The Resource The National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s Newsletter 2013 Fall & Winter (Cover photo of a draped American flag) Sexual Violence in the Military Inside Supporting Access to anti-HIV meds Page 7 Teens tell us how they make a difference Page 8 DNA evidence testing gets push in Ohio Page 16 What does it mean to be profeminist? Page 20 Cover: What needs to be done to prevent assaults, help victims Page 12 Feedback The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) invites your comments: The Resource/NSVRC 123 North Enola Drive, Enola, PA 17025 Toll free: 877-739-3895 Fax: 717-909-0714 TTY: 717-909-0715 Email: resources@nsvrc.org www.nsvrc.org Editor & Designer: Mallory Gricoskie, NSVRC Communications Specialist NSVRC Communications Director: Tracy Cox NSVRC Director: Karen Baker, LMSW CEO, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape: Delilah Rumburg NSVRC Advisory Council Victoria Banyard, Ph.D., Durham, NH Peggy Brown, Juneau, AK Susan Chasson, Provo, UT Maia Christopher, Beaverton, OR Robert Franklin, MS, Richmond, VA Keith Kaufman, Ph.D., Portland, OR Patrick Lemmon, Portland, OR Strong Oak, LICSW, Greenfield, MA Grace S. Mattern, Concord, NH Holly Ramsey-Klawsnik, Ph.D., Canton, MA Jennifer Rauhouse, Phoenix, AZ Malia Richmond-Crum, MPH, Atlanta, GA Delilah Rumburg, Enola, PA Cassandra Thomas, Houston, TX Rebecca Ward, PsyD, San Juan, PR Ellen Yin-Wycoff, Sacramento, CA This publication was supported by Cooperative Agreement #1H28CE002205-01 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, PCAR or NSVRC. About the cover (Picture same as cover) While sexual violence runs against the grain of the military’s cultural standards — standards that include self-discipline, trust, selflessness, and honorable conduct — it remains a pervasive problem through the ranks. Delilah Rumburg, CEO of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and an expert on military sexual assault, says that three things need to happen in order to move forward: Focus on prevention; believe victims, respect them, and uphold their privacy; and hold offenders accountable. In an interview with The Resource, Maj. Gen. Sharon K. G. Dunbar talks about prevention efforts currently under way in the military and what advocates and civilians can do to lend a hand. She offers a message to survivors of military sexual assault: “Our first and foremost commitment is to support you. We’re also here to seek justice if and when you decide.” More on Pages 12 & 14 Inside In every issue 4-5 Contributors 6 Director’s Viewpoint 22 From the Library 24 Coalition Spotlight: OH 26 Coalition Spotlight: NJ 32 Honors Main features 10 Want to infuse young voices into your organization? LA VIDA does just that with its Youth Board-led Peer Advocacy Training. 18 Indigenous communities are embracing prevention — and their message has been shaped by ancestral teachings. 33 “Inspire a Movement, Invest in Change, Imagine ...”: Scenes from the 2013 National Sexual Assault Conference. 34 Coming Up: Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2014 will focus on healthy sexuality and young people. 35 Tech Roundup: A recently released app from Hollaback! helps users track and report street harassment. PICTURE AT TOP OF PAGE: Strong Oak Lefebvre, center, Circle Keeper of the Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle (VBC), drums during VBC’s Intertribal Peace And Justice Pow Wow (photo provided by Strong Oak Lefebvre). PICTURE AT LEFT OF PAGE: LA VIDA Youth Board member Dabne Deleón speaks at the organization’s annual Peer Advocacy Training (photo provided by LA VIDA). 2013 Fall & Winter Contributors Mike DeWine is the Attorney General of Ohio. His commitment to victims of crime began at the start of his career, when he was a county prosecutor. He has served as a state senator, member of Congress, Ohio’s Lieutenant Governor, and U.S. Senator prior to becoming Ohio’s Attorney General. Maj. Gen. Sharon K. G. Dunbar is Commander of the Air Force District of Washington and the 320th Air Expeditionary Wing. AFDW is the Air Force component to the Joint Forces Headquarters-National Capital Region, and is responsible for organizing, training and equipping combat forces for aerospace expeditionary forces, homeland operations, civil support, national special security events, and ceremonial events. Donna Greco is the Training and Technical Assistance Director at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), where she supports the provision of training and technical assistance to the nation on a wide range of sexual violence prevention and intervention topics. Prior to joining the NSVRC, Donna worked as the Education and Resource Coordinator at the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape. Katie Hanna is the Executive Director of the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence, Ohio’s statewide sexual assault coalition. She holds a master’s degree in counseling from Ohio State University, is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, and has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography from Rochester Institute of Technology. Strong Oak Lefebvre is an indigenous woman of Maliseet descent who has presented a restorative justice approach to sexual violence prevention within intertribal communities at state and national conferences. She is Circle Keeper of the Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle and is an Advisory Council member of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Emily May is an