if I just met her yesterday. When my pager goes off and I begin my drive to the emergency department, the glimpse of her damaged soul invades my consciousness. I am glad it does, as it was at that moment that I really knew that I wanted to be a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE).

The decision to join a sexual assault forensic examiner (SAFE) team is not an easy one. Beyond the personal evaluation of time, commitment, education, personal experiences, and vicarious trauma that we each need to consider, some nurses have other considerations to ponder and overcome to become a SANE. One group of nurses, are men.

When the thought of joining the SAFE team first entered my mind, I decided I needed to learn more about the role. My first step was searching the internet and I discovered no academic sites discussing men as SANEs. Instead, I found blogs that described men caring for sexual assault victims as “gross” or with comments such as, “if I was just raped I wouldn’t let a man touch me.” I then asked some of my nursing colleagues their thoughts and received mixed feedback about men in this role.

I was not ready to give up all hope about the possibility of being a SANE. I decided to do a literature review. My search yielded no results for the men in this career. Fortunately, I found dozens of articles and other references that discussed SANEs. In a single article, the author mentioned men being on their SANE team. I also found a paragraph addressing male SANEs in Virginia Lynch’s Forensic Nursing textbook (2006). I was elated to find these and set out to contact the authors.

After several weeks, I was able to correspond with these two men and we discussed their role as sexual assault nurses. Their words were encouraging. They both had been providing forensic nursing care for years with extremely rare instances where the patient refused them solely on their gender. They both had felt some resistance early on, but that quickly dissipated. With this encouraging news, I made the decision to apply to the SAFE team and became the first male SANE in our institution.

Since joining the team three years ago, I have yet to have a patient, pediatric or adult, decline my services once I have met with them. There were a few cases early on that patients did ask for a female nurse. These were due to the staff’s introduction of me. For example, “the male forensic nurse is on call today, is that okay?” This question undermines my ability to connect with the patient and results in a “no” response. If the staff feels it necessary to let the patient know that I am male, I ask them to say, “Pete is our forensic nurse today and he will be caring for you.” This still conveys to the patient I am a man, but allows me the opportunity to connect with them.

The forensic exam is all about our patients and I do give them opportunity to decline my services and opt for one of my female colleagues. So far, not one patient has taken the offer.

When I meet my patient, I immediately begin to return the power and control that they lost in the assault. I am acutely aware of my body language. I try to sit eye level or even lower than them. If the only chair in the room would position me higher than my patient, I ask to switch places with the advocate or friend of the patient, or I sit on the floor. As the exam transitions from patient history to physical/forensic exam, I remind the patient that we can stop at any time for any reason and I have a female healthcare provider in the room with me. As I perform the exam, I ask the patient if I can touch them, especially when examining intimate areas of their body. I also feel it is very important to keep them covered as much as possible to maintain their dignity and privacy.

One area that I personally struggle with is therapeutic touch. I am not a “touchy-feely” kind of guy, but when caring for my patients and their families in my regular job, I am not afraid to hold their hand, put an arm around them, or give a hug. These moments are spontaneous and not always predictable. I understand that the patients I work with in the SANE role have been touched when there was no invitation and I don’t want to re-traumatize them with a spontaneous touch.

Becoming a SANE has affected my life many ways. I have felt an excitement about nursing that I have not experienced in years. The combination of forensic and nursing science is fascinating to me and I have read more research since joining the team, than I have in first ten years of my career. This has led me to participate in research and conduct evidence based practice projects that will hopefully improve outcomes for patients who are victims of violence.

While my overall experience as a SANE has been wonderful, I do look at the world from a new perspective. When I watch the children in my neighborhood walk up the street from the bus stop, I now think to myself that 1 in 5 of the girls will be victims of an attempted or completed rape and 1 in 3 will be an abusive relationship. When this runs through my mind, I long for the days of ignorant bliss. These thoughts, however, have motivated me to actively speak on the subject of sexual and interpersonal violence.

My experience as a SANE has taught me that what is often more important to these patients is the genuine care and concern for them, not the nurse’s gender. Whether you are a “female” or “male” nurse, each SANE has the ability to positively impact the patients whom we see, helping them transition from victim to survivor.

ReferencesLedray, LE. (2006). Sexual Assault. In Virginia Lynch (Ed.), Forensic Nursing (pp. 279-291). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.

Peter J. Eisert started his healthcare career as a medic in the U.S. Army. After serving, he attended Penn State University and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing. Pete has worked in the Neonatal ICU for more than fourteen years. He also is a member of York Hospital’s Forensic Nurse Examiner Team and is SANE-A and SANE-P certified. peisert@wellspan.org.

Fears of juror biases often prevent rape cases from making it to trial, Cuyahoga County prosecutors say

2010-11-05T08:59:00.002-04:00

by Leila Atassi, Plain Dealer on October 24, 2010

One factor can trump all others when prosecutors are deciding whether to take a sex assault case to trial or to give the accused a plea deal: the public's preconceived notions of what constitutes rape.

More than most crimes, rape stirs emotions within the public consciousness and prompts gut reactions to the circumstances and characters involved. Prosecutors often feel they have to review their cases with consideration to how the facts might play on a jury. And that means many cases are never brought to trial or are pleaded down to lesser charges or sometimes to non-sex-related offenses that exempt the defendant from having to register as a sex offender.
According to a Plain Dealer analysis, defendants accepted plea deals in about 70 percent of the 2,477 sex crimes cases indicted in Cuyahoga County between 2004 and 2008.

Of those, more than 18 percent pleaded guilty only to non-sex offenses. And among the minority of cases that were decided by juries, about 18 percent of defendants were acquitted of all sex charges.

Consider the case of Jayson Murphy, whose guilt or innocence hinged on whether a Cuyahoga County jury believed his story or his former girlfriend's.

Murphy did not deny that he took photos of his naked, unconscious girlfriend, presumably drugged, lewdly posed with sex toys and his dirty underwear draped over her face.

But for months before that night last fall, the couple had been having kinky consensual sex, role playing and snapping photos. For a panel of Cuyahoga County jurors, what they labeled "implied consent" was enough to acquit Murphy of rape.

"She was a hypocrite," one juror said in an interview after the verdict was announced. "If she didn't take those photos originally, I would have been more in her favor. But their relationship was all about lust and infatuation and role playing. That was a big factor."

Looking to plant seed of reasonable doubt
Jurors, as community members, often adopt biases and expectations of appropriate behavior by victims before and after reporting a sexual assault and during the attack itself, said Lisa Frohmann, a Chicago-based sociologist who has studied prosecutorial decision-making in rape cases.

"Jurors make assumptions about women who are from a different socioeconomic background or who might lead a lifestyle they deem unsafe or inappropriate but is completely acceptable in communities with lots of poverty or drugs," Frohmann said. "Society tends to have ideas about who really can be raped, what a real rape victim is."

Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Dave Zimmerman, major-trials supervisor under Prosecutor Bill Mason, said every element of the victim's story and lifestyle -- whether she uses drugs, had consented previously to sex with her attacker, willingly let him into the house or waited days before reporting the assault -- can become fodder for defense attorneys looking to plant the seed of reasonable doubt in the minds of jurors.

Under Ohio's Rape Shield law, evidence of a victim's past sexual activity or reputation of promiscuity cannot be admitted into trial. However, pregnancy, disease or semen from a source other than the defendant can open the door for defense lawyers to grill the victim on her sex life.

And unless the defendant chooses to testify, judges often ban prosecutors from presenting evidence of a defendant's prior convictions -- leaving the victim's behavior exposed to greater scrutiny than the offender's.

Murphy took the stand in his own defense, so jurors learned of his 2001 attempted domestic violence conviction. But they were unaware of a rape accusation against him that never made it past the grand jury in 1993.

Trying to figure out which strategy is best
In most sexual assault cases, the victim knows her attacker. So jurors tend to dissect the nature of that relationship in the deliberating room, Zimmerman said.

Prosecutors seek to detect biases during the jury selection process, when lawyers ask questions to vet the pool of potential jurors for their opinions on issues germane to the case. But truthfulness is not always guaranteed. Defense lawyers, as they did in the Murphy case, have the power to strike from the panel any juror who might have a personal connection to a sexual assault victim and understands the complexities of prosecuting such crimes.

Often, offering the defendant a plea deal not only spares the victim the trauma of reliving the attack on the witness stand, but it also means the defendant won't get away without a conviction, Zimmerman said.

"As a trial strategy, I'd rather have a plea than a not guilty," Zimmerman said. "It brings some satisfaction to the victim. And sometimes, going to trial to have the defendant register as a sex offender is not worth the risk of him being found not guilty."

But plea agreements carry their own risks.

Prosecutors say decisions to offer plea deals in sex crimes cases are not made lightly. They must take into account the strength of the evidence, the victim's well-being and how a jury will perceive elements of the case.

Such was the case in 2007, when Steven Othberg, then 21, was accused of molesting a 5-year-old girl whom he was entrusted to baby-sit.

The case made it past a grand jury and was indicted. But evidence was scarce, the young victim's story was inconsistent, and prosecutors worried that the lifestyle of the victim's parents would make a bad impression on the jury. The girl had two mothers, one of whom worked as a drag king at a local gay bar and was headed to work a late-night shift when Othberg baby-sat.

Prosecutors offered Othberg a chance to plead guilty to endangering children. As part of the plea, a sexually violent predator specification was dropped. And Othberg, who was sentenced to the single day he already had served in the County Jail, was free to go without the stigmatizing sex offender label.

But shortly afterward, he moved to Arizona, where he made a 3-year-old Scottsdale boy take off his clothes and Othberg -- again, the baby sitter -- touched him. Prosecutors had no trouble proving their case this time; Othberg had taken photos on his cell phone. In 2009, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and was placed in Arizona's most dangerous tier of sexual offenders, required to register and wear a GPS tracking device for life.

Zimmerman, who signs off on the decisions that assistant county prosecutors make, said that, at the time, he made the best possible call based on the circumstances of the case, the weaknesses in the victim's testimony and the overall low likelihood of conviction on a rape charge.

"We make those tough decisions every day," Zimmerman said. "We do right by our victims and the community, and we believe in our cases. Knowing that a person is free who we believe committed a violent act -- that hurts. But sometimes there's nothing we can do about it, besides hope we'll get him the next time."

A move to ban plea deals in sex offense cases
One state legislator in New York says that's not good enough. After conducting his own study of sexual assault case dispositions in his district, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky proposed a bill that he says is designed to prevent tragic conclusions like that in the Othberg case.

The bill would prohibit prosecutors in New York from offering plea deals in sex offense cases altogether, forcing them to take the case to trial, indict on lesser crimes or drop the charges.
"There are times when it makes sense to offer a plea agreement for some kinds of crimes," Brodsky said in a recent interview. "But there are many more times when really bad guys plead out of the sex offender category, we give them a 'get out of jail free' pass, then they come out and do it again."

Brodsky said that if prosecutors have enough evidence to indict a case, they should have enough to take it to trial. He argues that prosecutors plead out weak cases only because they don't want a loss on their records.

Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Anna Faraglia, who handled the Murphy case and has spent the past decade prosecuting sex crimes and murder cases, dismisses Brodsky's reasoning. She argues that banning all plea deals is insensitive to the needs of victims, could lead to backlogs on the docket and in the end means guilty defendants will walk.

"It's a whole different perspective when you're on the outside looking in," Faraglia said. "People don't know what goes into a plea. It's not because we don't think we can go forward. But it's also not as open and shut as it seems on TV. We're dealing with human emotions and sexuality and relationships. And at the end of the day, it's all about the 12 people you put in that box."
It all comes down to what jurors see, think and feel

Although jurors acquitted Murphy of rape, they convicted him of four counts of sexual battery -- a charge that carries a much lower burden of proof. Prosecutors had to show only that sexual conduct occurred, that the victim was substantially impaired and that the couple were not married.

Common Pleas Judge Peter Corrigan sentenced Murphy to 20 years in prison and labeled him a Tier III sex offender, required to register every 90 days for life. The judge said in a recent interview that he took into consideration Murphy's record and what appeared to be a dangerous and escalating pattern of crimes against women.

But that information was largely unavailable to jurors, who said they considered other factors in their decision to acquit on the rape charge.

One juror pointed out that the couple started dating after they met in traffic court, a dubious place to find a mate. They smoked marijuana together and shared a sexual relationship that included text messaging each other photos that were so risque, they made jurors blush with embarrassment to review them in the jury room.

"I can't believe some of the stuff that goes on -- what some people do," said one juror, who was in his 70s. "There are so many words that I've spoken this week that I had never even heard before."

Although Faraglia said the victim broke down in tears upon leaving the courtroom, some jurors said after the trial that they didn't feel the victim was emotional enough during her testimony.
She seemed more embittered by the relationship than traumatized by the attack, they said. Jurors admitted that the case did not fit with their prior perceptions of rape.

Many on the panel had agreed with Faraglia during jury selection that someone who is unconscious cannot issue consent.

But some later said they still struggled with the notion that a woman could be raped by someone with whom she previously had consented to more graphic sex than what occurred on the night in question.

"My idea of rape was always intimidation, violence, bruises," one juror said. "Nothing like this -- with two people who just met, living together and sexing each other on a consistent basis. She tried to present herself as the victim all the time. But if he didn't show her the pictures he took with his camera, who knows? She probably would still be with him."

For profiles of 5 plea deals offered by prosecutors, click here.

Allow Me to Introduce ... Chioke Barkari!

2010-11-04T09:01:00.001-04:00

It seems like a good time to introduce you to Chioke Barkari as she's now celebrating her first anniversary as a Hotline Advocate!

What led you to volunteer with the CRCC?
I was a women ’s studies major in college and had previous involvement working with women’s issues and organizations. I wanted to continue that involvement at home in Cleveland.

What do you enjoy most about volunteering with the CRCC?
I enjoy being able to provide any help I can offer to make someone’s experience dealing with sexual assault a little easier.

What do you find most challenging about volunteering with the CRCC?
There can be some really heavy and emotional calls. I just try to keep in mind how much I’m possibly helping just by listening to someone’s story and supporting them even if I can’t provide a concrete solution to their problem.

Do you have a favorite experience as a volunteer?
I enjoyed training a lot and meeting so many other people interested in supporting such an important cause. It’s really fun running into other volunteers from training out and about and at CRCC events like the poker festival.

Chioke (on the left) with a friend

What do you enjoy doing when you're not volunteering?
When I'm not volunteering with the hotline, I actually enjoy volunteering for other social causes. Besides that I like the usual ... watching movies, museums, reading, trying to be athletic.

If money wasn’t an issue, describe your ideal vacation.
Well, I’m sort of obsessed with shows about travel eating like No Reservations and Spain …On the Road Again. I also really loved the eating section of Eat Pray Love so my dream vacation would mostly consist of eating my way through an entire country. I’d do some site seeing and cultural stuff of course and try to meet locals but my focus would really be food. I’d love to do this in Greece. I’d take my best friend Crystal who loves eating and traveling too.

If you won the lottery, how would you spend the money?
Pay off student loans. Travel. Grad School.

What is your dream car?
A Smart Car

Favorites
Book: This changes the more I read. I love The Heidi Chronicles, it’s a play but oh well.

Movie: Pedro Almodovar films especially Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

Website or blog: I like to browse a lot of vegan blogs and enjoy 101cookbooks.com.

Vacation spot: Acapulco

Meal: Dolmas

Sports team/athlete: Rafael Nadal

Misconceptions about rape remain and are a burden to victims

2010-11-03T08:49:00.002-04:00

by Rachel Dissell, Plain Dealer on October 24, 2010

Our mistaken ideas about what rape is start as early as preschool, with lessons about "stranger danger."

Sensational news reports about women attacked in dark alleys by unknown perverts add to the confusion, as messages about who we say the bad guys are get pounded into the public consciousness.

But the majority of rapists and molesters don't lurk in dark corners. They are often people we know -- relatives, neighbors, dates. Rapes don't always fit the patterns we've come to expect.
Our wrong-headed perceptions create a conundrum for victims, detectives and prosecutors, who must decide whether to battle the myths and pursue justice or avoid a spectacle of second-guessing and blaming the victim that, some say, can be as traumatic as being sexually violated -- like a second rape.

"Victims of rape often don't get justice simply because public perception does not match reality," said Megan O'Bryan, president and chief executive of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center.

Part of the center's mission is to end those myths through education and advocacy.

But that can be of little solace for victims tangled in the system now. "It is such a slow process due to a culture that still seeks to blame the victim," O'Bryan said.

Decades of national studies and victim surveys back up anecdotal evidence that says that more than 60 percent of sexual crime victims are attacked by friends, dates, former boyfriends, husbands or relatives -- people they know.

In Cleveland, that number is even higher. Of 339 rapes reported this year through July, nearly 75 percent involved someone the victim knew.

Many times alcohol or drugs are involved. And often there is little evidence of physical injury. Cases typified as "he said, she said" are the least likely to be reported and most likely to go unprosecuted.

Unfortunately, sexual perpetrators understand those same biases and exploit them, said Sgt. Liz Donegan of the Austin Police Department, known for its work in combating sex crimes.

"As a society, we are allowing these crimes to happen to a certain extent," she said.

"Perpetrators know we will blame victims and challenge their credibility."

For more than eight years the Austin department has collected information on sexual assaults it handles.

And it is fighting the rape culture by sharpening its investigative techniques toward the typical victim -- rather than concentrating on the less common stranger cases.

A special commission appointed by Mayor Frank Jackson this year to examine how sexual assault cases are handled in Cleveland referred to Austin's work in many of its recommendations for change.

Donegan, who has supervised the adult sex crimes unit for eight years, said police and prosecutors need to push back against the cultural myths among the public -- and within their own professions.

"It's realizing that there's often alcohol involved and that there's often no injuries. And that most of the time the investigation is going to be hard and going to come down to a consent issue," Donegan said.

"Being a police officer, you want to see things in black and white," she said. "Sex crimes are almost always gray."

There was a perception that the cases were lousy, that the victims were not credible, Donegan said. The department leadership educated officers and began demanding that the so-called acquaintance rapes be investigated with the same vigor as stranger rapes. Attitudes began to change, and the more challenging cases got worked on, she said.

But that doesn't mean that all the cases are solved or that all the victims feel great about the process.

Detectives still have to walk a fine line between their duties as impartial investigators and the need to let victims know the criminal justice system supports them. And they have to give victims the ultimate choice and control over whether they want to participate in a prosecution, Donegan said.

In Austin, advocates employed by the department and the courts have played an increasingly larger role in sex-crimes cases. They respond to 9-1-1 calls and go to hospitals. They prepare victims for what types of questions to expect when interviewed by detectives. They explain each step in the case. And if the case goes to court, they are there, too.

Until recently in Cleveland, volunteer and professional rape crisis center advocates were mainly linked with victims when referred by hospitals, by detectives or, further down the line, by prosecutors.

Now, the rape crisis center has a victim advocate stationed in the sex crimes unit to review all reports and quickly offer help to victims-- whether they choose to prosecute or not.

Most people who report sexual attacks drop out of the process after making the initial report, according to a Plain Dealer analysis of reports from 2004 through 2008.

Detectives' reports often note that the victims can't be found or decide not to cooperate with the investigation. Less than 30 percent of reported cases ever make it to court.

Current members of the Sex Crimes & Child Abuse Unit declined to talk about how public perception plays into their interaction with victims.

O'Bryan said that pursuing prosecution isn't always the best decision for many rape victims.

"It is a personal decision that balances many factors including what is going on it that victim's life and the fact that many perpetrators are known and trusted by the victim, making it a less 'believable' rape," O'Bryan said.

"Many victims don't want their experiences scrutinized or to sit face-to-face from their perpetrator in court through a lengthy and often re-victimizing process. So they decide it is simply better for their healing not to prosecute."

But that decision has to be one that is made after a case is investigated and a victim is fully informed, said Donegan.

"We want victims to have that choice and that control," she said. "But if the default is not going forward because it's easier, then you will never challenge the status quo."

The time ...

2010-11-02T09:07:00.003-04:00

The time is always right

to do what is right.

-Martin Luther King Jr.