international leader in the anti-street harassment movement. In 2005, at the age of 24, she co-founded Hollaback! in New York City, and in 2010 she became the first full-time Executive Director. Hollaback!’s mission is to give women and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community an empowered response to street harassment, and ultimately, to end it. Prior to running Hollaback!, Emily worked in the anti-poverty movement. Rob Okun is the author of the new book, Voice Male: The Untold Story of the Profeminist Men’s Movement. He is editor and publisher of Voice Male magazine, and former Executive Director of the Men’s Resource Center for Change, a pioneering North American men’s center founded in 1982. Delilah Rumburg is CEO of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape. She has served as the Civilian Deputy Co-Chair of the Department of Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services, and was Co-Chair of the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies, presenting a report to Congress on the issue in 2005. Jessie Urban-Guzman, LMSW, MPH, is the Youth and Legal Program Manager for the LA VIDA Partnership. She has worked on domestic and sexual violence prevention and intervention work in southwest Detroit for more than eight years. Contact Jessie at 313-849-3920, ext. 5059, or jurban@chasscenter.org. Jyoti Venketraman is the Director of Prevention and Evaluation at the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NJCASA), where she oversees prevention initiatives for NJCASA and its collaborative partners and provides technical assistance on prevention and evaluation. Jyoti has more than seven years’ experience in women’s health issues, especially in the area of reproductive health and health policy analysis for women of color, and is committed to a social justice frame for ending violence. We’d love to hear from you. Be a contributor. The Resource is a semiannual, national newsletter produced by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. To have your voice featured in an upcoming issue, email story ideas to resources@nsvrc.org DIRECTOR’S VIEWPOINT Karen Baker, NSVRC Director NSVRC is excited to report that we recently received notice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that we will be funded for another five years through a cooperative agreement to provide technical assistance and resources designed to prevent sexual violence. Specific plans include: • Continuing our work with Stephanie Townsend, Ph.D., to build our capacity around evaluation. This includes improving our skills to evaluate our own activities, as well as enhancing our ability to assist our state and local partners with their evaluation initiatives. • Beginning a partnership with the Berkeley Media Studies Group to build on existing research about effective messaging for sexual violence prevention. • Expanding our healthy sexuality/healthy relationship messaging for the annual Sexual Assault Awareness Month prevention campaign in April. The 2014 message is designed to engage young people and those who love them: “It’s Time … to Talk About It! Your voice. Our future. Prevent sexual violence.” • Sponsoring the annual Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) Leadership Training Aug. 18-19, 2014, in Pittsburgh, PA. • Co-sponsoring the annual National Sexual Assault Conference with the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) and California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA) in Pittsburgh, PA, Aug. 20-22, 2014, with the theme Many voices, one movement/Muchas Voces, Un Movimiento (For more on the conference, see Page 33) • Sponsoring the prevention track at the 2014 National Sexual Assault Conference. Have you submitted your workshop proposal? Proposals are due Dec. 16. For details, visit www.nsvrc.org/nsac or http://tinyurl.com/NSACWorkshops (Español: http://tinyurl.com/NSACTalleres2014) • NSVRC also will continue to implement Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)-funded projects, including Sexual Assault throughout the Lifespan, Sexual Assault in Rural Communities, and the Sexual Assault Demonstration Initiative (in conjunction with the Resource Sharing Project/RSP). In January, I am honored and humbled to become President of the National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, which consists of nearly 40 national organizations and leaders committed to making our communities safer for children. I invite you to check out the website at www.preventtogether.org, and consider joining this prestigious coalition to demonstrate your commitment to preventing child sexual abuse and exploitation. In partnership, Karen Baker HIV POSITION STATEMENT NSVRC voices support for universal access to anti-HIV medication By Donna Greco Training and Technical Assistance Director, The National Sexual Violence Resource Center No one should have to choose between feeding their families and paying for health care. No one should go without the health care they need because of economic, geographical, or other sociopolitical factors. Yet some survivors of sexual violence face these barriers when they try to access medications that could prevent them from contracting HIV following rape. Research shows that sexual assault survivors are at risk of contracting HIV (Campbell, Lucea, Stockman, & Draughon, 2013; Draughon, 2012; Dunkle & Decker, 2013). Research also shows that both sexual violence and HIV share risk factors rooted in oppression and social inequalities such as racism, heterosexism, ageism, poverty, unemployment, gender-inequality, and others (Jewkes, Sen, &Garcia-Moreno, 2002; UNAIDS, 2012). Stigma and discrimination continue to shroud both public health issues, making it difficult for many people to come forward and access help. In the past decade, the NSVRC has received calls from survivors, advocates, medical providers, and allied partners about the connections between sexual violence and HIV and how to support survivors in accessing anti-HIV medications (known as nPEP, or non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis). Victims and their advocates have reached out for help accessing nPEP, which can cost upwards of $2,000 in some places. Questions have come in from advocates about whether victims have to report to law enforcement in order to be reimbursed for these costs through crime victims’ compensation programs. We have received requests from health care providers about the needs of sexual assault survivors during and after HIV testing and treatment. We have received requests from pharmaceutical companies about the needs of sexual assault survivors and possible ways to connect them to in-kind programs, so that they do not have to try to find the out-of-pocket resources to pay for these drugs while they await reimbursement (if that is an option in their area). Given this landscape, the NSVRC was excited to partner with the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN), the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC), and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV) in developing a position statement, Universal access to anti-HIV medication (2013). The purpose of this statement is to communicate a unified message across advocacy and medical communities in support of greater access to nPEP for all survivors. The statement outlines an ideal in which systems, practices, policies, and collaborations are established to support universal access to nPEP, so that all survivors can ultimately choose to access these drugs—regardless of cost and location — if medically indicated and something they choose to do. More specifically, this statement supports HIV risk assessments and nPEP as baseline sexual assault clinical education and practice by health care providers; availability of anti-HIV medications where and when survivors seek medical care after sexual assaults; streamlined and accessible procedures for accessing nPEP in communities; and trauma-informed advocacy and counseling services before, during, and after HIV testing and nPEP provision. Please consider endorsing this statement and partnering with your community’s policy, advocacy, and medical personnel to make it a reality. (Photo of a person in a lab coat holding two handfuls of prescription medications) Related resources Read NSVRC’s statement on this issue: http://tinyurl.com/HIVPolicyStatement Sexual Violence and HIV: A Technical Assistance Guide for Victim Service Providers: http://tinyurl.com/HIVTAGuide References Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, International Association of Forensic Nurses, National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, & National Sexual Violence Resource Center. (2013). Position statement: Universal access to anti-HIV medication. Retrieved from http://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/publications_nsvrc_position-universal-access-anti-hiv-medication.pdf Campbell, J. C., Lucea, M. B., Stockman, J. K., & Draughon, J. E., (2013). Forced sex and HIV risk in violent relationships. American Journal of Reproductive Immunology, 69(Suppl. 1), 41-44. doi:10.1111/aji.12026 Draughon, J. E. (2012). Sexual assault injuries and increased risk of HIV transmission. Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal, 34, 82-87. doi:10.1097/TME.0b013e3182439e1a Dunkle, K. L., & Decker, M. R. (2013). Gender-based violence and HIV: Reviewing the evidence for links and causal pathways in the general population and high-risk groups. American Journal of Reproductive Immunology, 69(Suppl. 1), 20-26. doi:10.1111/aji.12039 Jewkes, R., Sen, P., & Garcia-Moreno, C. (2002). Sexual violence. In E. Krug, L. Dahlberg, J. A. Mercy, A. B. Zwi, & R. Lozano (Eds.), World report on violence and health (pp. 147-181). Retrieved from the World Health Organization: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2002/9241545615_eng.pdf UNAIDS. (2012). UNAIDS Report on the global AIDS epidemic 2012. Retrieved from http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/epidemiology/2012/gr2012/20121120_UNAIDS_Global_Report_2012_with_annexes_en.pdf Community Voices We asked teenagers: What are you doing to make your world a safer place? Cristian, 19, of Arizona “To make the world a safer place, I start by looking at myself. I may not see it, but actions have far-reaching consequences, good or bad. By cultivating safety, equality, and respect into daily life, we become agents of change. This is how we end oppression, and it all begins with just an idea.” Mette, 16, of Denmark “I volunteer in a women’s shelter with other teens, where we once a week are trying to give the children positive experiences. We play with them, take them to the cinema, take them to the playground and stuff like that. I think it’s important for these vulnerable children, who often have been witnessing domestic violence, that they get some air and good experiences outside the shelter. Other than volunteering at the shelter, I take every option I get to learn more about sexual assault and domestic violence. Nobody deserves to experience these horrible