2010-11-01T09:10:00.001-04:00

from Megan O'Bryan, President and CEO

Cleveland Rape Crisis Center was surprised the other day by our local FBI Director, Frank Figliuzzi and several of his colleagues with the presentation of a national recognition: The FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award.

This award is presented for outstanding community service and enduring contributions to the advancement of justice.

Local FBI offices can nominate a partner organization each year for the award. We are so honored and excited that our local FBI nominated CRCC and that we were chosen!

The award will be presented to us by the FBI’s Director, Robert S. Mueller, III, at a ceremony at FBI headquarters in Washington DC on March 18th. I accepted this award, somewhat speechless, on behalf of the entire staff team at CRCC, recognizing we all work together to advance justice for sexual assault victims.
In his comments Mr. Figliuzzi stated that CRCC was nominated due to our partnership in advocacy work with the FBI. This relationship has been in development for many years and we now are called to work collaboratively with the FBI in providing services to human trafficking victims and sex crimes victims within FBI jurisdiction. Mr. Figliuzzi also stated that the work of the Special Commission (continued by CRCC) urged greater collaboration between CPD and the FBI. This has directly led to the assignment of two CPD detectives to the FBI’s Violent Fugitive Task Force.

CRCC is so pleased to be recognized for our work to foster greater collaboration and advocate for victims! Publicity around this will be done in March 2011, closer to the time we accept that award, but I wanted to let you know now! A picture from yesterday’s presentation is attached. Here’s a little info about the award from FBI’ s website:

Honoring Community Leaders

It's a fact: the FBI can only conduct investigations and protect the American people from crime and acts of extremism if it has the support and understanding of the American people. That's why the special agents in charge of each of our 56 field offices work so closely with their communities and community organizations.

So what happens when these special agents in charge get such tremendous support from people in their communities that they want to specially recognize them?

They nominate them for a Director's Community Leadership Award.

This special award, presented on behalf of the Director of the FBI, was formally created in 1990 as a way to honor individuals and organizations for their efforts in combating crime, terrorism, drugs, and violence in America. We invite you to visit your local field office website for details on the program in your area, but we would like to capture here the names and organizations of the people who have most recently been recognized around the country for their service above and beyond the call of duty to help keep America and its kids safe.

The honorees come from all walks of life. They include a mayor and a pastor, an imam and an investigative reporter, a pediatrician and a former professional football player. Many have worked with us directly—to investigate and prevent crime and terrorism, to raise awareness about our mission, to build new and stronger relationships with all segments of society, or to publicize wanted fugitives and missing persons.

- 2009 Winners

- 2008 Winners

October's Continuing Education

2010-10-29T09:01:00.002-04:00

Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in this month’s Continuing Education Event- Call + Response.

I was very excited at the number of friends who were brought to this month’s event.

Call + Response was made because a musician, Justin Dillan, became aware of human trafficking as an issue and wanted to do something about it. He wanted to do a concert benefit for the cause but was not able to get all of the musicians he wanted in one place at one time so they decided to film different acts at different times.

Some of the music that was in the movie was very moving. One of the songs was called War Child and was by a man, Emmanuel Jal, who was forced to fight in a militia group as a small child. The song was his story.

Emmanuel Jal's story is not only one of war and violence, but also one of reconciliation and peace. His music puts his experiences into words. As a child, in 1987, Jal was taken from his family in Sudan and trained to serve in the rebel army, Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). In almost five years, Jal fought in two civil wars as a child soldier. He was smuggled to Nairobi, Kenya, by a British aid worker, Emma McClune.

Once Justin started getting musicians to take part in his movie he also started talking to people who were experts on the issue. Their interviews also got added to the movie.

One of the people we heard from was Nicholas Kristof who is a reporter for the New York Times. Nicholas actually ended up buying two girls to try to get them out of slavery.

Kristof provides a key element to the film's interpretation of modern day slavery through his personal and professional experience. He has spent extensive time in Southeast Asia, investigating and reporting on modern sex slavery. In 2004 he took the provocative step of offering to buy the freedom of two young women in a Cambodian brothrel, Srey Neth and Srey Mom. He used his column in the New York Times to share his experience with readers and to help illuminate the plight of millions worldwide. His incisive stories continue to give a voice to the voiceless victims of human trafficking.

Again I am so glad that we were able to get together and watch this movie. I think that the hotline is a way for Human Trafficking Victims to feel safe reaching out for help as it is an anonymous. We may come in contact with these people in the hospital on F2F calls. Its important for us to be aware and mindful of the issue with the work we do.

10 Things You Need to Know about Ohio House Bill 319 - Address Confidentiality Program

2010-10-28T09:17:00.002-04:00

from OAESV

1. What is an Address Confidentiality Program? - An Address Confidentiality Program is a program that will protect the personal address information of victims of violent crimes. Because some databases used by public agencies (such as voter registration records) are available for public review, a victim who is trying to participate in society without risking further abuse may not feel at ease while exercising their basic rights, signing up for public assistance, or interacting with any state agency.

2. Bill History: On December 8, 2009, State Representative Kathleen Chandler (D-68) introduced a bill to the Ohio House of Representatives calling for an Address Confidentiality Program to be implemented in Ohio. As of April 14, 2010, House Bill 391 has passed through the Ohio House unanimously and moved into the Senate. The Senate's State and Local Government and Veterans Affairs Committee did not schedule a hearing for House Bill 391 before taking their summer recess. A hearing is expected to be scheduled when the Ohio Legislature reconvenes in the next few weeks. As a result, action to help pass HB 391 is needed today.

3. What steps can I take to help ensure passage of House Bill 391? - By contacting your State Senator, you can show your support of this program and encourage its swift passage in to law. Please use the Ohio Senator locator tool to determine who your State Senator is and how to contact them. Read the information below to formulate your argument for the importance of passing H.B. 391. Reach out to your constituents, members of your board of directors, membership, those you serve - and let them know that without increased pressure on our State Senators, H.B. 391 may not have a final hearing. Please remember, however, that all communication to the senators should remain positive.

4. How will an Address Confidentiality Program help to protect victims of violent crimes? - An Address Confidentiality Program is designed to prevent offenders from using state and local government records to locate their victims by substituting an ACP participant's true address with an address designated by the Secretary of State. By using an alternate address, a P.O. Box rather than a physical address, a victim may be able to more fully protect themselves from their abusers.

5. How does someone participate in an Address Confidentiality Program? - Under the current draft of this legislation, a participant will complete an application and send it to the Secretary of State's office. They could also apply through an Application Assistant as part of a "Safety Plan," or directly at the Secretary of State's office.

6. What steps will be in place to protect a participant's personal information? - Victims who reasonably fear for their safety may enroll in an Address Confidentiality Program, which will shield their true home, work, or school address from the public. The Secretary of State's office will maintain a post office box address which program participants will use as a substitute for this information. Governmental entities will be prohibited from making a participant's true address part of public record, and will be required to accept the substitute address in place of a participant's true address. Law enforcement personnel will be able to access an ACP participant's information through secure channels in the event of an emergency, as established via a Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretary of State's office and the office of the Ohio Attorney General.

7. How will victims find information regarding an Address Confidentiality Program? - The program will utilize coordination of information-sharing amongst service providers serving victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The Secretary of State's office will work collaboratively to ensure that statewide, regional, and county officials assisting victims have information about the newly-developed program. This will be accomplished through the use of partnerships with various non-profit organizations, public service announcements, and targeted media outreach efforts.

8. 37 other states have an Address Confidentiality Program. Why doesn't Ohio? - Although previous attempts to pass this type of legislation have stalled here in Ohio, now is the time for this well-positioned and well-timed legislation to move forward, to help protect victims in Ohio.

9. Please remember, your help is needed to pass HB 391 and action is needed NOW. The Ohio Senate must hear from members of the community that serve victims to understand the importance of extending this crucial type of protection to those that have lived in fear long enough. Contact your state senators and educate them about how this bill will impact the lives of survivors that you know in Ohio.

10. For more information or to find out how to assist with House Bill 391 and the Address Confidentiality Program which would result from its passing, please contact Dean Hindenlang at: Dean M. Hindenlang Strategic Planning & Projects Coordinator Voting Rights Institute Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner 180 East Broad Street, 15th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215 dhindenl@sos.state.oh.us (614) 995-1619 - Phone *A special thank you to OAESV Board Vice President, Dean M. Hindenlang, and the Voting Rights Institute at the Ohio Secretary of State for their assistance in providing OAESV with information about HB 391.

Imperial Avenue Ignites Change

2010-10-27T09:06:00.001-04:00

Dear Friends,

Last year at this time, our community was shocked by the discovery of 11 women found murdered in the Imperial Avenue home of a convicted rapist in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. As we approach the anniversary of this tragedy, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center honors these women - women who were mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, and friends to so many.

We offer the community this progress report, highlighting the community's response over the last 12 months and our collective opportunity to turn tragedy into change. The Imperial Avenue crisis caused us to ask critical questions and taught us difficult, but important lessons:
Rape is underreported and misunderstood.

Women who come forward to say they were raped must be believed and supported.

There are thousands of rape survivors living in silence, as indicated by the double-digit growth in each of CRCC's programs last year.

Vulnerable populations such as those who are poor, drug-addicted and/or homeless are at extreme risk of sexual assault and murder.

Tragedy can galvanize a community and create opportunity for change. Read more lessons.

The Imperial Avenue case caused many in the community to demand change. We applaud Mayor Frank G. Jackson and the City of Cleveland Division of Police, The Plain Dealer, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and even the United States Senate for making sure these deaths were not in vain, but a catalyst to improve our community's response to sexual violence.

Cleveland Rape Crisis Center has been and will remain on the front lines, advocating for the rights of rape survivors and pushing for change. Read more about our response.

Our involvement with the Mayor's Special Commission on Missing Persons and Sex Crimes Investigations, and now the Oversight Committee, elevates the response for victims of sexual assault. As an advocacy organization, it is CRCC's role to update the public on the implementation of the recommendations. Overall, we believe strong progress has been made to enhance sex crimes investigations seven months later. Here is a snapshot of that progress. Read full report.

The word "crisis" written in Chinese is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other opportunity. While we continue to mourn the loss of 11 women from our city, we join others in seeking opportunity to make sure this never happens to our sisters again.

Sincerely,

Megan O'Bryan
President & CEO

Lara Stone's Calvin Klein Jeans ad banned in Australia for being 'suggestive of violence and rape'

2010-10-26T08:53:00.002-04:00

from the Daily Mail

A risqué Calvin Klein Jeans campaign, starring Lara Stone, has been banned in Australia after the country's Advertising Standards Bureau decided that it was 'suggestive of violence and rape'.

Controversial: A new Calvin Klein Jeans ad campaign, starring David Walliams' supermodel wife Lara Stone, has been banned in Australia for being 'suggestive of violence and rape'

The advertisement sparked a storm of complaints from sexual assault workers and women's groups after it was posted on billboards across the country. It shows her head is rested on the lap of one, while she is straddled by another.

A spokesman from the Advertising Standards Bureau said that the image was demeaning to both men and women.

'The Board considered that whilst the act depicted could be consensual, the overall impact and most likely impression is that the scene is suggestive of violence and rape,' he said.

'The Board considered that the image was demeaning to women by suggesting that she is a plaything of these men.

'It also demeans men by implying sexualised violence against women.'

Clinical psychologist Alison Grundy, who works with victims of sexual assault, said that the use of sexual violence as a marketing tool was 'a dangerous new low'.

'If we continue to subject future generations of young men to great barrages of aggressive, misogynist, over-sexualised and violent imagery in pornography, movies, computer games and advertising, we will continue to see the rates of sexual violence against women and children that continue unabated today,' she said.

The ad is available to be seen here. Please be forewarned it's highly suggestive and laced with overtones of violence (thus the outcry).

10 Links About Bullying

2010-10-25T09:14:00.001-04:00

from the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence

Given the increased attention that bullying has been getting in the media lately as a result of tragic incidents that have occurred in Ohio and nationwide, it is an important time to address the intersections of bullying and sexual violence. The following links provide statewide and national resources, editorials and research about bullying, the intersections of bullying and sexual violence and information about what concerned community members can do to prevent bullying.

1. An editorial by the Dayton Daily News stresses the need for anti-bullying policies in Ohio's schools. "Suicides make anti-bullying policies essential."

2. This RH Reality Check editorial discusses a case study of how bullying is linked to sexual violence in schools. "From Bullying to Sexual Violence: When School Officials Fail to Act."

3. This Ohio Department of Education - Bullying Prevention Resources link provides Ohio specific information and has links to a model Anti-Harassment, Anti-Intimidation, and Anti-Bullying Policy for schools, training and presentation resources, and fact sheets for parents and kids. http://tinyurl.com/27kbhyf

4. On October 27, 2010, at 1:00 p.m. E.T., the Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Working Group is hosting an upcoming webcast, entitled "Keeping the Momentum Going: A Webcast Follow-up to the Federal Bullying-Prevention Summit." The webcast will bring together organizational, federal, and academic leaders in addition to teachers, principals, school resource officers, students, and parents to continue the national conversation on bullying prevention. Register online at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register827891504.

5. An important and moving message from Ellen DeGeneres about bullying particularly as it relates to LGBTQI teenagers: http://tinyurl.com/2fzkfha. Ellen's website also provides a number of links to organizations that are all devoted to ending bullying: http://tinyurl.com/2wa47ku.

6. A Canton Repository editorial about recent teen suicides caused by bullying in Mentor, Ohio. "Peer pressure aside, children take their behavioral cues from the adults in their lives. Disparaging comments made at home about certain groups, or about people perceived as somehow different, are viewed by kids as the go-ahead for bullying." Bullying has taken toxic, deadly turn: - http://tinyurl.com/3y3bd64

7. Education.com provides a number of articles, fact sheets, and other resources for parents and kids about bullying in school as well as cyber bullying. http://www.education.com/topic/school-bullying-teasing/

8. Stop Bullying Now! The US Department of Health and Human Services offers flash movies, games, and information about bullying and how to prevent it. www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/

9. A research paper on "The theoretical and empirical links between bullying behavior and male sexual violence perpetration." This paper present results from a review of research on bullying and sexual violence and discusses the potential shared and unique risk and protective factors of each subject within a social-ecological framework. The paper concludes with suggested directions for future research. http://tinyurl.com/3aykd5l

10. Stop Bullying Now! This organization's website presents practical research-based strategies to reduce bullying in schools and also provides further resources and training materials. http://www.stopbullyingnow.com/index.html

Rape Culture on Yale's Campus

2010-10-22T08:06:00.002-04:00

from Mike Scur, Hotline Advocate since Fall 2009

In case you haven't heard, a fraternity on Yale's campus was shouting "No
means yes, yes means anal" among other statements through Yale's old campus
(where many female students stay).
If this isn't an example of rape culture, I'm not sure what is.

Here is the link to the story:
http://www.salon.com/life/violence_against_women/?story=/mwt/broadsheet/2010/10/15/yale_fraternity_pledges_chant_about_rape

And here is the story:

Sometimes, the post just writes itself: On Wednesday night, Delta Kappa Epsilon pledges marched through Yale's Old Campus -- where most first-year female students are housed -- chanting, "No means yes, yes means anal!" The fraternity pledges were marched blindfolded while barking like soldiers ... with marching orders of anal rape. They also threw in, "My name is Jack, I'm a necrophiliac, I fuck dead women." A video of the initiation was immediately posted on YouTube and, what do you know, it's gone viral.

Now, DKE President Jordan Forney has been forced to apologize for this blatant sexual intimidation by calling it "a serious lapse in judgment by the fraternity and in very poor taste." But this sort of hateful crap isn't a "lapse in judgment." It doesn't innocently happen that you're guiding male pledges by young women's dorms in the dark of night chanting about anal rape. It isn't a forehead-slapping slip-up, it's a sign that you need major reprogramming as a human being. Student feminist magazine Broad Recognition has it right: It's calling for Yale to take disciplinary action against DKE -- where George W. Bush got his presidential training -- "on behalf of its female students."

And here are some additional links to other coverage of this:

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2010/10/17/yale-fraternitys-chant-reveals-depth-cultures-misogyny

http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2010/oct/18/the-womens-center-must-continue-to-break-the/

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2010/10/18/yale-daily-news-editorial-rape-song-gets-dangerously-wrong-rape-culture

Suggested Books and Movies from RAINN

2010-10-21T08:59:00.001-04:00

from http://www.rainn.org/

Books on Recovery

The Rape Recovery Handbook: Step-By-Step Help for Survivors of Sexual Assault, by Aphrodite Matsakis
Recovering from Rape, by Linda Ledray
Journey to Wholeness, by Monique Lang
If You are Raped, by Alan McEnvoy
The Sexual Healing Journey: A Guide for Survivors of Sexual Abuse, by Wendy Maltz
How to Survive Sexual Assault for Women, Men, Teenagers, and Their Friends and Families, by Helen Benedict
I Can't Get Over It, A Handbook for Trauma Survivors, by Aphrodite Matsakis
Hush, by Nicole Braddock Bromley

Books on Ritual Abuse

Not Without My Sister, by Celeste Jones, Christina Jones, and Juliana Buhrling

Books for Friends, Family Members and Partners

When You Are the Partner of Rape or Incest Survivor: A Workbook for You, by Robert Barry Levine

Books for Male Incest Survivors

A Beautiful World, by Gregg Milligan
Father's Touch, by Donald D'Haene

Books for Teens

It Happened to Me: Teens Guide to Overcoming Sexual Abuse, by William Lee Carter
How Long Does It Hurt: A Guide to Recovering from Incest and Sexual Abuse for Teenagers, Their Friends, and Their Families, by Cynthia Mather & Kristina Debye

Books for Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, by Ellen Bass
Hush, by Nicole Braddock Bromley
The Courage to Heal Workbook: For Women and Men Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, by Laura Davis
Voices of Courage, by Michael Domitrz
Lucky, by Alice Sebold

Books on Acquaintance Rape

I Never Called It Rape, by Robin Warshaw

Movies

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, a 2010 mystery thriller based on Stieg Larsson's international best selling novel
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, a 2009 American drama film by Geoffrey S. Fletcher
The Line, a 2009 documentary by Nancy Schwartzman
Open Window, a 2006 Showtime film by Mia Goldman

*NOTE: Fiction books & fiction movies are not meant to be references for self-help practices or cited information.*

October's Continuing Education Event

2010-10-20T09:07:00.001-04:00

October’s Continuing Education Event

On Monday October 25th at 6pm we will be watching Call and Response and having a discussion about the movie. Please find a description of the movie below.

CALL+RESPONSE is a first of its kind feature documentary
film that reveals the world's 27 million dirtiest secrets: there are more slaves
today than ever before in human history. CALL+RESPONSE goes deep undercover
where slavery is thriving from the child brothels of Cambodia to the slave brick
kilns of rural India to reveal that in 2009, Slave Traders made more money than
Google, Nike and Starbucks combined.

Who: CRCC Advocates and their friends

What: Watching and discussing the Documentary Call + Response

Where: Cleveland Rape Crisis Center Training Room

When: Monday October 25th from 6p-8p

Please RSVP to me, Sarah, letting me know that you are interested in attending. Please also let me know if you plan on bringing any friends with you.

Master the Art of Listening and Watch All Your Relationships Thrive

2010-10-19T09:14:00.001-04:00

from http://www.dailygood.org/

Obviously, this wasn't written with Advocates in mind but it definitely provides a good reminder of what an art and challenge listening can be.

No wonder listening is an undervalued art. Research shows that we speak at a rate of about 125 words per minute, yet we have the capacity to listen to approximately 400 words per minute. So what are we doing with that extra space in our minds when someone else is talking? Are we really listening?

I have a friend who used to multi-task when we spoke on the phone. He would respond appropriately to what I was saying, but I could hear him shuffling papers or trying to quietly order food at the deli (yes, this actually happened). Even though he was following the conversation, I felt bereft as I was sharing my innermost thoughts and feelings. Fortunately, our friendship was more important than his to-do list, and now I happily get his full attention.

Listening is essential to fulfilling relationships. If you are experiencing challenging interactions or you want your connections to deepen, reflect on how you can improve your listening skills. The benefits? Consider the following:

People will feel be more drawn to you; they will like you more.
You will learn something new.
You will solve problems more effectively.
You will experience less loneliness and frustration.
You will feel happier and more relaxed.