things. It truly breaks my heart.” LA VIDA’s Youth Board, of Michigan “Sharing our experiences to come together as one, to listen and be heard. Examining ourselves before we judge others.” Cymantha, 17, of Arizona “I can make the world a better place by using primary prevention — specifically safety, equality, and respect to reduce the amount of violence that takes place, and therefore reducing and eliminating sexual violence and violence in general, as a whole.” Jazmyne, 14, of Pennsylvania “What I am doing to make my world a safer place is just simply accepting people. I learned through Camp Highlight and my own life experiences that everybody and their situations are different. I have friends that are LGBTQ and I have accepted and even helped them out in some situations where they needed a friend. In our generation people are starting to be more comfortable with who they are and if you can’t accept the reality of it, then I feel like you are going to be left behind in society. All men and women are created equal, so they should be treated equally. Accepting is just the first of many steps to make my world a safer place, not only for me but everyone in my community.” Stay connected. Check us out online. • Read the latest news and information online at www.nsvrc.org • Post your event on our national calendar at www.nsvrc.org/calendar • Find Sexual Assault Awareness Month info at www.nsvrc.org/saam • View new resources at www.nsvrc.org/publications WORKING WITH YOUTH Teens organize to help survivors of sexual assault, dating violence By Jessie Urban-Guzman, Youth and Legal Program Manager; Dolores Hernandez, LA VIDA Program Manager; and Ricardo Guzman, Chief Executive Officer Background The LA VIDA Partnership is a program of Community Health and Social Services Center (CHASS) Inc., a Federally Qualified Health Center in Detroit. Founded in 2000, the mission of LA VIDA is to ensure the availability, accessibility and utilization of a range of locally relevant, culturally competent family violence and sexual assault prevention and support services for Latin@ families and youth in southwest Detroit and southeast Michigan. LA VIDA staff employs a community-based, participatory action approach to programming. LA VIDA’s youth-focused activities began in the form of prevention outreach to local schools and agencies in order to focus on promoting healthy relationships and reducing intimate partner violence among southwest Detroit residents. As prevention work evolved, it became clear that there was a need for specific, youth-focused mental health and advocacy services that involved the southwest Detroit community and local youth in meaningful, culturally appropriate ways for teens and young adults who had experienced dating violence and sexual assault. In 2011, the LA VIDA Partnership received funding from the Office on Violence Against Women’s Youth Services Program to expand its programming to provide targeted advocacy to survivors of dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence, and sexual abuse between the ages of 13 and 24. As a component of this grant, La Vida proposed to establish a Youth Board and a network of peer advocates to respond to youth survivors and link them with resources in the community. The Youth Board was developed based on the need to involve youths as a critical component of the Latin@ community in directing the work of LA VIDA. Results In July 2012, the LA VIDA Partnership convened a Youth Board consisting of community representatives who have knowledge or understanding about the dynamics of dating violence and sexual assault among the Latin@ community. The group meets monthly, provides input on the direction of the overall LA VIDA Program, and directs youth-focused intervention activities. The group actively planned, recruited and coordinated a Peer Advocacy Training Program for youth advocates. To date, 46 youths have attended Youth Board meetings. This year, the Peer Advocacy Training Program was held on July 12 and lasted six hours. Forty-one youths attended, including 19 Youth Board members who facilitated the training. Five males and 36 females attended the training. Thirty-nine participants identified as Latin@, and 2 participants identified as multiracial. Youth Board members did all of the recruiting through their social networks and media. The training focused on specific techniques for helping youth survivors of sexual assault and dating violence obtain advocacy services, and included role play, art, and technology workshops to engage participants. Successes Overall, the Peer Advocacy Training Program was a successful event. Attendance was high and youths were actively engaged. Some of the feedback from attendees included that the program “helped me build more confidence in myself. It helped me with my communication skills. It showed me how to help others and to help them in the right way.” The Youth Board members took on the primary responsibility of recruiting participants, and this resulted in high attendance. Because the entire program was created by youth for youth, attendees reported that they felt the material was relevant and provided important information. Challenges The main challenge LA VIDA faced was timing. Because there was a significant amount of material to cover, it was difficult to have a training shorter than six hours, which can be a long time for youth. In addition to this challenge, we emphasized the importance of understanding the limits of a peer advocate and stressing the importance of involving adults when possible because of concerns around abuse and self-harm issues that many teens and young adults face. We are in the process of determining how the peer advocates will function in a less structured or formal setting, as well as the future direction of the Youth Board. Lessons Learned It is critical to involve youth in meaningful ways throughout the process of organizing sexual assault intervention work targeted at young people. Youths are experts in their own realities and are able to effectively advocate for their peers. It also is important to reflect with youths when determining the role of a peer advocate and the Youth Board members. Creating programs that are youth- and culturally responsive is an essential approach for positive outcomes in enhancing community response to survivors of sexual assault and dating violence. In youth engagement, the importance of establishing long-term positive relationships cannot be overstated. This project was supported by Grant No. 2011-WY-AX-K003 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions and recommendations expressed in this presentation are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women. (Photo of seven individuals) LA VIDA Youth Board members, from left, are Patsy Deleón, Arely Martinez, Evelin Calderon, Karla Rodriguez, Dalila Valdovinos, Brenda Gónzalez-Perez, and Dabne Deleón. Not pictured are Analisa Alvarez, Angeles Gavia, Daisy Haro, Shannica Joseph, Lizette Rivera, and Thalia Rivera. (Photo of a girl standing in the front of a room, holding a paper) Youth Board member Analisa Alvarez presents during LA VIDA’s Peer Advocacy Training. Why we use @ The NSVRC uses the @ symbol as a way to foster a non-sexist inclusive language. Adding the @ symbol, which has both an “A” (feminine) and an “O” (masculine) reflects a more gender-neutral description of this population. COVER STORY: SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN THE MILITARY ‘ROLE’ CALL Who needs to do what to improve victim services? By Delilah Rumburg, CEO, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape Editor’s note: Delilah Rumburg served as Co-Chair of the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies. In 2009, she visited military installations to assess their response to sexual assault, after which the task force presented a report to Congress and made recommendations for improvements. Rumburg also has served as Civilian Deputy Co-chair of the Department of Defense (DOD) Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services. Sexual assault occurs in all cultures, but the conditions in which it occurs and the responses to it differ depending upon the values and norms of the culture. Military culture has its own values, rules, customs, and norms. Sexual assault in the armed services cannot be addressed the same way it is in civilian society. Culture change is essential for the military services to improve how it prevents and addresses sexual assault. Collective action is needed to implement prevention approaches, ensure appropriate responses, and support these efforts based on strong data and research. Three things need to happen: 1. Focus on prevention 2. Believe victims, respect them, and uphold their privacy 3. Hold offenders accountable Focus on Prevention Sexism and attitudes and beliefs about gender and sex roles allow for some people to be valued over others. To end sexual violence, we must end oppression, including sexism. According to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (Black & Merrick, 2013) conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of sexual violence was similar among women in the U.S. population, active-duty women, and wives of active-duty men. The report also states that, with respect to deployment history, active-duty women who were deployed in the three years prior to the survey were significantly more likely to have experienced contact sexual violence during that time period when compared with active-duty women who were not deployed. Prevention efforts should start early by promoting healthy, respectful relationships in families by fostering healthy parent-child relationships and developing positive family dynamics and emotionally supportive environments. Further research would improve understanding of the factors that increase the risk for sexual violence. Predictable and distinct funding is essential to building a credible and stable foundation for the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program (SAPR). SAPR, according to a May 2013 memo from Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, is committed to prevention, investigation, accountability, advocacy/victim assistance and assessment to achieve unity of effort and purpose. The U.S. Department of Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies (2005) recommended that the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) develop a comprehensive prevention strategy that encompasses strategic direction, prevention, response, and accountability. This strategy must guide SAPRO initiatives, processes, training, and communication plans. Any service-specific policies must also align with Department of Defense (DOD) strategy. Another recommendation was for SAPRO to develop training policies and exercise oversight of military service training programs. The task force advised that the Secretary of Defense should establish a Sexual Assault Advisory Board (SAAB) modeled after other defense advisory boards. This board, ideally, should include outside experts on criminal law and sexual assault