Learn to listen well, and watch all your relationships thrive. Here's how.

Pay attention
Since our brains have the capacity to process 275 more words per minute than are actually spoken, we tend to fill up the void with extraneous thoughts. Notice how when someone is speaking, you are partially listening, while simultaneously planning the rest of your day, replaying a meeting that just occurred, or deciding what you will say next. Paying attention is the cardinal rule for good listening. Hear the words, and let their meaning in. If your mind wanders, simply re-focus your attention on the conversation.

Be receptive
If you show up with an agenda, you are not going to be available to fully hear what the other person is saying. There is no problem with having goals for an interaction, but let them go while the other person is speaking so you can hear what is being expressed. Balance your need for a given outcome with your desire to sustain a harmonious relationship.

Check your understanding
Make sure you can repeat what you just heard, and if you can't, ask for clarification. You might be surprised at how much you are missing. Most people are. When you think you've gotten it, you might say, “So what you are saying is....” to verify your understanding.

Be an explorer
Explorers are open and curious. They are inquisitive, without knowing what they will find. So what to do with all of that excess brain power? Focus on the speaker. Notice body language, tone of voice, and rate of speaking. Then look beneath the words to see what feelings and needs are being communicated. You never know what you might find.

Show interest
If you find yourself bored and distracted, reconnect with the interaction. Maintain eye contact, uncross your arms, and ask questions that take the conversation deeper. Find out what really matters to the person you are speaking with.

Be patient
As much as you may be tempted, don't speak over someone who is talking. When you feel the urge to step in, take a breath, let your agenda go, and continue to listen. If you need to move the conversation along, do so politely, as in, “Excuse me, I'm so sorry for interrupting, but ….” Likewise, be careful not to jump to conclusions or assume you know what hasn't yet been said. These are all signs that your inner explorer has fallen asleep. Revitalize your experience by paying attention to what is happening in the moment.

Get out of a rut
Have you ever had the same problematic conversation with someone over and over? Bring a fresh perspective to the relationship by redoubling your efforts to listen. Let go of your need to be right or your ideas about what the other person should be saying or doing, and hear them as if for the first time. This moves you from contraction and limit to possibility and potential simply by listening.

Effective listening develops empathy, which is the capacity for a deep understanding of another's experience. And isn't that what it takes for a relationship to thrive? It's as simple as paying attention.

Love or Abuse: When Do Teen Relationships Cross the Line?

2010-10-18T08:59:00.002-04:00

Tina Croucher, age 18, loved to sing. She was the youngest of four children and a part-time college student in Ohio. In 1992, an abusive ex-boyfriend broke into her family’s home and shot her. Tina’s parents never saw it coming.

Join us to learn more about the difference between healthy teen dating and relationships that turn emotionally or physically violent. Most importantly, learn what parents, professionals and schools can do to prevent teen relationship abuse.

Tina’s parents, Jim and Elsa Croucher, will share their experience and what they have learned about teen dating violence since their daughter’s murder. The training will cover the warning signs of abusive relationships, the new state mandate for teen dating violence education in schools and local resources available to support your efforts.

Thursday, November 4

8:30 am Registration and Breakfast
9:00-10:00 am Keynote by Jim and Elsa Croucher, parents of Tina Croucher
10:00-11:30 am Teen Dating Violence Prevention Professional Training

Location: The Wuliger Center, Bellefaire JCB
22001 Fairmount Boulevard, Shaker Heights, 44118

Fee: $35 per person
Pre-Registration required, space is limited. Deadline November 1.

Register online at: www.thetinaproject.org or call 330-929-3382 for information
More information available at www.thetinaproject.org or watch the clip below ...

Do Rape Victim Advocates Make a Difference?

2010-10-15T09:11:00.000-04:00

from Rebecca Campbell at Michigan State University

Rape Survivor's Experiences With the Legal and Medical Systems
Do Rape Victim Advocates Make a Difference?

This study used a naturalistic quasi-experimental design to examine whether rape survivors who had the assistance of rape victim advocates had more positive experiences with the legal and medical systems compared to those who did not work with advocates. Eighty-one survivors were interviewed in two urban hospitals about what services they received from legal and medical system personnel and how they were treated during those interactions.

Survivors who had the assistance of an advocate were significantly more likely to have police reports taken and were less likely to be treated negatively by police officers. These women also reported less distress after their contact with the legal system.

Similarly, survivors who worked with an advocate during their emergency department care received more medical services, including emergency contraception and sexually transmitted disease prophylaxis, reported significantly fewer negative interpersonal interactions with medical system personnel, and reported less distress from their medical contact experiences.

No surprises here! We all know the importance of advocates! Interested in the entire study? Just let me know and I'll send you a copy.

Pack the Q

2010-10-14T09:14:00.000-04:00

from the United Way of Greater Cleveland

Give thanks for Wine and Gold as the Cavs skewer the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, November 24, at Quicken Loans Arena.

Buy discount tickets now and be there for this new era of Cavaliers basketball! The Cleveland Cavaliers will donate $5 for every ticket sold through this promotion to United Way of Greater Cleveland. Plus, if United Way is the top seller of tickets among the six participating nonprofits, an additional $2 for every ticket sold will be donated to help fund the 202 health and human service programs that help 450,000 Greater Cleveland residents every year.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tip-off is 7 p.m.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Upper Corner tickets for $25 (reg. $27)
Upper Side tickets for $30 (reg. $37)
Lower Level End Zone tickets for $57 (reg. $61)

...And, with this exclusive offer only through United Way of Greater Cleveland, you're welcome to stay after the game to shoot baskets from the Cavaliers hardwood!

Find out more details or go to the Cavs order form now! Download the form to purchase by mail or fax, or click on the order link to buy online. Please pass this link along to your family, friends and fellow Greater Clevelanders!

A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit United Way of Greater Cleveland. All For One. One for All. Help us Pack The Q for the Cause!

From Dr. Seuss

2010-10-13T08:58:00.003-04:00

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,

nothing is going to get better.

It's not.

-Dr. Seuss

I'm so thankful to have all of you who care a whole awful lot.

Statute of limitations for rape - looking for stories

2010-10-12T09:20:00.000-04:00

Ohio Senator Nina Turner has introduced legislation that would eliminate the statute of limitations for rape charges.

Her office is looking for "stories" from Ohioans who would support this legislation.

Have you wanted to move forward with prosecution, but couldn't because 20 years had expired? Senator Turner wants to talk to you.

The "stories" will be used in speeches, testimony and in media advocacy in support of this proposed bill. Stories can be anonymous or not.

If you have something to share, please contact:

Adam Warren
Administrative Aide
Senator Nina Turner, 25th District
(p): 614-466-4583
awarren@maild.sen.state.oh.us

Cleveland Rape Crisis Center Offers Support For Abused Boys

2010-10-08T09:16:00.003-04:00

from ONN, September 30, 2010

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center is hoping to reach out to victims of sexual abuse while they are teens.

A man, who did not want to be identified, on Thursday said that he was sexually abused between the ages of eight and 13. He never told anyone until he was in his 40s.

"I didn't tell anyone because I didn't know how to, and I didn't know that I could safely do that," he said.

The man started attending a group session for adults that were abused as children at the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center last year, ONN's Cristin Severance reported.

"It's important for us to look at male victimization, because no one else is doing it," said Alex Leslie a prevention specialist at the center. "We know that they are out there."

The center said that one out of every six boys is sexually abused in some way before they are 18. The center believes that only about 10 percent of victims report it.

"For all the young men, young and old, the stigma of appearing weak or less of a man is pretty powerful," Leslie said.

Leslie said that a teenage abuse victim contacted them about sharing his feelings in a group which is a rare move for someone his age.

That call spurred them to start a weekly group session with male survivors of abuse between 13 and 17-years-old.

The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center already offers one-on-one counseling for teenage boys. They plan on continuing those individual services as well as the group sessions.

Allow Me to Introduce ... Lily Cunningham!

2010-10-07T09:07:00.001-04:00

Lily Cunningham has been volunteering with the CRCC as a F2F Advocate since last winter. I'm sure you'll enjoy getting to know her a bit better just as much as I have!

What led you to volunteer with the CRCC?

A funny series of events involving my student career at CSU and my work led me to want to further my future along the lines of PTSD, sexual trauma and survival. Ta Da! Now I’m an advocate, and it’s amazing.

What do you enjoy most about volunteering with the CRCC?

I enjoy knowing that I am a part of a much needed service in our community and that volunteering is a multi-faceted system of education, advocacy, and support. I also think it’s very important that as advocates, we are able to support someone in ways that can continually be beneficial to their healing process.

What do you find most challenging about volunteering with the CRCC?

Honestly? Trying to schedule shifts! In less than a week I’ll be a full time student again with a part time job. Life is only going to get more interesting…

Do you have a favorite experience as a volunteer?

Briefly, it was knowing that something as simple as getting a cup of coffee can help ease someone’s turmoil at a very terrible time.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not volunteering?

I enjoy spending time with my loved ones, reading, going to interesting events around Cleveland, and quality “me time” that usually involves a Super Nintendo, journal, canvas, or Law & Order: SVU.

If you had a magic wand and 3 wishes, what would those wishes be?

I wouldn’t trust the three wishes deal, and be scouring it for fine print—like, what are the repercussions going to be? I’m a great pessimist when it comes to offers like that. However, I think that paying off my student loan debt, having property on the coast of Ireland and a (small) yahcht would be a nice start for those three wishes.

If you won the lottery, how would you spend the money?

I’d probably try to get myself induced in a coma for like three months so I could quit smoking for good without having to worry about cravings and withdrawl.

Favorites
Book: I love books, and I think right now my favorites are a toss up between The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule: one fiction, one true crime that I think most women would benefit from reading.

Movie: Braveheart and The Dark Knight

Musician or group: I enjoy a lot of music, but most of it is not modern: anything from Chopin to the Moody Blues to the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack.

Meal: That’s a tough one. Depends on my mood, but I’m almost always in the mood for Italian, Indian…and mashed potatoes!

Spot in your house: My room. It’s my sanctuary.

Sports teams: Third generation Browns fan and proud of it. Nobody knows resilience and rejection like a true Browns fan.

From a Fellow Advocate

2010-10-06T08:52:00.001-04:00

from Mike Scur, Hotline Advocate since Fall 2009

I happened across these a couple days ago. Both Salon and Jezebel covered the story, with respective differences editorially. It deals with internet technology and the unfortunately ubiquitous perception of "victim's fault" here and abroad.

Live-tweeting about rape in Haiti http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet/2010/09/23/mcclelland

Is live-tweeting about rape a wake-up call or a mistake?
http://jezebel.com/5647373/is-live+tweeting-about-rape-a-wake+up-call-or-a-mistake

It certainly brings up ethical considerations regarding confidentiality and consent (at one point the reporter was using the woman's full name in her tweets).

It places me, individually, in a strange area. On one hand I think the striking realism of her story and experience, and the live updates of which, are almost necessary at times to remind people of reality (the contrast of this might be promoting the misconception that EVERY examination is going to be like this for EVERY woman, which provided there's an advocate, it won't be). My primary concern is if she's being exploited though for a story, especially if she was unaware of how it would have been disseminated.

It's a tough call for me. What do you think?

Join Us for the Take Back the Night Rally Tomorrow Night!

2010-10-05T08:57:00.001-04:00

Take Back the Night Candlelight March & Survivor Speak-out

Date: October 6, 2010

Time: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Speak out to end violence against women!

6:30 p.m. Candlelight March

Meet outside Harvard-Lee Branch of Cleveland Public Library

16918 Harvard Avenue, Cleveland, 44128

7:30 p.m. Speak-out!

Harvard Community Services Center

18240 Harvard Avenue, Cleveland, 44128

Ample parking. Police escort planned. Bring your own signs.

In the event of inclimate weather, meet at Harvard Community Services Center.

First 100 to arrive receive a FREE t-shirt.

Complimentary coffee and cookies.

For more information, call 216-619-6194 x 114.

Thanks again to the Greenies!

2010-10-04T08:59:00.001-04:00

Some of you may remember a post a few months back acknowledging our volunteers who were doing a great job maintaining or exceeding their hour requirement. I nicknamed them "greenies" because the reports they received detailing their hours are green and I'm otherwise not very clever.

And it's time again to thank a new and outstanding group of GREEN VOLUNTEERS!

Kerry Anderson, Val Anderson, Chioke Barkari, Jillian Carroll, Menaka Chandurkar, Kelsey Cornelius, Lily Cunningham, Erin Davis, Heidi Dobran, Linda Ferris, Pat Fleming, Erika Harper, Eileen Hitch, Angie Ilg, LaToya Jones, Brittany Krotzer, Liz Lierman, Irene Link, Carli Luca, Rachel Mackson, Amanda Maggiotto, Lauren Maline, Candice Markle, Constance Mash, Mandie McCarthy, Alexis Mitchell, Melissa Otero, Lisa Paladin, Sheronda Peterson, Mike Scur, Carli Sidoti, Elyse Sikorski, Hannah Singerman, Heather Tripp, Karla Ullrich, Natalie Wheeler, Elaine Wolan, Tasneem Zaben

Great work and thank you!!

Someone else who is very good at being green

2010 Volunteer Award Recipients

2010-10-01T09:18:00.003-04:00

It is with great pride that I gave out this year's awards to a group of outstanding volunteers!
Enduring Commitment Award
Eileen Hitch
For the vows you have made and continue to fulfill to serve this organization; for your steadfast assurances of word and deed; for the way you match every promise with devoted action

Compassionate Support Award
Kerry Anderson
For the empathy and grace demonstrated by your work; for the benevolent kindness with which you care for others; for the tender charity you readily extend

Dependability And Consistency Award
Val Anderson
For the solid faith we have in your service; for the trust it is so easy to place in you; for your unwavering connection with the Center

Broad Vision Award
Chioke Barkari
For the expansive nature of your contemplations; for the comprehensive way you face and handle challenges; for your far-reaching involvement with the Center and its related causes

Flexibility Award
Candice Markle
For your strong desire to do what needs to be done whenever it needs to be done; for your willingness to bend your time and energies to the shape and needs of others; for your generous adaptability and supple spirit

Dedication Award
Mike Scur
For your belief in and support of the Center and our Mission; for your willingness to work to support this mission in countless ways; for your abiding allegiance to this agency

Overall Arete Award
Volunteer of the Year
Mandie McCarthy
For your strength, bravery, intelligence and passion, each working to achieve real results; for the unique and irreplaceable effectiveness you bring to the Center; for the long lasting and pervasive outcomes of your talents

Beneficiary Honors
All of the Volunteers who have Served the Agency Mission
Much gratitude and tremendous thanks to all of the Volunteers who have shared their time, energy and spirit. The Center holds your generosity with an open heart. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of so many.

Call for Volunteers for One Afternoon!

2010-09-30T09:08:00.000-04:00

from Jeon Francis, Office Manager

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS FOR ONE AFTERNOON!

Volunteers are needed on Monday, October 4 to help distribute “Take Back the Night” flyers door to door and in local establishments.

We’ll be meeting at the Harvard-Lee Library beginning at 2:30 p.m. and plan to be out in the neighborhood until five. Any amount of time you can give would be greatly appreciated.

The Harvard-Lee Library is located at 16918 Harvard Avenue, Cleveland 44128 (216) 623-6990.

Please RSVP to Jeon Francis at jeonf@clevelandrcc.org

16th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act

2010-09-29T08:53:00.002-04:00

from the White House blog

Ed. Note: For more information, visit the Department of Health and Human Services violence against women website and the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women.

Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a reception at the Naval Observatory Residence marking the 16th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, in Washington, DC September 22, 2010.

Last night, more than a hundred advocates and college students from around the country gathered at the home of Vice President Biden to mark the 16th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The Vice President spoke passionately about his ongoing commitment to ending violence against women and girls and the next steps we must take to change societal attitudes about violence.

Written and championed by then-Senator Biden, VAWA focused on improving the criminal justice response to domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault. Since 1994, VAWA has sent 4 billion dollars to states and local communities to develop specialized law enforcement units, provide services to victims, improve prosecution of these crimes, and train professionals about domestic violence and sexual assault. In many ways, VAWA has been successful. Since the passage of the Act, domestic violence has dropped by 58%.In spite of all this progress, we still have much work to do. Three women still die every day at the hands of husbands or boyfriends. Domestic violence causes two million injuries a year and untold amounts of human suffering. Domestic violence shelters are still full, hotlines are ringing, and for every victim who has come forward, many more are suffering alone.

Even more alarming, young women between the ages of 16-24 have the highest rates of relationship violence, and one in five women will be sexually assaulted while they are in college. Vice President Biden pointed out that we must focus on changing attitudes of our young people so that violence against women is not acceptable. He also noted that we must reach young people with the new technologies—like texting and other online media—that they use to communicate. The Vice President is committed to working with teens and college students to meet this challenge and he applauded those who have already joined this effort and were gathered at his home last night.

2010 Volunteer Appreciation Event - A Great Success!

2010-09-28T08:55:00.001-04:00

Thanks to everyone who was able to join us this past Sunday at the Corner Alley for the Volunteer Appreciation Event!

I had a great time talking to everyone and watching all the bowling and I hope you all did as well!

It'll be hard to top this event next year but you can bet I'll try!

Thanks again to all who made Sunday afternoon so enjoyable!!

Bullying: Protecting Our Teens In Today's World

2010-09-27T08:42:00.001-04:00

Your Teen magazine is hosting a program designed for parents of teens around preventing bullying. Check it out on October 12th! (click flyer below for more information and registration).

We are bowled over by your hard work!

2010-09-24T12:10:00.007-04:00

Don't miss the Volunteer Appreciation Event!

Sunday, September 26th
4:00-7:00
the Corner Alley
402 Euclid Avenue

We hope you can join us as we thank you for all your hard work!

Stop by and bowl! Or swing by just for a bit and grab something to eat!

Bring friends and family!

We hope to see you there!

Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora's public disrespect for women should have been a signal: Connie Schultz

2010-09-23T09:13:00.001-04:00

By Connie Schultz, Plain Dealer, September 20, 2010

Why was Jimmy Dimora allowed to abuse his power for so long?

We can start by looking at how he treated women.

When you read the federal government's transcripts of Jimmy Dimora's conversations, apparently recorded by wiretap, a clear pattern emerges about this supposed liberal Democrat.

Dimora and his buddies trafficked in profane references to women's genitalia. He reportedly engaged in sex-for-hire and sex-to-be-hired schemes, which were facilitated by political friends willing to drop off condo keys, rent hotel rooms and pay a prostitute's bill to keep his name out of the transactions.

Dimora isn't some old codger still fuming that women got the vote.

This is a fellow baby boomer, a guy only two years older than I, regularly acting as if the last 80 years of women's history never happened. Why didn't that send up more flares?

Clearly, this is a story about a man with little regard for women. But it's also about newsrooms and Cuyahoga County's Democratic Party shrugging off Dimora's raunchy jokes and boorish behavior as Jimmy just being Jimmy.

Here is the beginning of a story that ran in The Plain Dealer in June 1998:

Just in case they were wondering, Bedford Heights Mayor Jimmy Dimora
assured 431 members of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Executive Committee on
Valentine's Day that his sex life was just fine.

"Boy, do I feel good today," Dimora, party chairman, said in opening
remarks to the Democratic faithful gathered for the party's endorsement meeting
at the Holiday Inn in Independence. "My wife took good care of me this morning."

Somewhere, the woman married to the Italian Stallion of Bedford Heights
had to be blushing. Out in the audience, women were cringing . . .

Yet, no one for a minute believed that Dimora's locker room braying
belied a latent vein of disrespect for women. "He's no chauvinist pig," Cindy
Marizette, co-executive director of the county Democratic Party, said this week.
"That's just Jimmy."

At 260 pounds, Dimora is a teddy bear of a man with a kind heart and a
penchant for honesty. He talks to you straight up and sometimes gets in trouble
for it. In a realm of rhetorical wafflers, he's a breath of fresh air.

Hmm: I read that and missed both the cool breeze and the punch line.

The first time I met Dimora was memorable. He made me wait 45 minutes in an empty room for a scheduled interview in 2001. When he finally waltzed in, he took one look at me, and bellowed, "Well, if I'd known you looked like this I would have been here a lot sooner."

Then, he immediately recounted the advice he'd given one of my female colleagues: "I told her she should get another head shot because she's a lot prettier than her picture in the paper."

When another of my female colleagues was first assigned to cover county government, she took Dimora to lunch. She was a newlywed, and Dimora asked how she had met her husband. When she described her then-boyfriend driving more than 24 hours straight just to have dinner with her, Dimora smiled and said, "You must be reeeeeally great."

Some of us never found Dimora to be empathetic or generous, and we never thought he was funny. But we found little interest back then when we tried to raise the issue.

The constant refrain: "It's just Jimmy. He's old school."

My gut told me there was more to it. I wish I had forced the issue.

When you are an elected official born in 1955, your boorish behavior toward women isn't "old school," it's unacceptable. It also raises the question: What other old-time traditions have you revived?

I'm hopeful that the county's liberal leaders will publicly condemn the systemic malaise that allowed Dimora's disregard for women to fester and flourish. I also know I could be in for a long wait.

Last Thursday, The Plain Dealer reported that Dimora had sex on numerous occasions with a public employee seeking a new job. We identified the woman only as PE39. On Friday, one of our reporters started getting calls from various pols, including a couple of suburban mayors and a high-ranking county official.

All of them were men, and all of them had the same question:
Who is PE39?

Because, you know, the lowest form of gossip is more important than the scandal that betrayed so many of us and toppled our county government.

At Work, Engaged and Making a Difference

2010-09-22T08:58:00.001-04:00

from the Cleveland Clinic

Most of Diane Daiber's 25 years with Hillcrest Hospital have been as a nurse in the Emergency Department where caring for victims of sexual assault led her on a career path. After researching programs around the country, Diane founded the first Sexual Assault Nurse Examinder (SANE) program at Cleveland Clinic in 2003. The program started at Hillcrest and it has since been established at Fairview, Huron and Marymount hospitals.

Today, Diane recruits, trains, schedules and supervises a very dedicated group of nursing professionals who attend to the physical and emotional needs of this vulnerable patient population. They also attend to the very important work of collecting forensic evidence. In 2006, Diane began a collaborative effort with local law enforcement to provide an annual forensic nurse training program; to date some 160 nurses have completed this intensive 40-hour program.

A tireless caregiver, Diane is also a founding member of the Cuyahoga County and Geauga County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), and she has served as a member of the Ohio Department of Health Protocol Committee for Sexual Assault Forensic and Medical Examination. In her free time, Diane works with local schools and colleges to provide prevention workshops to students on sexual assault and dating violence. On Oct. 18, she will be working with the Intimate Partner Violence Committee to present a webcast on domestic violence issues.

For those great contributions, Diane has been inducted into the Cleveland Clinic Nursing Hall of Fame and the Ursuline College Alumni Hall of Fame.

Individually ...

2010-09-21T08:51:00.001-04:00

Individually, we are one drop.

Together, we are an ocean.

-Ryunosuke Satoro

U.S. Senate hearing focuses on mishandling of sex crimes nationally, in Cleveland

2010-09-20T08:58:00.001-04:00

from the Plain Dealer, by Rachel Dissell on September 14, 2010

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Advocates, academics, police and rape survivors called on a U.S. Senate committee Tuesday to investigate whether police departments across the country -- including Cleveland -- routinely mishandle investigations of rapes and other sex crimes.

Attorney Carol E. Tracy, with The Women's Law Project in Philadelphia, called on the FBI to take a lead role in assuring that police departments report accurate statistics about how many reports they receive and what happens to those cases.

The center, joined by dozens of other agencies, is also calling for the FBI to update an antiquated 70-year-old definition the agency uses to define rape. That definition leaves many rapes out of the official count.

Cleveland Rape Crisis Center President & CEO Megan O'Bryan said the center submitted testimony for the hearing and that Cleveland's work on the issue of sexual assault was gaining national attention.

"I want people to know that Cleveland is influencing the national agenda and helping create a national dialogue on police handling of sexual assault investigations," she said.

Tracy said calls have mounted from cities across the country with disturbing themes about police investigation of rapes: rape reports being discouraged or turned away; rapes and other sex crimes being downgraded or misclassified and cases being classified as "unfounded" in large numbers.

In her testimony before the subcommittee, which oversees crime and drug issues, Tracy said the statistics translate into horrifying real-life events, like those that unfolded in Cleveland last year after suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell was arrested and charged with killing 11 women and raping several others.

A year before the serial murders were discovered, a 41-year-old woman, Gladys Wade, flagged down police and reported that Sowell attacked her. Patrol officers initially believed the bleeding woman, took her to the hospital and recorded the crime as an attempted rape and robbery.

But a detective, who later interviewed the woman and Sowell, decided the woman was not credible and the case was labeled "unfounded."

A prosecutor declined to press charges against Sowell, who had already served more than 15 years in prison for a previous sex crime. Six of the women Sowell is accused of killing disappeared after that incident.

That type of scenario has been repeated in news reports across the county, including in Milwaukee, where rape reports from three women were belittled and ignored. The man they said attacked them was later arrested in a string of serial rapes.

"Initially I thought the reports of egregious police conduct were isolated incidents," Tracy said. "We believe this is a national crisis."

A Plain Dealer analysis of sexual assault reports in Cleveland from 2004 to 2008 shows that about 10 percent of cases reported are labeled unfounded, meaning the reports were false or had no basis in fact.

Perhaps a larger concern to advocates is that nearly 40 percent of victims who do initially report crimes, later cannot be located, do not want to cooperate or feel discouraged from prosecuting. More than 70 percent of cases reported never make it past the perfunctory review of a city prosecutor.

The rape crisis center, in written testimony, highlighted the plight of one of their clients, a woman who moved the Cleveland-area and was denied the right to make a police report about her rape because she couldn't pinpoint the location.

A center advocate was able to help the woman assert her right to make the report and have the case investigated.

"Law enforcement officers often buy into the same misperceptions as the general public," the letter states. "Perhaps most significantly, the lack of understanding and empathy police officers can display reflects the outlook of our society at large - that if a woman is raped, she is somehow to blame, and may not be telling the truth."

Tracy and other advocates say that forcing local police agencies to accurately record how rapes are reported and investigated is vital step to addressing sexual assault.

"In addition to accurately documenting those sex crimes reported, law enforcement agencies need to be accountable for the outcome of the report and investigation," Joanne Archambault, director of End Violence Against Women International and a retired San Diego police supervisor said.

"Reports need to be maintained on how many result in victims choosing not to participate in the investigation and prosecution, how many are unfounded, referred to the prosecutors or grand jury and what the final outcomes."

The crimewave that shames the world

2010-09-17T09:13:00.000-04:00

from Robert Fisk, The Independent

It is a tragedy, a horror, a crime against humanity. The details of the murders – of the women beheaded, burned to death, stoned to death, stabbed, electrocuted, strangled and buried alive for the "honour" of their families – are as barbaric as they are shameful. Many women's groups in the Middle East and South-west Asia suspect the victims are at least four times the United Nations' latest world figure of around 5,000 deaths a year. Most of the victims are young, many are teenagers, slaughtered under a vile tradition that goes back hundreds of years but which now spans half the globe.

A 10-month investigation by The Independent in Jordan, Pakistan, Egypt, Gaza and the West Bank has unearthed terrifying details of murder most foul. Men are also killed for "honour" and, despite its identification by journalists as a largely Muslim practice, Christian and Hindu communities have stooped to the same crimes. Indeed, the "honour" (or ird) of families, communities and tribes transcends religion and human mercy. But voluntary women's groups, human rights organisations, Amnesty International and news archives suggest that the slaughter of the innocent for "dishonouring" their families is increasing by the year.

Iraqi Kurds, Palestinians in Jordan, Pakistan and Turkey appear to be the worst offenders but media freedoms in these countries may over-compensate for the secrecy which surrounds "honour" killings in Egypt – which untruthfully claims there are none – and other Middle East nations in the Gulf and the Levant. But honour crimes long ago spread to Britain, Belgium, Russia and Canada and many other nations. Security authorities and courts across much of the Middle East have connived in reducing or abrogating prison sentences for the family murder of women, often classifying them as suicides to prevent prosecutions.

It is difficult to remain unemotional at the vast and detailed catalogue of these crimes. How should one react to a man – this has happened in both Jordan and Egypt – who rapes his own daughter and then, when she becomes pregnant, kills her to save the "honour" of his family? Or the Turkish father and grandfather of a 16-year-old girl, Medine Mehmi, in the province of Adiyaman, who was buried alive beneath a chicken coop in February for "befriending boys"? Her body was found 40 days later, in a sitting position and with her hands tied.

Or Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow, 13, who in Somalia in 2008, in front of a thousand people, was dragged to a hole in the ground – all the while screaming, "I'm not going – don't kill me" – then buried up to her neck and stoned by 50 men for adultery? After 10 minutes, she was dug up, found to be still alive and put back in the hole for further stoning. Her crime? She had been raped by three men and, fatally, her family decided to report the facts to the Al-Shabab militia that runs Kismayo. Or the Al-Shabab Islamic "judge" in the same country who announced the 2009 stoning to death of a woman – the second of its kind the same year – for having an affair? Her boyfriend received a mere 100 lashes.

Or the young woman found in a drainage ditch near Daharki in Pakistan, "honour" killed by her family as she gave birth to her second child, her nose, ears and lips chopped off before being axed to death, her first infant lying dead among her clothes, her newborn's torso still in her womb, its head already emerging from her body? She was badly decomposed; the local police were asked to bury her. Women carried the three to a grave, but a Muslim cleric refused to say prayers for her because it was "irreligious" to participate in the namaz-e-janaza prayers for "a cursed woman and her illegitimate children".

read the rest of the article by clicking here

Save the Date - Take Back the Night on October 6th

2010-09-16T08:44:00.000-04:00

Take Back the Night

Speak out to end violence against women!

Candlelight March & Survivor Speak-out

Wednesday, October 6
6:30 p.m. march
Meet outside Harvard-Lee Branch of Cleveland Public Library (16918 Harvard Avenue, Cleveland, 44128)

7:30 p.m. speak-out
Harvard Community Services Center (18240 Harvard Avenue, Cleveland 44128)

Ample parking and police escort planned. Bring your own signs.

In the event of inclimate weather, meet at Harvard Community Services Center.

First 100 to arrive receive a FREE t-shirt!

For more information, call 216-619-6194 x 114.
Hosted by: Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Response Team

September's Continuing Education Event

2010-09-15T08:51:00.002-04:00

I am excited to let you know about September's Continuing Education Event!!!

It will be at 6pm on the 20th of September and Ashley Hawke, the Director of Advocacy Services, will be speaking!

Extension 103

Ashley will be presenting 2 case reviews from her experience as a Justice System Advocate. The cases will be two different experiences of what it was like to go through the process of pressing charges.
Who: Ashley Hawke, Director of Advocacy Services x103
What: Presenting 2 JSA cases
Where: CRCC training room on the 14th floor
When: September 20th, 6pm
Why: We refer survivors to JSA all of the time on the hotline, in the hospitals, and in police precincts. Ashley will give you a better understanding of what an experience might be like for a survivor who is going through that process.

If you are interested in attending please RSVP to me sarahb@clevelandrcc.org or 216-619-6194x116.

And remember friends are now welcome. Let me know if you have a friend who is interested when you RSVP. I need their name and email address.

U.S. Senate Holds Public Hearing on Failure to Investigate Reports of Rape

2010-09-14T08:41:00.001-04:00

from Megan O'Bryan, President and CEO

Dear Friends,

Today, the U.S. Senate will host a hearing on "Rape in the United States: The Chronic Failure to Report and Investigate Sex Crimes." This hearing comes in response to reports that police mishandled rape reports in six cities across the United States, including Cleveland.

Cleveland Rape Crisis Center submitted this statement for the public record:

"It is imperative that when someone reports a sexual assault, an officer
responds in an empathetic and non-judgmental manner. It is vital that the
officer indicates that they believe the reporting person and ensures that a
report is filed appropriately. It is also imperative that our criminal
justice system does everything it can to fully investigate and prosecute
offenders."

Full Statement

Please take this opportunity to write to your Senator and your Representative and encourage them to be present at the hearing.

We encourage you to watch the hearings on this live webcast at 2:15 on Tuesday and to spread the word about this important hearing.

Together, we can raise awareness and use this opportunity to create change on a national level.

Sincerely,
Megan O'Bryan
President & CEO

Ranking #16 and still moving up, Vote for RAINN!

2010-09-13T09:02:00.003-04:00

from RAINN

As you already know, RAINN is currently in the running to win$250,000 through the Pepsi Refresh Contest to expand our *Online* Hotline toSpanish-speaking victims.

If RAINN receives the winning number of votes bySeptember 30th, we win!

Right now, RAINN is holding at 18th place, and we have 20 days to get to #1.

We simply cannot do this without your help.

If you haven’t already, please sign up to receive daily reminders http://cts.vresp.com/c/?RAINN/5567a40abe/e8fd6ce37c/5f74386266 to vote 3x a day, through September 30th.

Here’s how to vote:

Vote once a day online: http://www.rainn.org/pepsi.php

Vote once a day via text: Text 102552 to Pepsi (73774)

Vote once a day from Facebook: install the Facebook App http://cts.vresp.com/c/?RAINN/5567a40abe/e8fd6ce37c/41634be176

Please recruit 5 friends to vote every day as well, and make sure that theysign up for the daily reminder http://cts.vresp.com/c/?RAINN/5567a40abe/e8fd6ce37c/e0da9ce29f.

We need all the help we can get to launch this great new service!

Thank you in advance for your help.

One Phone Call from Truck Driver Rescues Nine

2010-09-10T08:42:00.001-04:00

from the Initiative Against Sexual Trafficking

One truck driver who noticed two young girls being worked at a truck stop, made the 911 call to police and an amazing set of events took place. The two girls, 15 and 14, were seen going in and out of the trucks and appeared to be distraught and at times, just simply afraid. Feeling something was not right, the alert trucker called police, informing them that the two girls “appeared pretty young.”

Not only were the two Ohio girls minors, but they also turned out to be kidnap victims of human trafficking. The two minors were saved and returned to their families, but the story did not end there. Because of this one phone call from this one truck driver, seven other minor children were saved leading to the conviction of thirty one human trafficking offenders and led to the shutting down of a thirteen-state prostitution ring.

One phone call from one trucker . . . 9 lives saved . . . 31 offenders convicted . . . 13 state ring shut down . . . from one phone call.

Truckers Against Trafficking Teaser from Brad Riley / iEmpathize on Vimeo.

Learn more about Truckers Against Trafficking here.

Allow me to introduce ... Holly Moyseenko Kossover!

2010-09-09T09:15:00.001-04:00

Holly's name is one I'm sure you've all seen by now on your shift reminders! Please take just a few minutes to get to know the wonderful person behind the name!

What led you to volunteer with CRCC?

I wanted to give back to the community - my parents have always encouraged this. As a kid I volunteered at a soup kitchen and a local library. I really believe in the CRCC's mission and wanted to help improve my community.

What do you enjoy most about volunteering with CRCC?

I enjoy feeling like I am making a difference, even if only in a small capacity. I love the feeling I get when someone calls the Hotline and just wants to thank the CRCC - it doesn't necessarily mean that I helped them personally, but the feeling that I am part of something bigger than just one person that has the ability to make such a difference.

What do you find most challenging about volunteering with CRCC?

Having to keep my opinion and what I would/would not do out of it entirely.

Do you have a favorite experience as a volunteer?

I really like working the CRCC table at festivals (last summer I worked a few hours at the Tremont Arts Fest). It was so cool to be able to meet people who used to work and volunteer at the CRCC, tell people what the CRCC does, etc. I even had a few people pull me aside and tell me their stories, which is sometimes heartbreaking. I had a few people just quickly thank me b/c the CRCC helped them or a friend, which to me is HUGE. Even if I didn't help the person myself, I think it's awesome.

What do you enjoy doing when you're not volunteering?

Sleeping :) I also love to read (I'm in 2 book clubs), playing with my dog (& hoping that she will not jump the fence at the dog park), going to Buckeye Beer Engine, traveling, Rock Band, movies (either movie night out with friends - followed by dinner somewhere or just movies at my friend's house), and checking out new restaurants.

If you had a magic wand and 3 wishes, what would those wishes be?

For there to be no reason for the CRCC to exist (time to find somewhere else to volunteer and sorry about your job, Wendy!).

For college to be free or much more affordable for everyone.

For better medications or a cure for many chronic health issues (there hasn't been a new drug approved for lupus in over 50 years - I know a cure is asking for a lot out of that magic wand, so I'll go for some new meds).

Favorites

Book: This is always so hard because I love reading. If I had to narrow it down, I'd include The Handmaid's Tale, Jane Eyre, Phaedo (description of the soul is beautiful to me!), anything by Dorothy Parker, and Little Bird of Heaven

Movie: My Life Without Me, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Happy Feet (it's cute and I love penguins)

Website or blog: Obviously the CRCC's, but I also like Livejournal, Jezebel (jezebel.com), Bakerella (bakerella.com), and Facebook

Musician or group: I'm not good at picking just one for anything, so Depeche Mode, David Bowie, Belle & Sebastian, Social Distortion, and Liz Phair

Vacation spot: Cape Cod, Chicago (just a drive away & friends there), Portland, OR, or just staying at home and not having anything to do

Meal: a (black bean) burger at Buckeye Beer Engine or sushi

Sports teams: this is a bad question right now!

Tulip O'Hare: She makes me smile many times daily (that's her job description - and sitting on feet to warm them up)

Volunteers Needed for a Research Study

2010-09-08T09:04:00.001-04:00

Researchers at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing with the permission of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center are conducting a study to learn more about survivors’ relationships following a sexual assault.

You may take part in this research study if you:

Have experienced unwanted sexual contact
Have been forced to participate in sexual activities without your consent or against your will

You may not take part in this research study if you:

Are under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the interview
Are experiencing psychotic or manic symptoms which would interfere with your being able to focus on the interview
Are currently experiencing an acute crisis which would prohibit you from being able to focus on the interview
Are currently seen by the researcher for care (to be determined during initial phone contact)

What will you be asked to do?

Talk with the female researcher to learn more about the study so you can make an informed decision
Be willing to talk about your personal relationships after the sexual assault occurred
Participate in an interview of about 60-90 minutes (the researcher may contact you for clarification if needed)
Review a summary of the findings from everyone who participated to ensure your experience is accurately represented

You will be compensated for participation in this study.

If you are interested in learning more about this study or if you have questions, please contact the researcher at 440-382-8636.

Please note, this is a different research study than one previously posted.

Craigslist shuts down adult services section amid legal fight over erotic ads

2010-09-07T08:53:00.001-04:00

from the Associated Press, Saturday, September 4, 2010

Craigslist appears to have surrendered in a legal fight over erotic ads posted on its website, shutting down its adult-services section Saturday and replacing it with a black bar that says simply "Censored."

The move comes just over a week after a group of state attorneys general, including Ohio's Richard Cordray, said there weren't enough protections against blocking potentially illegal ads promoting prostitution. It's not clear if the shutdown is permanent, and it appears to affect only ads in the United States.

The listings came under new scrutiny after the jailhouse suicide last month of a former medical student who was awaiting trial in the killing of a masseuse he met through Craigslist. Critics have likened the services to virtual pimping, while Craigslist maintained the site was carrying ads even tamer than those published by some newspapers.

Like many other free online forums, Craigslist typically does not review ads before they are posted by users. But in 2008, under pressure from 40 state attorneys general, Craigslist began requiring posters to provide a working phone number and pay a fee for placing an ad in what is now the adult-services section. Several months later, Craigslist adopted a manual screening process in which postings are reviewed before publishing.

State officials believe Craigslist is still not doing enough to stop illegal ads from appearing.

The company said Saturday that it would issue a statement on the matter, though it didn't say when.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, one of the 17 attorneys general who pressed for the change, said in a prepared statement that he welcomed the change and was trying to verify Craigslist's official policy.