prevention, response, and training, as well as representatives from other federal agencies. Believe Victims A 2009 Natelson report found that sexual harassment while serving in the military is experienced by 70 to 90 percent of female veterans. Statistics show that three-fourths of women who were raped did not report the incident to a ranking officer. Of these, one-third noted that they weren’t sure how to report, while one-fifth believed that rape was to be expected in the military (Sadler, Booth, Cook, & Doebbeling2003). When a survivor comes forward, oftentimes he or she is faced with barriers in reporting. This needs to end. We need to believe victims, and they need to have access to safe, confidential services. Rape shield policies that protect survivors’ privacy and dignity are essential. Survivors should be provided with special counsel to provide legal advice and, if the survivor wishes, representation in a court-martial. Communications between sexual assault survivors and victim advocates are not afforded absolute privilege under military law. In contrast, 35 states provide a privilege for communications between a victim and advocate. The absence of privilege limits the effectiveness of victim advocates in the military community. Hold Offenders Accountable Offender accountability should meet the needs of the survivor and community. The military should retain options and not institute mandatory court-martial nor long mandatory minimum sentences. The decision on how to proceed with a court-martial should be taken out of the chain of command. Special prosecutors should be appointed to handle sexual assault cases within the military justice system. Additionally, the alleged perpetrator’s character, as it relates to military actions, should not play a role in deciding whether to prosecute. Looking Ahead Sexual violence is a pervasive problem that transcends boundaries across the military and general populations. The focus needs to be on preventing all forms of sexual violence before they begin; stopping further harm to victims by providing support, services, legal assistance, and protection orders; and holding perpetrators accountable. Sexual assault violates military cultural values of self-discipline, trust, selflessness, and honorable conduct. The DOD SAPRO and military services must fully integrate prevention strategies and training, the right to receive care and treatment, and the appropriate legal processes into military culture. Military training, standards, organizations and accountability are crucial avenues for inducing culture change while maintaining time-honored military values. Learn more NSVRC released a guide and infographic on military sexual assault. To download, them visit http://tinyurl.com/ptbbfer and http://tinyurl.com/pukbe7p. (Photo of a man in the military at the top of a tank, with other troop members walking alongside him) The photos accompanying this story were provided by Delilah Rumburg and were taken during her 2009 trip to Kuwait and Iraq. (Photo of Delilah Rumburg in a military vest) Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape CEO Delilah Rumburg during her tour of military installations. References Black, M. C., & Merrick, M. T. (2013). Prevalence of intimate partner violence, stalking, and sexual violence among active duty women and wives of active duty men — Comparisons with women in the U.S. general population, 2010. Retrieved from the U. S. Department of Defense, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office: http://www.sapr.mil/public/docs/research/2010_National_Intimate_Partner_and_Sexual_Violence_Survey-Technical_Report.pdf Natelson, R. (2009). Re: RIN 2900-AN32 — Stressor determinations for posttraumatic stress disorder [Letter]. Retrieved from VAWnet: The National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women: http://www.vawnet.org/Assoc_Files_VAWnet/NatelsonComments.pdf Sadler, A. G., Booth, B. M., Cook, B. L., & Doebbeling, B. N. (2003). Factors associated with women’s risk of rape in the military environment. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 43, 262-273. doi:10.1002/ajim.10251 Retrieved from the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault: http://ccasa.org/wp-content/themes/skeleton/documents/Rape-in-the-Military-Environment.pdf U.S. Department of Defense. (2005). Report of the Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment & Violence at the Military Service Academies. Retrieved from http://www.dtic.mil/dtfs/doc_recd/High_GPO_RRC_tx.pdf Q&A: U.S. AIR FORCE MAJ. GEN. SHARON DUNBAR ‘WE CAN PREVAIL TOGETHER’ How the military, advocates can unite against sexual assault NSVRC asked Maj. Gen. Sharon K. G. Dunbar about sexual assault in the military, what the military is doing to prevent it, and what advocates and civilians can do to help support their efforts. Here’s what she had to say: Q: In which area do you think the military has made the most progress in preventing sexual violence? A: It's difficult to attribute a decline in sexual violence to any given prevention approach. In fact, current metrics don't convey a decline in the number of sexual assaults. But, given the opportunity to highlight one approach, I'd say our military services have made great strides in delivering relevant, timely, and consistent prevention training. The services now conduct mandatory training at all levels to raise awareness and underscore military members' responsibility to prevent sexual assaults. Unique to the Air Force, our Bystander Intervention Training seeks to create