In an Aug. 24 letter, the state attorneys general said Craigslist should remove the section because it couldn't adequately block potentially illegal ads promoting prostitution and child trafficking.

Authorities point to the case of 24-year-old Philip Markoff as a prime example of the dangers posed by Craigslist services. The former medical student was accused of killing a masseuse he met through the hugely popular classified advertising site, which was founded by Craig Newmark. Markoff committed suicide in the Boston jail where he was awaiting trial.

Craigslist's adult-services section carried ads for everything from personal massages to a night's companionship, which critics say veered into prostitution.

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said in a May blog posting that the company's ads were no worse than those published by the alternative newspaper chain Village Voice Media. He cited one explicit ad that included the phrase: "anything goes $90."

RAINN Needs Your Support

2010-09-06T08:52:00.002-04:00

HAPPY LABOR DAY!!!!

I hope you are all having a good day. Although the CRCC is closed today, I wanted to quickly let you all know about that RAINN is looking to get a grant from Pepsi in order to serve Spanish-speaking victims of sexual violence through their online hotline.

The group that gets the most votes by September 30th will receive the money.

Voting has officially started! VOTE twice a day, every day and help RAINN win
$250,000 through Pepsi Refresh!

What: RAINN needs your vote to win a
$250,000 grant from Pepsi. The idea with the most votes by September 30th wins,
so please vote for us every day.

Why: To expand our award-winning Online
Hotline to serve Spanish-speaking victims of sexual violence. Watch our video to
learn more about this vital project.

How:
1. Sign up once today.
2. Vote every day this month. You can vote once online and once by text
every day.

Vote Online: www.refresheverything.com/rainn

Vote by
text: Text 102552 to 73774

Thank you so much in advance for your help!
Please watch our video and learn more about our idea.

Sincerely,

Scott Berkowitz
President and Founder
http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/305140/cf291d7cc5/1345013719/fadabf441c/

August's Continuing Education Event

2010-09-03T09:17:00.000-04:00

Thank you Gloria!

Gloria came and spoke about Planned Parenthood of North East Ohio’s (PPNEO) Services, STD’s/STI’s, and Abortions. Here is some of the information that was covered (in case you were not able to make it).

PPNEO sees both men and women. They offer Gynecological exams, birth control (including emergency contraception), pregnancy testing and options information, HPV vaccination, Essure non-surgical permanent contraception, early cervical cancer diagnosis and treatment, Sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and treatment), HIV testing and education (confidential or anonymous), Urinary tract and vaginal infection diagnosis and treatment, first trimester medication and surgical abortion services, midlife services, referrals for other specialized medical care, AND they are also doing comprehensive sex education K-12 in the Cleveland Municipal School District.

STDs and STIs are mostly the same thing and used interchangeably.

Chlamydia, NGU, Gonorrhea Syphilis and Trichomoniasis are all curable STIs. Hepatitis B, Herpes, HIV/AIDS, and HPV/Genital Warts are not curable but are treatable.

Crabs is also treatable but people with crabs should not go to PPNEO. Treatment is available over the counter and if they do go to the center the whole room has to be shut down and sterilized.

STD/STI symptoms are often more obvious in men because discharge (which is a pretty common symptom) may be confused as normal in women where as discharge is never normal in men.

Gloria does education with the 9th and 10th graders in the Cleveland schools. The different curriculums used in the different grades can be found on the CMSD website if you search for “responsible sexual behavior education”.

PPNEO offers abortions as does Pre Term. There are two types of abortions medical abortions (where medicine is administered to the patient) and surgical abortions. Medical abortions may be performed if the patient is less then 8 weeks pregnant. After that they may have a surgical abortion which can be performed up to 14 weeks into the pregnancy. All individuals who are having an abortion must have two appointments (one where they get medically checked out and cleared and then another appointment for the procedure). Some insurances will cover the cost of an abortion for rape victims.

If there is someone on the hotline who is deciding if they want to have an abortion the important thing to do is to remain non-judgmental and do not try to sway the caller in any way. Support the caller in their process of making this difficult decision. There is also a hotline (NOT 24-Hours) that Gloria suggested, that talks to women who are considering an abortion or have already had an abortion. This hotline is also available to family members of people who are considering or have had an abortion.

If there are any people who would prefer/ feel more comfortable with a Spanish speaking facility, the Old Brooklyn site has several staff members who speak Spanish. This site is located at Broadview and W25th.

Again thank you so much Gloria! For additional information on PPNEO please visit http://www.plannedparenthood.org/ppneo/

Equal Rights for Women? Survey Says: Yes, but ...

2010-09-02T09:08:00.001-04:00

from nytimes.com

People around the world say they firmly support equal rights for men and women, but many still believe men should get preference when it comes to good jobs, higher education or even in some cases the simple right to work outside the home, according to a new survey of 22 nations.

The poll, conducted in April and May by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project in association with the International Herald Tribune, shows that in both developing countries and wealthy ones, there is a pronounced gap between a belief in the equality of the sexes and how that translates into reality.

In nations where equal rights are already mandated, women seem stymied by a lack of real progress, the poll found.

“Women in the United States and Europe are shouldering major responsibilities at home and at work simultaneously, and this makes for stress and a low quality of life,” said Prof. Herminia Ibarra, co-author of the 2010 Corporate Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum.

The opinions of the French, in particular, are emblematic of the uneven drive for equality of the sexes.

One hundred percent of French women and 99 percent of French men backed the idea of equal rights. Yet 75 percent also said that men there had a better life, by far the highest percentage in any of the countries in which polling took place.

Why do people in France, which provides generous state care for new mothers and toddlers, feel so far from having achieved gender equality?

“Because they are, at least in terms of economic participation,” said Professor Ibarra, who teaches organizational behavior at Insead, the international business school based in Fontainebleau, France. “There are still very few women running large organizations, and business culture remains resolutely a boys’ club.”

Indeed, the United States and Germany reported an especially strong gap between the sexes on whether enough has been done to give women equality. Of those who believe in equal rights, many more American and German men believe their nations have made the right amount of changes for women, while many more women than men in those countries think more action is required.

“When you’re left out of the club, you know it,” said Prof. Jacqui True, an expert in gender relations and senior lecturer at the University of Auckland. “When you’re in the club, you don’t see what the problem is.”

Read the rest of this story here.

Save the Date

2010-09-01T08:49:00.001-04:00

Save the date ... and get excited!

2010 CRCC Volunteer Appreciation Event

Sunday
September 26th
4:00-7:00

Where will it be? What is the theme? You'll have to wait for your invitations to find out for sure but here's a hint ... I've been bowled over by all your hard work! Any guesses?

ACLU Asks for Emergency Reporoductive Care

2010-08-31T08:48:00.001-04:00

From ACLU.org

NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today asked the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services to ensure that religiously-affiliated hospitals provide emergency reproductive care as required by federal law, specifically the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) and the Conditions of Participation of Medicare and Medicaid (COP).

"The lives and health of pregnant women seeking medical care should be of paramount importance," said Brigitte Amiri, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. "No woman should have to worry that she will not receive the care she needs based on the affiliation of the nearest hospital."

In a letter, the ACLU asks that the Centers investigate situations in which patients' lives and health were jeopardized as a result of hospitals' adherence to religious doctrine, rather than medical ethics, and to issue a formal clarification that denying emergency reproductive health care violates EMTALA and COP. Catholic hospitals operate 15 percent of the nation's hospital beds.

The ACLU sent the letter in response to situations such as one that occurred in Phoenix last year, in which a pregnant woman with life-threatening pulmonary hypertension was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, a Catholic hospital, which then debated whether to terminate the pregnancy, even though without such a procedure, the woman would have died. While the hospital's ethics committee ultimately approved the procedure, the sister who served on the committee was demoted.

"While the hospital in this case made the right decision in saving this woman's life, the subsequent treatment of the staff could have a chilling effect on the staff at hospitals across the country that may face similar situations in the future," said Daniel Pochoda, Legal Director of the ACLU of Arizona. "Religiously-affiliated hospitals – which are often the only hospital in a particular area – are not exempt from providing critical care to patients who come through their doors."

The situation in Phoenix is part of a worrying pattern of religiously-affiliated hospitals denying emergency reproductive care to patients, as highlighted in an article in the American Journal of Public Health. The article cites instances in which miscarrying women were forced to travel to another facility after religiously-affiliated hospitals refused to terminate their pregnancies, and a woman who was denied care until the moment her fetus' heartbeat stopped, placing her in grave peril.

"The law rightly requires hospitals to provide life-saving medical care to their patients," said Vania Leveille, ACLU Legislative Counsel. "The government must ensure that the well-being of the patient does not take a back seat to religious beliefs."

The letter is available at: www.aclu.org/reproductive-freedom/aclu-letter-centers-medicare-and-medicaid-regarding-denial-reproductive-health-

Comprehensive Sex Education Program

2010-08-30T09:19:00.001-04:00

from cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland school district is applying for federal money that, if granted, would extend the district's 4-year-old sex education program by five years.

District officials hope to secure $1 million each year for the five years, not only to make improvements in its existing comprehensive sex education program and to make it available to all 48,000 students, but also to track behavior change and create a model that other school systems can replicate.

Earlier this year, Congress approved more than $100 million for evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs. It's a fundamental shift from the previous "abstinence-only" focus, on which the federal government has spent over $1.5 billion since 1996.

Since 2007 Ohio has not accepted any money from the federally funded State Abstinence Education Grant program because of its restrictions on how the money could be spent

Funding for the K-12 Responsible Sexual Behavior Initiative, the district's first comprehensive program designed for all grade levels, has fluctuated since it was launched in 2006 with an $800,000 block grant from Cuyahoga County.

One frequently heard criticism for any sex education program that starts in kindergarten is that it starts at too early an age.

But the curriculum that the Cleveland schools use is tailored to grade level. Elementary school students, for example, talk about good touch/bad touch. Instruction for the 'tweens includes abstinence and HIV. High school students talk about safer sex and condom use.

I Personally think its great that Ohio is trying to educate our children early and well. Hopefully part of their program includes who to tell and how to tell them if someone is sexually abusing you.

Public Forum September 14th

2010-08-27T09:27:00.001-04:00

Cuyahoga County residents have a clear and understandable concern about the many tragic incidents of child maltreatment and domestic violence that occur in our community.

Earlier this year, Phillip Morris, columnist for The Plain Dealer, wrote “[W]e cannot keep bringing children into the world to be abused and killed. Zealously reproductive unfit ‘parents’ should be financially encouraged not to reproduce. I don't know how to make the decision about fitness. All I know is the conversation is worth having.”*

Is there a relationship between family violence and the use of family planning? Is family planning an effective tool to combat family violence? Should it be?

You are invited to a public forum to explore these and related questions on:

DATE: Tuesday, September 14, 2010

TIME: 2:30-4:30 p.m. (Reception: 4:30-5 p.m.)

PLACE: Cleveland Sight Center, 1909 East 101 St. (Free parking)

MODERATOR:Phillip Morris
Phillip Morris is a columnist for The Plain Dealer. His focus centers primarily on city governments, city neighborhoods, public schools, and crime. He also has written extensively about family – especially parenting issues. Morris has received a number of journalism awards, including recognition as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Commentary.

PRESENTERS: Judge Ronald B. Adrine
Judge Adrine was first elected to the bench of the Cleveland (Ohio) Municipal Court in 1981. The Judge has lectured extensively on domestic violence issues for a host of organizations, associations, and governmental agencies and is the co-author of Ohio Domestic Violence Law part of Thompson/West Group Publishing's Ohio Handbook Series.

Lillian Williams
Lillian Williams, BS, MHA has nearly 20 years experience in the field of family planning and reproductive health care. Ms. Williams has extensive knowledge and background in operations management and program evaluation. She currently employed by Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio as Regional Director of Health Center Operations.

Timothy Boehnlein
Tim Boehnlein has over 14 years’ experience in the field of domestic violence, and speaks and trains on topics including offender treatment and stalking. He is the Associate Director of the Domestic Violence Center of Greater Cleveland, where he was responsible for establishing the Batterer Treatment Program and the Gender Violence Prevention Project, focused on middle school and high school students.

Rebecca Cline
Rebecca Cline, MSW, LISW is Prevention Program Director for the Ohio Domestic Violence Network (ODVN). She provides training and technical assistance about domestic and family violence prevention to Ohio communities. Her background includes domestic violence shelter work, domestic violence related healthcare training and community education, community organizing and coalition building.

This forum is presented in partnership by the Northeast Ohio Family Health Program of The Center for Community Solutions and Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio.

It is free to attend, but reservations are requested by September 10. Please RSVP to Pam Williams at 216-781-2944 ext 203 or _pwilliams@CommunitySolutions.com_

*Phillip Morris’ original column can be found at: http://www.cleveland.com/morris/index.ssf/2010/02/saving_abused_children_sometim.html

A related follow-up column is at: http://www.cleveland.com/morris/index.ssf/2010/07/keeping_kids_away_from_unfit_p.html

And Now for Poker Names!

2010-08-26T09:09:00.001-04:00

Yesterday you got the great poker number of $19,000 and today it's time for the names of all those who helped raise that money!

A giant THANK YOU to:

Sharon Alexander

Kerry Anderson

Valerie Anderson

Mike Baraona

Chioke Barkari

Lisa Berg

Melissa Bilancini

Kip Botirius

Sheila Carney

Sachin Chopra

Ruth Coffey

Erin Davis

Pete DeMarco

Linda Ferris

Linda Fortunato

Matt Fritz

Christine Fugate

Erika Harper

Denise Harrison

Kelsey Hawke

Jason Holstein

Rebecca Holstein

Bernadette Howell

Angie Ilg

LaToya Jones

Verla Jones

Kevin Kendall

Ryan Knotts

Mark Kopack

Liz Lierman

Constance Mash

Chris Meyer

Dave Mikolay

Adrienne Montalvo

Dan O'Donnell

Christopher Peterson

Sheronda Peterson

PJ Porter

Tom Reilley

Ann Revelt

Erin Roberts

Natalie Rose

Heather Schavio

Jim Schenker

Sonia Scott-James

Sharon Shepherd-Harvey

Dan Singerman

Hannah Singerman

Scott Smith

Patty Strohmeier

Maryse Sulimma

Carol Timmers

Heather Tripp

Justin Tripp

Karla Ullrich

Aretha Wilson

John Wojton

The Lucky Poker Number

2010-08-25T08:46:00.001-04:00

So what was our final poker tally?

One thousand?

Four thousand?

12 thousand?

KEEP GOING ...

15 thousand?

THE FINAL TALLY WAS OVER $19,000 RAISED!

Your hard work definitely paid off! Thanks so much!!

Ohio attorney general, Richard Cordray, pushes statewide discussion about testing rape kits

2010-08-24T08:52:00.001-04:00

by Rachel Dissell in the Plain Dealer on Monday, August 23rd

Wading into a national debate, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray is calling for a statewide conversation among lawmakers, law enforcement and victim advocates about the testing of rape evidence kits.

On one side are those who want all kits submitted to a lab for examination, reasoning that by collecting more DNA profiles, authorities will find links to serial rapists and solve more cases.

Others say mass testing is a waste of money and the movement to do so masks the fact that most sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows -- not strangers whose identities are in question.

The kits contain evidence collected at hospitals after a sexual assault is reported. Blood, semen, saliva, hair or other evidence can be used to identify or exclude a suspect as an attacker.

Testing policies are inconsistent in Ohio and throughout the country. Here, each law-enforcement entity decides how, and whether, to test rape kits.

While state-run labs in Ohio prefer that cases be vetted for possible useful evidence before the kits are submitted, they won't turn away evidence. And some Ohio cities and counties have locally funded labs that make their own policy or charge by submission.

"It's a patchwork quilt," Cordray said in a phone interview last week. "It would make sense to have some kind of universal protocol or best practice."

Cordray began to explore the issue after Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath decided to submit all rape kits to state labs for testing this year, a move prompted by questions about how many untested kits the city had sitting on property-room shelves -- and whether testing that evidence could have solved more cases.

Cleveland's shift in philosophy to test all kits is similar to a new law signed in Illinois in July that made it the first state to require that every properly collected sexual-assault evidence kit booked into police evidence be tested within six months.

Scrutiny of the process in Illinois was stirred in part after Human Rights Watch, an independent advocacy group, started gathering data last year that eventually revealed that 80 percent of kits collected in that state since 1995 had never been tested. The group's report was part of a series that looked at rape-kit testing and backlogs across the country.

News of the Illinois law re-ignited the national debate among victim advocates, law enforcement and researchers about what makes the most sense: Testing all rape kits submitted to police or only the ones that are needed to investigate and prosecute open cases.

Those in favor of mass testing, including some criminologists, argue that studies show sexual assault to be a pattern offense -- meaning most attackers don't attack only one victim. They believe if more DNA profiles are collected, more crimes are likely to be linked to serial rapists.

Anecdotally, that has been reported across the country as more DNA has been loaded into national databases.

click here for the entire article and to leave comments

Latino Community Open House

2010-08-23T08:47:00.003-04:00

Mi Cases es tu Casa

Cleveland Rape Crisis Center welcomes and opens our home to the Latino Community.

Join us for food, drink and fellowship!

Thursday, September 9, 5:30 - 7:30p.m. with brief remarks at 6:15 p.m.

Join us at the Leader Building, 526 Superior Avenue, Suite 1400 (SW Corner of E.6th and Superior in Downtown Cleveland, 44114 - Across from Cleveland Public Library)

Complimentary parking available at the PNC Garage on Vincent between E. 9th and E. 6th streets. CRCC will provide a parking pass for this garage when you arrive at the reception.

Kindly RSVP at 216-619-6194 X 126 or info@clevelandrcc.org.

THANK YOU!

2010-08-20T09:07:00.001-04:00

To all of you who helped out with the Nautica Charity Poker Festival a great big giant THANK YOU!

The event was a staggering amount of work made possible only through the help of our wonderful volunteers. It was also a great success!

Stay tuned for the final tally and some great pics!

from a Fellow Advocate

2010-08-19T09:00:00.001-04:00

from Mike Scur, Hotline Advocate since Fall 2009

The Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010: A Step Forward for Native Women

Posted by Lynn Rosenthal on July 29, 2010 at http://www.whitehouse.gov/

The President just signed the Tribal Law and Order Act -- an important step to help the Federal Government better address the unique public safety challenges that confront tribal communities.

According to a Department of Justice report, Native American women suffer from violent crime at a rate three and a half times greater than the national average. Astoundingly, one in three Native American women will be raped in their lifetimes. At the White House Tribal Nations Conference in November 2009, President Obama stated that this shocking figure "is an assault on our national conscience that we can no longer ignore."

Last week, Congress took another important step to improve the lives of Native American women by passing the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010. The Act includes a strong emphasis on decreasing violence against women in Native communities, and is one of many steps this Administration strongly supports to address the challenges faced by Native women.

The stipulations in the Act that will benefit Native women reflect several Administration priorities. The Act will strengthen tribal law enforcement and the ability to prosecute and fight crime more effectively. The Indian Health Care Improvement Act will require that a standardized set of practices be put in place for victims of sexual assault in health facilities. Now, more women will get the care they need, both for healing and to aid in the prosecution of their perpetrators.

Victims of domestic violence and sexual assault will now more often encounter authorities who have been trained to handle such cases. The Act expands training of tribal enforcement officers on the best ways to interview victims of domestic and sexual violence and the importance of collecting evidence to improve rates of conviction. The Director of Indian Health Services will coordinate with the Department of Justice, Tribes, Tribal organizations and urban Indian organizations to develop standardized sexual assault policies and protocols.

Special Assistant US Attorneys will be deputized under the Act to prosecute reservation crimes in Federal courts, and tribes will be given greater authority to hold perpetrators accountable. These provisions help to increase communication between tribal law enforcement, Federal authorities and the court system. As numbers of convictions grow, more women may be willing to report the abuses against them so that their abusers may be prosecuted.

However, the Act focuses not only on prosecution but also on prevention. It reauthorizes and improves programs to prevent and treat alcohol and substance abuse, as well as programs that improve opportunities for at-risk Indian youth. Getting men and boys involved in stopping the violence against women and girls is an important step to ending it everywhere, giving youth a chance to change their own futures.

This Act, combined with the great work that Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice are doing to combat violence in American Indian/Alaska Native communities, is an important step towards our Administration’s priority of ending violence against women and girls, and making Native communities safer and more secure. One in three is a statistic that is intolerable, and the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 will help to change that.

Lynn Rosenthal is the White House Advisor on Violence Against Women

It's Here!

2010-08-17T08:46:00.001-04:00

It's finally here!

The 2010 Nautica Charity Poker Festival benefitting the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center!

Thanks to all of you volunteers who have stepped up to ensure this event is a great success. It's wonderful working with you outside the realm of direct service!

And if you weren't able to volunteer, you can still help out by coming down to play!

Tuesday, August 17th from 4:00-midnight

Wednesday, August 18th from 4:00-midnight

Nautica Charity Poker Festival

Let's have some FUN!

2010-08-16T08:48:00.002-04:00

from Michael Sangiacomo, The Plain Dealer

Please read - I'd love to hear your comments on the last paragraph. You can also link to the Plain Dealer's site here to read what others have to say ...

ELYRIA, Ohio -- A 16-year-old North Ridgeville boy was sentenced Thursday to five years probation for the stabbing death of the 55-year-old man he said was sexually abusing him.

Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge sentenced Daniel Kovarbasich to the probation, which includes treatment in a program of the court's choosing.

Kovarbasich did not react when the sentence was announced.

Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Tony Cillo had asked for the maximum 10-year sentence.
On April 29, Burge found Kovarbasich guilty of voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault for the death of Duane Hurley, also of North Ridgeville.

Kovarbasich said during the trial that on Jan. 22, he hit Hurley on the head with a pickle jar, then stabbed him repeatedly.

In nervous, halting testimony, Kovarbasich told of two years of sexual relations with Hurley in exchange for money, clothes and other favors. He said he didn't tell anyone about it because he was "embarrassed and ashamed."

Cillo said Thursday that the court only had Kovarbasich's word that a sexual relationship existed. He added that even if it existed, Kovarbasich was clearly the one in charge, getting money from Hurley in a "quid pro quo" relationship.

Kovarbasich's attorney, Jack Bradley, told the judge there is no legal justification for an adult to have sex with a 15- and 16-year-old boy.

Marcy Utlak, spoke for the victim's family. She demanded jail for the boy who killed her uncle.
"Duane had bad arthritis and was 100 pounds overweight, which is why he had to pay people to cut his lawn. We only have Kovarbasich's word about the sexual relationship," she said.

She called Kovarbasich "a cold-blooded murderer."

After Utlak spoke and before announcing the sentence, the judge told the people in the courtroom that he knew Hurley.

"He was a nice guy. I was a fan of all the work he did with youth and sports in Avon Lake and other places . . . His sexual preference was for pubescent boys and there is no way in our society for him to express that preference . . . It was what he was born with . . . what he was stuck with," Burge said.

Cleveland police officers get training on human trafficking

2010-08-13T09:30:00.001-04:00

by Rachel Dissell, Plain Dealer on August 10th

Cleveland police training instructor George Kwan wants officers to look for signs of human trafficking in the situations they encounter everyday.

Kwan implored the patrol officers and detectives, who were sitting through a new training program Tuesday, to keep their eyes open for what he called shoppers and smugglers.

The shoppers, he said, target a specific type of young girls, enticing and persuading them to leave for a better life -- before entrapping them in the sex trade.

The smugglers deal mainly in non-English speaking people, forced to work low or no wage jobs. They may be the ones that refill your soda at the buffet restaurant, he said.

Human traffickers profit by forcing people -- usually at-risk youth or immigrants -- to work for them. They can be a part of worldwide networks or one-person local operations. It is basically the modern day equivalent of slavery, he explained.

The training was meant as an elementary primer on what constitutes human trafficking and who is most at risk -- not an in-depth session on how to investigate the crimes.

It comes on the heels of a statewide report released in February that pointed to Ohio's weak human trafficking laws, demand for cheap labor and proximity to the Canadian border make it ripe for illegal activity.

The introduction is especially important since, Kwan said, a new casino planned for downtown would undoubtedly fuel more drug, sex and fraud-related crimes.

He also said the high prevalence of vacant houses in the city, make easy squatting ground for daytime brothels.

However, Kwan warned the officers that they are limited in how they can respond to trafficking offenses because there is no specific law in Ohio that make human trafficking a crime -- only tougher penalties for people who commit other crimes, including kidnapping, abduction, compelling prostitution and child endangering.

Forty-two other states do have laws that allow them to bring charges with serious penalties against human traffickers.

"Ohio is open, open season for this type of trafficking," Kwan said.

The training was also attended by members of a committee overseeing implementation of a plan to improve Cleveland's repose to sex crimes and missing persons cases.

Kwan tried to bring the issue home for the officers by highlighting local cases of missing teens, Amanda Berry, Georgina "Gina" DeJesus and Ashley Summers. All of teens vanished from West Side neighborhoods in the past seven years. The fact that none of them have been found leaves open the possibility.

He held up a sheet of paper, dotted with rows of pictures of girls missing from the area to make his point.

What do they have in common?

"They are all attractive, they are all between the ages of 14 and 17 and they are all gone," he said. "Anyone think we have a shopper here?"

Allow Me to Introduce ... LaToya Jones!

2010-08-12T09:21:00.001-04:00

LaToya recently reached her 5 year anniversary as a Hotline Advocate. I'd like you to know a little bit more about her and I'm sure you'll join me in wishing her a "Happy Anniversary"!

What led you to volunteer with CRCC? A school project.

What do you enjoy most about volunteering with CRCC? Allowing others a chance to vent and express how they feel.

What do you find most challenging about volunteering with CRCC? Sometimes the stories the survivors tell are very sad.

What do you do in your professional life? I am a Probation Officer for Cuyahoga County.

What do you enjoy doing when you're not working or volunteering? Reading, skating, movies, spending time with my niece.

What do you do most often to practice self-care? Meditate

If you had a magic wand, what would you wish? That everyone would be happy

If you won the lottery, how would you spend the money? Family, friends, donate to charities

Favorites
Game: Taboo
Book: Anything by Michelle McKinney Hammond
Movie: Love and Basketball
Website or blog: facebook
Musician or group: Musiq
Vacation spot: Florida
Meal: Shrimp
Spot in your house: My room
Sports team: Cavs

Craigslist is hub for child prostitution, allege trafficked women

2010-08-11T08:59:00.001-04:00

by Chris McGreal, http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/aug/08/craigslist-underage-prostitution-allegations

The online classified advertising site, Craigslist, is facing accusations that it has become a hub for underage prostitution after two young women placed an advertisement in the Washington Post saying they were repeatedly sold through the site to men who "paid to rape" them.

The allegations came as a federal judge threw out an attempt by Craigslist – named after its owner, Craig Newmark – to stop a criminal investigation over its "adult services" section which is alleged to carry thousands of prostitution ads daily.

In an open letter to Newmark placed in the Washington Post, the two women appealed for him to shut Craigslist's adult services section.

One of the women, who identified herself as MC, said she was forced into prostitution at the age of 11 by a man who trafficked "many girls my age".

"All day, me and other girls sat with our laptops, pasting pictures and answering ads on Craigslist, he made $1,500 a night selling my body, dragging me to Los Angeles, Houston, Little Rock – and on one trip to Las Vegas in the trunk of a car," the ad said. "Craig we write this letter so you will know from our personal experiences how Craigslist makes horrific acts like this so easy to carry out … and the men who arrange them very rich."

The second woman, identified as AK, said that last year she met a man twice her age who pretended to be her boyfriend. "He put my picture on Craigslist, and I was sold for sex by the hour at truck stops and cheap motels, 10 hours with 10 different men every night. This became my life," the ad said. "Men answered the Craigslist advertisements and paid to rape me. The $30,000 he pocketed each month was facilitated by Craigslist 300 times."

AK said she knew of more than 20 girls who were trafficked on the site: "Like me, they were taken from city to city, each time sold on a different Craigslist site."

The ad was partly paid for by Fair Fund, a group working with young women who have been sold for sex. It described Craigslist as "the Wal-Mart of online sex trafficking". Fair Fund said it had checked the women's accounts and could vouch for them. It said AK had met the US attorney general, Eric Holder.

Craigslist's chief executive, Jim Buckmaster, said it worked tirelessly with law enforcement agencies to identify ads that exploited children, manually reviewed every adult service ad before posting and required phone verification by the person placing it.

Two years ago, under the threat of legal action by about 40 US states, Craigslist began charging $10 (£6.25) per posting for adult services ads, whereas most of the site is free. Some of the revenue goes to charity. That did not reassure groups working with children forced into the sex trade.

Thousands of ads continue to be placed each day that list charges for encounters. Many include words that the Fair Fund says are flags for underage prostitution such as "fresh" and "inexperienced".

Last month, dozens of anti-prostitution groups led protests outside Craigslist's San Francisco HQ to demand an end to sex trade ads.

Last week, Newmark was confronted in the street by a CNN reporter with ads from Craigslist that appeared to offer girls for sex, and the case of a 12-year-old girl forced into prostitution and sold on the site until she was freed in a police raid north of Washington in June. A 42-year-old man was charged with human trafficking. Newmark declined to respond.

The website is under criminal investigation in South Carolina, where the attorney general, Henry McMaster, described Craigslist's alleged promotion of prostitution as a "very serious matter". On Friday, a federal judge threw out an attempt by Craigslist to block the investigation. The same day, the attorney general of Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal, called for Craigslist to scrap sex adverts.

Buckmaster has accused McMaster and other law enforcement officials of "grandstanding" and attempting to impose an outdated sexual moral code.

Thank you, Sarah Kostick!

2010-08-10T09:11:00.001-04:00

This isn't my first post about how wonderful Sarah Kostick is. And those of you who have had the opportunity to volunteer or train with Sarah also know that she's fabulous.

But there is an all-new reason that Sarah is such a stand-out Advocate.

You see, Sarah graduated from law school in the spring and has spent the entire summer studying for the bar exam. And last week she drove herself to Columbus to take actually take the killer test.

So what does this have to do with Advocacy?

Bear with me.

On her way back from Columbus, just hours after completing the most grueling examination of her entire life, Sarah got an emergency request to act as a F2F Advocate. And she took it!

Sarah ignored all the excuses she had at the ready. She thought about the survivor waiting for an Advocate at the hospital. She went to the hospital without even going home first.

Not only did she show up but she did an amazing job and made an immeasurable difference to the survivor. And that is why Sarah is not only an amazing Advocate but an amazing person.

Thank you, Sarah!

From a Fellow Advocate

2010-08-09T09:16:00.003-04:00

from Mike Scur, Hotline Advocate since Fall 2009

It’s fairly ridiculous when a woman’s explicit statement of dissent (saying “No, no” when asked to remove her clothes at a bar) can be disregarded by being present in a bar when dancing infront of a camera. Unfortunately that’s how a jury ruled things in Missouri, suggesting she had “implicitly consented” by dancing prior.

Mo. woman loses lawsuit over 'Girls Gone Wild’ video

by Tim O'Neil, http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_30865bcc-95eb-11df-9734-00127992bc8b.html

ST. LOUIS -- A jury on Thursday rejected a young woman's claim that the producers of a "Girls Gone Wild" video damaged her reputation by showing her tank top being pulled down by another person in a Laclede's Landing bar.

A St. Louis Circuit Court jury deliberated 90 minutes before ruling against the woman, 26, on the third day of the trial. Lawyers on both sides argued the key issue was consent, with her side saying she absolutely refused to give it and the defense claiming she silently approved by taking part in the party.

The woman, identified in court files as Jane Doe, was 20 when she went to the former Rum Jungle bar in May 2004 and was filmed by a "Girls Gone Wild" video photographer. Now married, the mother of two girls and living in the St. Charles area, Doe sued in 2008 after a friend of her husband's reported that she was in one of the videos.

"I am stunned that this company can get away with this," Doe said after the verdict. "Justice has not been served. I just don't understand. I gave no consent."

But Patrick O'Brien, the jury foreman, told a reporter later that an 11-member majority decided that Doe had in effect consented by being in the bar and dancing for the photographer. In a trial such as this one, agreement by nine of 12 jurors is enough for a verdict.

"Through her actions, she gave implied consent," O'Brien said. "She was really playing to the camera. She knew what she was doing."

Told of that reasoning, the tearful woman said, "I was having fun until my top was pulled off. And now this thing is out there for the world to see forever."

David A. Dalton II of St. Peters, lawyer for the defendants, said, "The jury listened to the evidence and made the right decision." Dalton said he knew before the trial began that the general reputation of "Girls Gone Wild" videos presented him with a challenge.

Crews that produce them travel to taverns, beaches and other tourist spots and publicly encourage young women to disrobe. The videos include other sexually charged episodes.
The woman's lawyers had asked for about $5 million, including the $1.5 million they estimated the company has made on the video in question, called "Girls Gone Wild Sorority Orgy."

Stephen Evans of St. Louis, her lawyer, argued Thursday that Doe never gave consent — and even could be heard in original footage saying "no" when asked to show her breasts shortly before another woman suddenly pulled Doe's top down. Evans said the company usually gets women to sign consent forms or give verbal consent with cameras rolling.

"Other girls said it was OK. Not one other one said, 'No, no,'" Evans said. "She is entitled to go out with friends and have a good time and not have her top pulled down and get that in a video."

Doe filed suit against MRA Holding LLC and Mantra Films Inc. of Tulsa, Okla. No executives testified.

Cleveland Rape Crisis Center advocate to be located onsite at Sex Crimes Unit

2010-08-06T08:57:00.002-04:00

Reporting a crime can be intimidating, and the nature of a sex crime can make reporting an even greater challenge. A sexual assault survivor may feel shame or be in shock. He or she may fear being judged or not believed when disclosing the terrifying experience they have been through. Given these facts, it is easy to understand why sexual assault is the most under-reported crime in the U.S.

Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and Cleveland Division of Police are taking steps to support victims who choose to report a sexual assault. Starting in the fall, an advocate from CRCC will be available on-site at the Sex Crimes Unit. This developing partnership works to address the recommendations set forth by Mayor Frank Jackson's Special Commission on Sex Crimes and Missing Persons.

"We are formalizing and enhancing a partnership that has been in place for several years," said Megan O'Bryan, CEO of Cleveland Rape Crisis Center.

The advocate in the sex crimes unit will have access to police reports within a day or two after they are made. "With this partnership, we can reach out to survivors and offer advocacy and therapeutic services at a critical time," said Ashley Hawke, Director of Advocacy Services. "Our hope is that, with these supportive services, individuals can better understand and participate in the criminal justice process."

Model policy from the International Association of Chiefs of Police recommends prompt use of a victim advocate to provide support and inform victims about the criminal justice process. O'Bryan noted, "By working closely with our advocates, Cleveland's Sex Crimes Unit is utilizing a best practice. This can only strengthen the services victims receive, and both organizations."

Volunteers Needed for Research Study

2010-08-05T08:54:00.001-04:00

You may take part in this research study if you:

Have experienced unwanted sexual contact
Have been forced to participate in sexual activities without your consent or against your will

You may not take part in this research study if you:

Are under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the interview
Are experiencing psychotic or manic symptoms which would interfere with your being able to focus on the interview
Are currently experiencing an acute crisis which would prohibit you from being able to focus on the interview
Are currently seen by the researcher for care (to be determined during initial phone contact)

What will be asked to do?

Talk with the female researcher to learn more about the study so you can make an informed decision
Be willing to talk about your personal relationships after the sexual assault occurred
Participate in an interview of about 60-90 minutes (the researcher may contact you for clarification if needed)
Review a summary of the findings from everyone who participated to ensure your experience is accurately represented

You will be compensated for participation in this study.

If you are interested in learning more about this study or if you have questions, please contact the researcher at 440-382-8636

Getting Married and Changing Names

2010-08-04T09:11:00.000-04:00

--Hello all--

I will be out of the office for awhile because I'm getting married!!!!

When I return I will be Sarah Bartholomew-Fisher.

I had a very hard time deciding what to call myself after I get married. It seems like whatever I chose, I was going to have to explain to someone.

Lisa Belkin from the New York Times writes -

Hyphenating works, at least for a generation, but can be long and cumbersome. Using one name for work and another at home means never remembering who you are. Giving baby boys Dad’s last name and baby girls Mom’s last name? He taking her name? Creating something new from scratch? All possible and all with their own complications.

(http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/whats-in-a-last-name/)

Growing up I always assumed that I would change my last name to match my husbands; however, when it came time to actually do it, I wasn’t sure I would be able to.

I wanted to have the same name as Lee, my future husband, because, it’s easier, and we are going to be a family and I wanted to signify that. I wanted both myself and Lee to change our last names to Bartholomew-Fisher but he wasn’t too excited about that idea (I spent my whole life thinking I was going to change my last name and then decided I wasn’t too keen on the idea, so I don’t blame him for not wanting to change his last name with only a few months notice).

But why had he never thought about changing his name? Male privilege. Number 21. on the Male Privilege Checklist: I will never be expected to change my name or questioned if I don’t change my name. (The Male Privilege Checklist can be found here http://sap.mit.edu/content/pdf/male_privilege.pdf)

Although men do not get questioned for not changing their name, they may be ridiculed as not manly if they do changing their name.

Lucy Gillam has a great blog post about male privilege. It has a lot of good points, but the one that stands out to me is when she talks about the inequality of the name changing system. (Lucy's post can be found at http://www.trickster.org/symposium/symp181.htm)

… true gender equality is actually perceived as inequality. A group that is made up of 50% women is perceived as being mostly women. A situation that is perfectly equal between men and women is perceived as being biased in favor of women.

And if you don't believe me, you've never been a married woman who kept her family name. I have had students hold that up as proof of my "sexism." My own brother told me that he could never marry a woman who kept her name because "everyone would know who ruled that relationship." Perfect equality - my husband keeps his name and I keep mine – is held as a statement of superiority on my part.

How could I change my name, buying into this system that assumes that women will change their names when they get married and not stand up against male privilege?

My next thought was to have us both take Bartholomew as a 2nd middle name (so we would both have 4 names). We both agreed to this name change and the decision was made...but then I freaked out about changing my name...again.

I talked to friends and family about what they thought and to get ideas, but really what it all comes down to was what I wanted to do. I have to live with this name for forever. I think my friend Suzanne said it best “To be honest I think true feminism is about doing what's best/feels right/ making your own choice. Changing my name never seemed fair/right to me. So, I didn’t change it (and oh well!) If you felt that you wanted to change your name because ...it was a choice YOU made- I’d feel that was feminist too. In my class on sexism I try to break down these ideas that something is "feminist" or not. I call it "PRO HAPPY FEMINISM" so, my dearest Sarah- do what makes YOU happy. It's your choice, your decision- that’s the root (in my opinion) of what is feminist”.

So long story only kinda short, I am going to be Sarah Bartholomew-Fisher and Lee is going to take Bartholomew as a second middle name. It will be a super long name and I will need to learn how to make a capital F in script, but it’s the best fit for how I am feeling.

And of course I cannot write a post about getting married and male privilege without also noting that I am clearly taking advantage of straight privilege by getting married in the United States when not all couples in the US are afforded this right.

Have fun at poker while I am gone!!!!

Life is really simple ...

2010-08-03T08:51:00.001-04:00

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. --Confucius

Jay Shafer lives in an 8-by-12 foot house. He built it from scratch. With no prior carpentry knowledge or experience. "I'm sure there are people out there who think I'm crazy for living so small, but living in this little house has allowed me to totally reinvent my life," he says. With a desire to "escape the rat race," the former grocery-store clerk's intentions were simple: focus on the things he really wanted to do, and not on working for money. Now, he runs a company that builds small homes for others. "I never thought I'd be an entrepreneur in anything, but it's my passion to design small houses," he smiles. "It's been really liberating."

Camp Create: a Great Success!

2010-08-02T13:16:00.002-04:00

Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, Bellflower Center for Prevention of Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Center presented Camp Create, a children's day camp for girls and boys, ages 7 to 12, who have experienced or witnessed violence. The week-long camp relied on expressive therapies such as art making, movement, writing,... drama and music to provide a safe, supportive and nurturing environment.

Check out more photos at www.facebook.com/clevelandrcc

Fiesta de Luz 2010

2010-07-30T09:17:00.001-04:00

You are cordially invited to attend Fiesta de Luz 2010, the fifth annual fundraising celebration to help us raise critical funds for continued programming focusing on health disparities and economic imperatives.

Call 216.651.8236 NOW to order tickets for Fiesta de Luz 2010 which takes place at the Terrace Club at Progressive Field on Saturday, July 31. The event features an exciting silent auction, great live music, Salsa dancing and fabulous Latin cuisine. It is quickly becoming known as the premier Latino-focused event in Cleveland.

July's Continuing Education Event

2010-07-29T10:02:00.005-04:00

Thank you Alex!!!

July’s Continuing Education Event about the Men of Strength (MOST) Club was great!

Of course it was great because Alex is a great speaker but it was also good to learn more about these clubs that are going on across Ohio (and the coutnry) and why they are so successful. Alex spoke about the MOST Club and shared some of the different outcomes he has seen and heard about from different MOST Clubs around Ohio.

I really enjoyed hearing about the transformation that takes place in the group over time. At first one of the major draws for boys and young men to come to the MOST Club is the food that is provided. Over time the relationships that are built between the club members and with the facilitator become the major draw for the club members to continue to come back.

The MOST Club turns the peer pressure model around. It allows these boys and young men to voice their opinions in a safe place and allows them to redefine for themselves what is right and what is real masculinity. (How often do boys get the chance to sit around and discuss feelings!! This is great!)

The Club also works on making it easier to act when they feel something wrong is happening. It gives them tools for standing up for others. And because they have a group of other young men who feel the same way they do, they know that if they want to stand up against something they know they have an entire group of young men who will stand by them.

If anyone is interested in receiving an electronic copy of his power point presentation please email me and I will send you a copy.

If anyone has any questions feel free to contact me at 216-619-6194x116 or Alex at 216-619-6194x121.

Stay tuned for more information on the August 31st Continuing Education Event!!

What happened to Wonder Woman and What's the Feminist Answer?

2010-07-28T09:05:00.000-04:00

From The Women's Media Center

EXCLUSIVE Wonder Woman in Pants is Not a Feminist Win
By Shelby Knox

It’s the end of an era. At 69 years old, Wonder Woman has decided to put on some pants.

Actually, the new duds are not an act of self-determination by the woman (formerly) in red, white and blue. According to the New York Times, the new head writer of the series, J. Michael Straczynski, wanted to “toughen her up and give her a modern sensibility.”

This is modernity? Where are her red boots? What about modernization requires her trademark “W” emblem to fade into the background? How is covering her once rippling, now wimpy, muscles a nod to evolved images of womanhood?

I know what you’re thinking: Shouldn’t feminists be happy that Wonder Woman now looks more like a young woman freshly off a college campus, at once ready to go fight some bad guys in an alley or in a pay discrimination lawsuit? Haven’t we been fighting for women role models with more clothing as well as more substance? She couldn’t really fight evil in a bustier—is this not a feminist win?

No, not by a long shot. In fact, it feels like the sad loss of America’s first truly feminist comic book heroine.

This isn’t the first time DC Comics has tried to “modernize” the Wonder Woman character, which debuted in 1930 as the creation of psychologist William Marston. Marston, with the encouragement of his wife Elizabeth, designed her as a “new kind of superhero, one who would triumph not with fists or firepower, but with love.” Wonder Woman, her creator said, was “psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world.”

As such, Wonder Woman, alias Diana Prince, was introduced as a protégé of the classical goddesses and, like her male crime fighting counterparts, possessed a variety of powers and tools, including superhuman strength, agility and cunning, the ability to fly, bracelets that made her invincible and a “Truth Lasso” that barred those bound by it from uttering lies. Unlike her male counterparts, however, she sought to rid the world of evil by first employing logic and mutual human understanding before breaking out the fire power.

A generation of role-model starved women, finally presented with a truly powerful heroine, proved themselves a reliable comic book fan base—at the height of her early popularity, Wonder Woman had a readership of ten million, appeared in four comic books, and a daily newspaper comic strip, reported Philip Charles Crawford in School Library Journal.

Yet, social progress for women wasn’t correlated with the evolution of their superhero. In 1968, DC Comics debuted a “modern” version of Diana Prince who’d lost her goddess heritage and all her superhuman powers, gained a male mentor and his martial arts skills, and developed a propensity for the domestic arts. She also came equipped with a new “mod” costume: a pantsuit with no “W” emblem, no flags, and no invincible bracelet cuffs.

Feminist outrage at the devolution of their heroine was quick. A group of activists, led by Gloria Steinem, leaned on DC Comics to scrap the “new” Wonder Woman in favor of the more powerful original—and they won, convincing the company to restore Wonder Woman’s powers and history during the next version of the series. They understood that along with equal pay and childcare and the right to hold credit in their own name, young women need to be able to see themselves in strong pop culture role models in order to fashion themselves into the real life versions.

Here we go again, it seems. Wonder Woman donning what looks like skinny jeans is being spun as a direct result of the successes of the Women’s Liberation movement, a reaction to requests that female superheroes do a little less baring of buns and a lot more kicking them. Yet in stripping Diana of her overt sexuality the new writers have missed the reason Wonder Woman was a feminist heroine in the first place. As originally portrayed, Diana Prince was sexy not because of her bare legs and cleavage but because her personhood wasn’t defined by them and her powers not derived from fashioning herself for the male gaze. She could work a 9 to 5 job, hold down a relationship, subvert international conspiracies and toss the villains in jail, and perhaps, as the first cover of Ms. magazine suggested in 1972, even be president—and the way she looked was, as it should be, simply an aside.

While it’s yet to be seen whether this costume change signals an intent to again strip Wonder Woman of her super powers, it’s disconcerting to learn that the writers are creating a new back story for the character that deprives her of her upbringing on Paradise Island with her mother, Queen Hippolyta, and her Amazon sisters in favor of being smuggled out of her homeland as a baby as it was destroyed. Wonder Woman’s original feminist creator’s intent in giving Diana the Paradise Island upbringing was to insinuate she knew gender equality existed because she’d lived it and that her powers were derived from living with and learning from her sisters. In effect, all women could become “Wonder Woman” if they tapped into the feminine power around them and strived for a gender just world that, we know from real live history, really did and can exist. Is this rewrite an attempt to impose the myth of “post-patriarchy” on the character, in which she no longer needs to dream of and fight for equality because she’s achieved it?

If the folks at DC Comics weren’t aware, 2010 America is far from a mythical Amazonian paradise. Take for example new statistics from the Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media pertaining to female role models for young girls. In G rated movies, just one in three speaking roles is female and in PG and R rated films, about 73 percent of the characters are male. While there are notable exceptions, like Dora the Explorer and the girl superheroes in The Invincibles, young women are still hard pressed to find pop culture role models that look and sound like themselves. If, as it seems, Wonder Woman is truly losing some of her characteristic fierceness, that’s one fewer strong female role model for girls to aspire to be.

Jim Lee, the artist responsible for Wonder Woman’s new design, claims he wanted her to look strong “without screaming, ‘I’m a superhero.’ ” Even today, in this “modern era,” it’s still hard not to wonder, what’s so wrong with screaming that?

Dealing Texas Hold 'Em

2010-07-27T10:11:00.005-04:00

from http://boardgames.about.com/cs/poker/a/texas_rules.htm

Don't worry! You don't need to know all the below information to be able to deal for the Nautica Chairty Poker Festival but I thought it would be helpful to take a look at!

Texas Hold 'Em (or Texas Holdem) is the primary version of Poker played in many casinos, and it's the version seen on television shows like the Travel Channel's World Poker Tour and ESPN's World Series of Poker.

These are the basic rules for Texas Hold 'Em Poker.

The Shuffle, The Deal and The Blinds
The dealer shuffles a standard 52-card deck.

(In casinos, the dealer never plays. A round disc -- known as a "dealer button" -- moves clockwise from player to player with each hand. The button marks which player would be the dealer if the deal were advanced from player to player as the game went along.)

Most Texas Hold 'Em Poker games start with the two players to the left of the dealer (the button) putting a predetermined amount of money into the pot before any cards are dealt, ensuring that there's something to play for on every hand. This is called "posting the blinds." Most often, the "first blind" -- the player to the left of the dealer -- puts up half the minimum bet, and the "second blind" puts up the full minimum bet.

Each player is dealt two cards, face down. These are known as the "hole cards."

Betting Begins
A round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the two who posted the blinds. Players can call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to bet.

The Flop
After the first betting round, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called burning the card and is done to ensure that no one accidentally saw the top card, and to help prevent cheating.

The dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table. These cards are called the "flop."

NOTE: Eventually, a total of five community cards will be placed face up on the table. Players can use any combination of the community cards and their own two hole cards to form the best possible five-card Poker hand.

After the flop, another round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the dealer (the button). During this and all future rounds of betting, players can check, call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to bet.

Fourth Street
The dealer burns another card and plays one more face up onto the table. This, the fourth community card, is called the "turn" or "Fourth Street."

The player to the left of the dealer (the button) begins the third round of betting.

Fifth Street
The dealer burns another card before placing the final face-up card on the table. This card is called the "river" or "Fifth Street."

Final Betting and The Winner
Players can now use any combination of seven cards -- the five community cards and the two hole cards known only to them -- to form the best possible five-card Poker hand.

The fourth and final round of betting starts with the player to the left of the dealer (the button).
After the final betting round, all players who remain in the game reveal their hands. The player who made the initial bet or the player who made the last raise shows their hand first.

The player with the best hand wins.

(Please note – since this festival is a fundraiser for us, the dealer will take a couple of chips from each pot – these chips are our profit and are called “the rake”)

'Camp Create' provides artistic outlet for kids

2010-07-26T10:17:00.002-04:00

Check out this link for Channel 3 coverage of Camp Create!

http://www.wkyc.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=234718710001#/Local%20News/Lakewood%3A%20%27Camp%20Create%27%20provides%20artistic%20outlet%20for%20kids/52842945001/52747301001/234718710001

Film and Discussion: Stolen Childhoods

2010-07-23T08:58:00.000-04:00

presented by West Shore Allies Against Human Trafficking

For 246 million children, life is nothing but work.

Narrated by Meryl Streep, STOLEN CHILDHOODS is a documentary feature film about the growing plague of child labor that engulfs the lives of 246 million children today. In extraordinary footage of their working conditions, child slaves, bonded laborers and laboring poor children from eigh countries (including the US) tell their own stories ... children forced to pick pesticide laden tobacco, coffee and vegetables, kids chained to looms, boys kidnapped to work on fishing platforms at sea, girls trafficked for prostitution, children scavenging at dumps and enslaved at rock quarries and brick kilns. All these children tell their stories in their own words.

STOLEN CHILDHOODS features interviews with 2004 Nobel Peace Prizewinner, Wangari Maathai, human rights activist, Kailash Satyarthi and Senator Tom Harkin, who calls the world's child laborers, "a breeding ground for Osama Bin Laden's army and future terrorists."

At a time of increasing global insecurity, STOLEN CHILDHOODS reveals the risks of the world community continuing to waste these children's lives. It portrays local, national and international solutions at work to end child labor, offering a humanitarian path to a more stable world. It gives voice to children still lost to work and it celebrates the resilience of kids whose lives have been saved. It is a shocking, hopeful and energizing film and a call to action.

July 24, 2010
7:00pm
West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church
20401 Hilliard Boulevard
Rocky River, Ohio 44116

Free and open to the public

Cleveland moves fitfully toward making women safer

2010-07-22T09:33:00.001-04:00

by Connie Schultz, published Plain Dealer Sunday, July 18, 2010

This is the good news for survivors of sexual assault in Northeast Ohio: For the first time in decades, there is no waiting list at the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center.

Last fall, the CRCC received $600,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, and hired 11 additional staff members.

The bad news: The CRCC probably will be back to begging for dollars sometime next year, cobbling together one-time grants and contributions to serve a population of survivors whose numbers never diminish.

The national estimates are persistently grim: One in four women, and one in 33 men, will experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetimes.

Yet there is no consistent funding at the federal, state or local levels committed to helping victims of these crimes.

"We don't have a single source of funding we can count on from year to year," says CRCC Director Megan O'Bryan.

The stimulus money came only weeks before news organizations around the world started following the grisly story unfolding in Cleveland's Mount Pleasant neighborhood, where the remains of 11 women were found at the home of Anthony Sowell. CRCC used some of the stimulus money to set up satellite services for those who couldn't, or wouldn't, come to the main site.

The murders ignited community outrage over the handling of crimes that overwhelmingly target women.

In December, Mayor Frank Jackson appointed a three-woman commission to investigate how police handled such cases. In March, the commission released a 900-page report that included 26 recommendations. Jackson appointed an oversight committee to monitor the city's progress.
Last week, Plain Dealer reporters Leila Atassi and Rachel Dissell reported that all sex crimes detectives now have cell phones and e-mail -- a change that illustrates an appallingly low previous standard. The city also has drafted new general police orders for handling missing-persons cases, and plans are in the works for an external agency to audit the caseloads of sex-crimes detectives.

One glaring caveat to this good news: The oversight committee's meetings have been closed to the public and the press, with no plans to change.

O'Bryan, who was on the three-woman commission and is now on the committee, defends the secrecy.

"We are having one-on-one meetings with the police chief and his staff," she says. "We are trying to build a trusting relationship, and it won't help us do that if we're having these conversations in front of the public. . . . They need to trust and respect us to do our job."

I've known O'Bryan for several years. There is no fiercer advocate for survivors of sexual assault. Her organization stakes its work on privacy and confidentiality, which is crucial in helping thousands of survivors every year. It's easy to understand her frustration with calls for transparency.

But in her new role, O'Bryan bears the burden of a community's long-held distrust of its police. Thus the necessary tension: The police want to work out their problems in private, and The Plain Dealer has a duty to examine their every step.

One of the commission's recommendations was that the Cuyahoga County Chiefs of Police Association provide a set of best practices for investigating missing persons and sex crimes.
John Maddox, the organization's president and chief of the Middleburg Heights force, says he is waiting to be asked.

"Nobody's contacted me about that," he told The Plain Dealer's Atassi. "I haven't personally, nor has anyone from the organization, been approached to work on any of those issues. I have no idea what's in that report. And what little I do know, I read about in The Plain Dealer."
Why hasn't the city of Cleveland requested those reports? And why would the police chief of any city in Cuyahoga County wait for an invitation before taking steps to improve the safety of women?

As for having "no idea what's in the report," Maddox and his association of fellow chiefs are hereby invited to visit The Plain Dealer's affiliated Web site, Cleveland.com, where they will find a link to the entire report.

Think of it as mandatory summer reading.

And expect a quiz.

check out the comments left regarding this article right here

July's Continuing Education Event

2010-07-21T08:59:00.001-04:00

I wanted to let you all know about this Month’s Continuing Education Event. On July 21st at 6pm Alex Leslie will be presenting on the Men of Strength (MOST) Club.

I am extremely excited for this event (I will be learning about the club right along with you, I don’t know too much about the club).

I am also excited because the idea for this presentation came from feedback on an evaluation form from a previous Continuing Education Event. An Advocate wrote that they were interested in learning more about “educating boys about rape/ domestic abuse”.

The MOST Club is just that, an evidence-based youth development and mentoring program. The MOST Clubs are the country’s premier primary violence prevention program for mobilizing young men to prevent sexual and dating violence. It provides young men with a structured and supportive space to build individualized definitions of masculinity that promote healthy relationships.

Who: Alex Leslie, Prevention Specialist at the CRCC

What: Presenting on the MOST Club

Where: CRCC Training Room on the 14th Floor

When: Wednesday, July 21st at 6 pm

If you are interested in attending this event please RSVP to me at sarahb@clevelandrcc.org or 216-619-6194x116. And as always please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Charity Poker

2010-07-20T08:44:00.001-04:00

The poker festival is coming and I am super jealous I cannot be there; however, the reason I will not be there is that I will be on my honeymoon in Costa Rica and well... its my honeymoon so I am going to go to that!! BUT if things go well this year and we get asked back next year I will be there FOR SURE.

I was super excited when I got to go see the room where the poker takes place. It is a really neat looking room full of tables. The tables have fancy card shuffling machines in them (which I guess are really expensive and not all places have them so it’s pretty cool that they have them).

My favorite thing that the guy we met with said was “You don’t need to know how to play the game. You need to come to the training but you don’t need to know who won, the people sitting at the table will tell you who won and will probably help you with anything else you need help with”. This was nice to hear since I don’t have a clue about the rules.

If you are not excited about dealing there are other opportunities to help. Collecting the money, counting the money, signing people in when they arrive, etc. It seems like no matter what your job, there will be a lot of energy in the room and it will raise the CRCC a good amount of money in a pretty short period of time.

We need to make sure that this event goes well so that we get invited back and I can deal next year!!!

I Am That Girl

2010-07-19T09:05:00.000-04:00

from Bilyana Simonoski, Resource Development Intern

This year, I had the privilege of listening to Alexis Jones, Founder of I Am That Girl, speak to a crowd of college students and inspire them to follow their passion, whatever it may be, and empower girls to shatter stereotypes and positively impact the world. Jones herself is a shining example of this; proven by her tales of climbing Mount Everest, living in a garage while paying her way through college, and becoming Founder and CEO of I Am That Girl, all before the ripe old age of 26.

Jones and her staff have a fun, honest approach to empowering women to have confidence in themselves, change the world in whatever way they can and “look good while doing it.” They are also determined to redefine the definition of beauty, which they believe:

“…spawns from the intangibles; passion, integrity, charisma, creativity, intelligence, independence, sense of humor, savvy, humility, compassion, courage, our audacity to dream big, our resilience to get back up and our ability to love ourselves and others unconditionally.”

Please visit IamThatGirl.com for more information!

Wait List is Gone for Rape Survivors at Cleveland Rape Crisis Center

2010-07-16T09:10:00.001-04:00

CLEVELAND, July 15, 2010 – Call today and get an appointment with a counselor tomorrow. That doesn’t seem like too much to ask from someone who has experienced a life-changing trauma like rape, but for decades, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center received too many calls to respond that quickly. Many rape survivors who were not in immediate crisis when they called were put on a waiting list that stretched up to six months before they could talk to a therapist.

This summer, thanks to an influx of funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the addition of 11 new staff, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center has eliminated its client waiting list for the first time in decades. Now, when a rape or sexual abuse survivor calls to request therapy, an appointment can be made within days.

“This is monumental,” said Megan O’Bryan, president and CEO of the Center. “Sexual assault survivors deserve immediate access to free services that can help them heal. Now for the first time in a very long time, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center has the resources to meet that demand.”

Last year, the Center received more than $600,000 in federal and state grants that allowed them to expand their staff from 16 to 27 professionals. All of the positions added are in client-serving roles, such as therapists and justice system advocates.

Research shows that the sooner a rape survivor accesses healing services after an attack, the less likely they are to experience long-term trauma symptoms, like nightmares, flashbacks or anxiety. Yet, more than half of the adult women and men that call the Center have waited years or even decades to ask for help.

“The stigma that surrounds sexual violence is still very real,” said Kirsti Mouncey, vice president of client services at the Center. “A large percentage of the people that call for services survived a rape or long periods of sexual abuse 20 or more years ago and never told anyone. When someone finally calls to ask for help with something they have been coping with for decades, it is absolutely critical that we can respond immediately.”

A recent United Way report estimates that more than 150,000 Cuyahoga County residents have survived a rape and have never sought services. National studies suggest that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 33 men will experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime.

Cleveland Rape Crisis Center received 3,174 calls on its 24-hour hotline last year and offered therapy to 1,032 survivors before the positions were added.

“Sexual violence is a pervasive problem in our country and in our world and there have never been even close to enough resources to adequately respond to survivors,” added O’Bryan. “We are fortunate to have a temporary increase in funding from the federal and state government as a result of the ARRA grants.”

O’Bryan said temporary because none of these positions that have helped the Center eliminate the waiting list is permanently funded by ARRA. Many are contracted for only 12 or 24 months.
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center is committed to sustaining at least some of the staff positions for longer periods. They have asked local foundations for help and their recent fundraiser, Sing Out! for Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, raised a record-breaking $318,000, compared to $255,000 in 2008.

“The Cleveland community has been extremely responsive to our requests,” said O’Bryan. “We are very grateful for the confidence that the federal and state governments and local philanthropists have shown in our work to support survivors of sexual assault.”

“For now, women, men and children can call the Center and get help immediately. After decades of waiting lists, we are thrilled to make that statement.”

Male Virginity Test Frees Three Convicted Rapists from Prison

2010-07-15T09:18:00.000-04:00

From Huffington Post

HANOI, Vietnam — An acupuncturist who claims she can detect a man's virginity based on a small dot on the ear has become a minor celebrity in Vietnam, where she is credited with helping to free three convicted rapists from prison.

Traditional medicine practitioner Pham Thi Hong started lobbying for the men's release, pleading their case all the way to the president, because she believes all three men are virgins and therefore could not be guilty of rape.

"They all had small red spots on the back of their ears," said Hong, 54. "The spots should have disappeared if they had had sex. My many years of experience told me that these men did not have sex before."

Her claims are unusual even for a country where acupuncture and traditional medicine are still common remedies, but Hong's determination to have the case reopened – even threatening to light herself on fire – led to prosecutors re-examining the case. The convictions eventually were suspended due to flaws by initial investigators.

"Thanks to her efforts, investigators revisited the case which otherwise could have been buried," said Nong Thi Hong Ha, a lawyer for one of the freed men.

Hong says she discovered the spot on Nguyen Dinh Kien's ear the first time he visited her for treatment four years ago. He was brought to the hospital from prison, where he was serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted of gang raping a 20-year-old woman in 2000.

After seeing the spot on Kien's ear, Hong believed his insistence that he was innocent. She later examined his two alleged accomplices and began a campaign for their release. Eventually, President Nguyen Minh Triet ordered that the case be re-examined.

Investigators who revisited the case discovered flaws, including the fact that testimonies of witnesses indicating their innocence were not included in the case's files, according to the local Pioneer newspaper. The three men, having served 10 years in jail, were released in January.

Vietnamese newspapers have dedicated profiles to Hong and her virginity test, crediting her with helping to free the men while not expressing any skepticism of her ability. Earlier this week, she went on an online chat on Pioneer newspaper where readers expressed their "great admiration" for her efforts.

A link to this story.

Poker Festival Volunteer Positions

2010-07-14T09:07:00.003-04:00

Thanks to everyone who has expressed interest in the Nautica Charity Poker Festival fundraiser we're running on Tuesday, August 17th and Wednesday, August 18th!

I'm getting very excited to, not only make money, but to see everyone and have a good time!

I wanted to give everyone a sense of what we'll all be doing at the festival - working hard for our money but also enjoying ourselves!

Dealers - The dealer position is the easiest and most vital of all positions - without dealers there is no card playing and without card playing there is no money to be made! Dealers hand out cards to the players. That's about it! Each table features an automatic shuffler so the dealer just pulls the top card off the shuffled pile. Players all receive the same number of cards each hand so there's no need to "hit" or "split" or "stand" or anything else that can get confusing. Dealers have nothing to do with bidding do not determine who wins each hand - the players are all very aware of who wins and that player takes their chips. Then the next hand starts. Easy peasy!

Scheduler/Registration - Have you ever gone to a restaurant and been told there was a wait? They take your name and ask you to hang out for awhile until your table is ready. That's essentially what these volunteers are doing - creating a list of those who want to play and, when there are enough interested players, sending them to the correct table. It's basic computer skills and, if you're lucky, a bit of work on the microphone!

Table Monitor - These volunteers are on their feet and taking it all in! In addition to being able to watch the exciting play, they are also keeping their eyes out for open seats that could be filled or running chips if someone needs more money.

Floor Supervisor - In the movies, these are the pit bosses who wear expensive suits and always have their arms crossed in front of their chests. For our event, these are the volunteers who are making sure everything is going smooth, making sure the dealers have everything they need and offering breaks if a dealer needs one. They may cross their arms in front of their chests but will be wearing a much cooler CRCC volunteer t-shirt (free to all event volunteers!).

Tournament Assistants - There are two types of play at the festival - one is Texas Hold 'Em where players win or lose at the end of each hand. The other is Texas Hold 'Em where players are in a tournament and put in a bunch of money at the beginning and keep playing until the run out of money or win everyone's money! These volunteers will help get the tournaments started and assist in making sure they're moving along.

Cage Volunteers - Don't worry - it's not nearly as bad as it sounds! These volunteers collect the money boxes from the tables each hour, calculate the amount of money coming in from each table and record this with the official auditor. This happens in a "cage" which is essentially just a small office. I'll have to work on that title ...

Miscellaneous - As always, there are odds and ends that will need attention throughout the course of the event!

Clearly there are a lot of things to be done and a lot of volunteers needed to keep things running.

The more volunteers we have, the smoother things go, the faster cards are played, the more fun we all have and the more money we make!

If you are interested in volunteering and have not yet done so, please get in touch with me at wendyh@clevelandrcc.org or (216)619-6194 x119. Remember you do not need to be an active volunteer with the CRCC so anyone can volunteer and bring some friends or family along with you!

Texas Hold 'Em

2010-07-13T09:01:00.001-04:00

from Bilyana Simonoski, Resource Development Intern

Cleveland Rape Crisis Center is eagerly anticipating its first-annual Nautica Charity Poker Festival taking place August 17th and 18th.

You don't need any knowledge of Texas Hold 'Em to volunteer (even if you're dealing!) but for those of you who have never played, or for the pros that need a quick refresher, here is a crash course from TexasHoldem-poker.com (AceNine, LLC, 2010) to make your Texas Hold’em abilities Vegas-worthy.

A Texas Hold'em poker game goes as follows:

Depending on the limit and betting structure, players will place out blinds and antes so there is an initial amount to get things started. This is called posting.

The dealer shuffles up a standard deck of 52 playing cards.

Each player is dealt two private cards face down. These are called your hole cards or pocket cards.

Then there is a round of betting starting with the player to the left of the blinds. This is the preflop betting round. Like most games of poker, players can call, raise, or fold.

After the betting round ends, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called a burn card. This is done to prevent cheating.

The dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table. This is called the flop. These are communal cards that anyone can use in combination with their two pocket cards to form a poker hand.

The player to the left of the dealer starts another betting round.

After the betting concludes, the dealer burns again then flips another communal card onto the table. This is called the turn.

The player to the left of the dealer begins another round of betting. In many types of games, this is where the bet size doubles.

Again, the dealer burns a card and places a final card face up on the table. This is called the river. Players can now use any of the five cards on the table or the two cards in their pocket to form a five card poker hand.

There is one final round of betting starting with the player to the left of the dealer.

After that, we have the showdown. All of the players who haven't folded reveal their hands. This begins with the player to the left of the last player to call. Players use a combination of their pocket cards and the community cards to form a five card poker hand.

The player who shows the best hand wins! Although sometimes players with the same hand split the pot.

For more information, follow the link below:
http://www.texasholdem-poker.com/beginnersintro

"Keep Up the Fantastic Work!"

2010-07-12T09:09:00.002-04:00

Hi! My name is Rebecca Walker and I am the Non-Profit Management Intern here at the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. I do things from writing thank you letters to helping design t-shirts for future CRCC events.

I’m so glad that I have the opportunity to help out around here where I can because I truly believe that this is an incredible place and resource for those affected by sexual violence.

One of my best friends was a client at the CRCC last year and she recently sat me down to tell me about her experience here.

She told me about her art therapy sessions and her talks with different members of the staff. Reflecting on her experience here, she spoke of how kind and accepting everyone at the center was towards her, and how she was finally able to understand that the actions of the man who sexually assaulted her were not her fault. She was able to break free from the guilt and shame she felt.

She told me that the CRCC saved her life, and she doesn’t know where she would be today without the staffs’ help and support.

It’s great to be able to do little things around here to help out staff members, but what makes it even better is knowing how much the CRCC does for its clients. Keep up the fantastic work!

Nautica Charity Poker Festival!

2010-07-09T08:42:00.000-04:00

That's right - it's for a great charity!
It's poker!
It's definitely a festival!

And you can help play a part in helping out, having fun and helping us to raise a lot of money!!

We are currently in need of volunteers for the following shifts:

Tuesday, August 17th
3:00-7:00
5:00-9:00
8:00-midnight

Wednesday, August 18th
3:00-7:00
5:00-9:00
8:00-midnight

Interested? You should be!

Let's get down to the details:

What is this festival fundraiser?
Charity poker is a fundraising event held each week that is run by an experienced, licensed organization. A charity provides volunteers who staff the event and receives the event's profits.

Who can volunteer?
Anyone over 18 without a felony on their record. Volunteers for the festival do not need to be trained volunteers with the CRCC. Volunteers do not need to know anything about the game of Texas Hold 'Em. Bring your siblings, spouses, classmates, neighbors, bus driver ... the more the merrier!

Is there training?
Yes and it's both easy and required! We have scheduled 3 training sessions so that we can all learn together! These sessions are:
Wednesday, July 21st 6:00-6:30
Wednesday, July 28th 6:00-6:30
Wednesday, August 4th 6:00-6:30

Will I have fun?
Absolutely.

I'm in! Sign me up! And I'll bring some friends!
Great news! Please contact Wendy Hanna at wendyh@clevelandrcc.org or (216)619-6194 x119. To register, please provide the following information:
Name, e-mail address and phone contact for you and anyone volunteering with you
Times you are available

Allow me to introduce ... Pat Fleming

2010-07-08T08:52:00.001-04:00

I'd like everyone to learn a bit about Pat Fleming. Pat shot to CRCC fame in April when he developed the analogy of scheduling hotline shifts to playing a game of Battleship! Pat is one of our newer Advocates, completing his hotline training this past fall, but he's already made quite an impact both on the program and in the lives of survivors.

What led you to volunteer with CRCC?
I was a peer educator at Miami University presenting to males on campus (specifically fraternities and athletes) about sexual assault, prevalence, and their role in preventing it/supporting friends who experienced it. After moving to Cleveland I really wanted to stay involved in the area and learn how I can better serve the community.

Pat is pictured above with his sisters

What do you enjoy most about volunteering with CRCC?
Besides Wendy's e-mails telling me that I got all the shifts I requested from her ... letting callers know that they're not along with whatever they're dealing with and there's always someone available to try and help.

What do you find most challenging about volunteering with CRCC?
Besides dealing with the rejection Wendy dishes out when I request a 6-10 shift my peers have already snatched up ... I guess I would say the nature of now knowing what happens next for a caller, because you can have a great talk with someone and they may seem totally eager to call up the referral you gave them, but there's no way of knowing for sure if they follow through with it so it can leave you feeling a bit incomplete - but that's the nature of it!

What do you enjoy doing when you're not volunteering?
I love watching and playing sports!! I always have high hopes for Cleveland sports teams. I'm also very active in youth ministry at my church and even helped start/coach our girls' basketball team. Otherwise, I love hanging out with my friends, having hilarious life experiences and trying new beers. I also enjoying ragging on Wendy for being a Steelers fan.

What do you do most often to practice self-care?
Working out and video games.

If money wasn't an issue, describe your ideal vacation.
I studied abroad for a semester in college and had the best 5 months of my life. I would do that again (minus the studying) and travel Europe and the Middle East. I managed to get all over Europe but there's still so much I want to explore. The Middle East's history is so vast and interesting - I haven't had a chance to explore it at all yet! I'd like to bring some of my friends so I've got someone to take pictures with me and translate!

Favorites ...
Book: Rainbow 6 by Tom Clancy, After Silence by Nancy Venable Raine
Movie: The Dark Knight and The Departed
Website or blog: http://www.sports.yahoo.com/
Vacation spot: Ireland or anywhere with friends
Meal: Prime rib, mashed potatoes, Caesar salad
Spot in your house: Couch (haha!)
Sports teams: Desperate Cleveland sports fan and huge Notre Dame Irish fan too

Pat (standing, second from left) with friends during a recent trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Fired NY banker's suit, and suits, raise eyebrows

2010-07-07T08:56:00.001-04:00

from Bilyana Simonski, Resource Development Intern

The following is an article from The Associated Press discussing sexual harassment in the workplace and if it applies to the New York Banker filing a lawsuit against Citibank for allegedly being fired for “looking too distracting for her male colleagues to handle.”

Fired NY banker's suit, and suits, raise eyebrows

(AP)-June 29, 2010

NEW YORK — It went viral as the ultimate example of being punished for circumstances beyond one's control: a woman who said she was fired from her banking job because she complained that her male colleagues called her bodacious figure a workplace distraction.

Then - after the tabloid headlines, the TV interviews, the New York Times column - came the disclosure that the buxom banker who said she couldn't help the way she looked had, in fact, helped it a lot, through a series of cosmetic surgeries she had extolled on reality TV.

When Debrahlee Lorenzana asked state human-rights officials on Monday to investigate her claims against Citibank - which the bank denies - her story had already become a crucible teeming with touchy subjects: sexual harassment, women's workplace fashion, society's obsession with beauty, Americans' mixed feelings about publicity-seeking. It's a morality play for the YouTube era.

But as commentators ranging from legal analysts to comedians debate whether she's a novel form of discrimination victim or a gold digger trying to cash in on male attention she courted, the 33-year-old single mom at the center of it all says she's unbowed and trying to teach corporate America a lesson.

She followed the bank's dress code and tried to do her job, she says, and so what if she strove to look - in her own words - like a Playboy model?

"There's nothing wrong with that," Lorenzana said at a news conference Monday. "One thing has nothing to do with the other."

Read the rest of this article at: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5imCPj3x0n1R2OB_vwM2aHA_tdpngD9GKK7E80

Congress Passes Legislation to Expand Rights of Victims Sexually Assaulted on Cruise Ships

2010-07-06T09:08:00.001-04:00

from http://www.rainn.org/

Legislation Requires Passenger Access to the National Sexual Assault Hotlines

July 1, 2010 – (Washington, DC) – Cruise passengers are one step closer to enjoying a safe vacation, thanks to Congressional passage of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act. The bill, introduced by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), requires safety measures for Americans at sea and provides protections for those sexually assaulted on board. It also mandates that cruise lines provide victims with “free and immediate access” to the National Sexual Assault Hotline and Online Hotline, both operated by RAINN. The president is expected to sign the bill shortly.

According to Scott Berkowitz, president and founder of RAINN, “Safety protections in this bill will significantly reduce passengers’ risk of sexual assault, and expand the rights of those sexually assaulted on board. By connecting cruise passengers with the support services available through the National Sexual Assault Hotline and Online Hotline, this legislation provides a vital lifeline for victims on cruise ships.” Berkowitz added, “We are thankful to Rep. Matsui and Sen. Kerry for their leadership on this issue, and look forward to working with the cruise industry to ensure that passengers in need receive the help that they deserve.”

Each year more than 10 million Americans take cruises, often unaware of the possible dangers on board. According to the FBI, sexual assault is the leading crime reported on the high seas. This legislation requires that cruise ships provide passengers with free, immediate, and confidential access to RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE) and Online Hotline (online.rainn.org). The hotlines, which have helped more than 1.4 million victims of sexual violence, both provide 24/7 support to those in need.

Other provisions of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act require cruise ships to address the immediate medical needs of a victim by providing anti-retroviral medications to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, as well as give victims access to sexual assault forensic exams (commonly known as “rape kits”) to ensure that all forensic evidence is properly preserved. Ships will also be required to have a U.S. licensed medical practitioner on board at all times to perform the necessary medical examinations and administer treatment. Additional provisions of the legislation require that cruise ships equip all staterooms and crew cabins with peep holes and security latches to further enhance safety.

According to Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA), “Implementation of H.R. 3360 is critical to providing the security and safety measures that all Americans need and deserve. I would like to especially thank RAINN for their tireless advocacy on behalf of this legislation, and other key measures that will help prevent sexual assault events from happening - and providing the support victims need if and when it does.”

“As a former prosecutor and advocate for sexual assault victims, I was proud to work with RAINN to ensure that no one forfeits their right to be protected when they board a cruise ship,” said Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). “I applaud my colleagues for helping to ensure that security, safety, and accountability are strengthened, criminals are held accountable, and the cycle of serious crimes on these vessels comes to an end.”

Kendall Carver, the chairman of International Cruise Victims and the driving force behind the legislation, said: “The approval of this legislation represents an historic step towards securing for all passengers the safety and security they need and deserve.” He added that it is “proof to the world that our small group of volunteers with limited funds has been able to make a difference in the safety of Americans. When the Cruise Safety legislation is signed into law, it will serve to protect Americans across the nation during what ought to be relaxing vacations.” He also thanked RAINN for the “major efforts they made to support our efforts in passing this major legislation.

Fourth of July

2010-07-02T09:01:00.001-04:00

I hope you enjoy the three "F"s this holiday weekend ...

Family/Friends

Fireworks

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

And a special thanks to all of you keeping our 24 hour programs running even over the holiday.

Shatter the Silence Trail Run

2010-07-01T09:04:00.001-04:00

SHATTER THE SILENCE is a trail challenge open to guys and gals. A portion of the proceeds benefits the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center.

The course is contained within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and is semi-hilly with plush foliage, beautiful scenery and just enough of a challenge to keep you on your toes.

Three event categories:

1.5-mile hike for those new the trails (7:10 p.m.)
5K (3.2 miles) for newbie runners (7:05 p.m.)
10K (6.4 miles) for trail runners (7 p.m.)

Thursday, August 19, 2010
7:00 pm
Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ledges Shelter
701 Truxell Road

Registration Closing Date
Monday, August 16, 2010

To register, you can go to:
http://www.womensmultisportconnection.com/. Click the races and events tab, and you will find the application. You can also register online Shatter the Silence.

Trauma Stewardship

2010-06-30T08:51:00.001-04:00

from Kirsti Mouncey, Vice President of Client and Clinical Services

This is a great book and resource for vicarious trauma. The website includes some information as well as the author telling her story of vicarious traumatization. Great book!

http://traumastewardship.com/

The early American author, naturalist, and philosopher Henry Thoreau was said to have been torn by two powerful desires: “to enjoy the world and to set the world straight.” This book is written for anyone who is doing work with an intention to make the world more sustainable and hopeful—all in all, a better place--and who, through their work, is exposed to the hardship, pain, crisis, trauma, or suffering of other living beings or the planet. This book is for those who notice they are not the same people they once were, or are being told by their families, friends, colleagues, or pets that something is different about them.

This book is a navigational tool for remembering that we have choices at every step of our lives; we are choosing our own path. We can make a difference without suffering; we can do meaningful work in a way that works for us and for those we serve. We can enjoy the world and set it straight. Taking care of ourselves while taking care of others allows us to contribute to our societies with such impact that we will leave a legacy informed by our deepest wisdom and greatest gifts instead of burdened with our struggles and despair.

Laura talks about how she came to be interested in the concept of Trauma Stewardship.

Something from the site to give you a laugh:

Sarah Haskins in Target Women: Story Time

2010-06-29T08:53:00.002-04:00

from www. current.com

Inside every woman is a little girl. And inside that little girl is a littler girl. And inside THAT little girl is a princess, waiting to be rescued by a hot dude with a magical product.

Life Without Worry

2010-06-28T09:17:00.003-04:00

from http://www.dailygood.org/

How much pain they have cost us, the evils which have never happened. --Thomas Jefferson

It keeps us up at night. Weighs our shoulders down. Hangs over us in clouds of doubt and furrowed eyebrows. Worry. There's nothing appealing about it, yet many of us find our minds entangled in self-doubt, uncertainty, and grappling with unknowns.

But for Akaya Windwood, worry is a thing of the past. A few years ago, after her sister was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, Windwood made the decision to stop worrying. "I began to understand that it was a habit of my mind... But it wasn't enough to just not worry; I needed to replace the habit of worry with something else, and I chose trust."

Looking back, her decision not to worry has freed her to be an increasingly creative, inspired, and effective leader. With a clearer head, challenges become opportunities, and fear falls off the wayside.

read more about this here