a culture where airmen feel compelled to intervene and protect others from potential harm. One caveat: military members tend to judge the importance of an issue by the quality of the training they receive. As long as the content and delivery of sexual assault prevention and accountability training is kept current, I believe it will continue to deliver the intended preventive impact. Q: What, in your opinion, is the biggest hurdle in preventing sexual violence in the military? A: I actually see two challenges. The first is sustaining the military’s current focus on preventing sexual assault and sexual misconduct of any kind. These are not new issues, yet we're still vexed in resolving them. In previous years, keen competition for time and resources had proven a challenge for staying the course. Second, we must contend with very real cultural differences in acceptable behavior. Although some argue that American society is more tolerant of certain behaviors, the fact remains that our nation expects its armed forces to conduct themselves with the highest standards of discipline and accountability. All military members need to understand this and conduct themselves accordingly both on and off duty. Q: What steps can the military take to expand supportive services for victims and make it easier for them to report sexual assault? A: As our understanding of victim support improves, we need to refine current programs and develop new options. We know that greater responsiveness to victims' needs is highly correlated with their comfort in reporting and with their recovery progress. Since support service comfort levels vary among victims, our goal is to better flex to their preferences. We've seen a noteworthy expansion of military victim support services over the past decade, thanks in large part to recommendations outlined by various sexual assault task forces and reviews. Restricted and unrestricted reporting options have expanded to availing full-time, trained and certified Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) and Victim Advocate (VA) confidential reporting options, a toll-free 24/7 DOD Safe Helpline operated by RAINN [Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network] experts, expedited transfer options to a new unit or location, and other victim support services. Based in part on a task force recommendation, the Air Force established a Special Victims’ Counsel (SVC) program to provide advice to victims on investigatory and military justice processes. The SVC has proven immensely successful and well-received by the several hundred sexual assault survivors who have used it. Due to Air Force SVC program success, this option will soon be implemented by all military services. Q: How can anti-sexual assault advocates and civilians best support you in this work? A: Please continue partnering with us so we can prevail together. Community advocates have unique expertise our military services lack, which is why we benefit greatly by cross-sharing ideas and lessons-learned, as well as collaborating on training related to both prevention and victim support. We hope to strengthen our programs for the betterment of the entire community. Q: If you could tell survivors of military sexual assault one thing, what would it be? A: I am profoundly sorry for what happened. Please allow us to help you however we can. Our first and foremost commitment is to support you. We're also here to seek justice if and when you decide. Our Sexual Assault Response Coordinators and Victim Advocates are available 24/7, as is our Safe Helpline at 877-995-5247 and https://safehelpline.org. If you're already receiving the support you desire, please consider sharing your experience when you feel ready to do so. The more we understand, the better we can prevent, respond, and ensure justice. Your courage keeps us going. On the Web More from this interview can be found at nsvrc.org/blogs. (Photo of U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Sharon K. G. Dunbar in her military uniform) UNTESTED RAPE KITS Evidence revisited: Ohio launches Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) project By Mike DeWine Ohio Attorney General For victims of sexual assault, the pain caused by the crimes they’ve endured might never fade. Whether a rape took place 10 days or 10 years ago, it can stay with them. For victims of sexual assault whose attackers were never caught, or even identified, the pain and questions can linger without resolution or justice. All victims deserve the chance to heal and to have confidence that their attackers will face justice. Over the years, the use of DNA evidence has grown to become a powerful tool in convicting those who commit crimes. As the national DNA database has grown, so has the ability of law enforcement and prosecutors to pursue sexual assault cases. Not long after I became Ohio’s Attorney General in 2011, serial Cleveland rapist and murderer Anthony Sowell was convicted and put behind bars. It was apparent from his case, and others, that there were many sexual assault kits in Ohio police evidence rooms that had not been tested and entered into the DNA database. The longer this evidence remains unanalyzed, the longer sex offenders are at large and free to potentially harm more people. We worked with victims’ rights advocates, law enforcement, forensic scientists, and prosecutors to determine what to do, and adopted a simple new policy: If a crime was committed, the kit should be submitted. Whether the case is prosecuted is a decision made later in the process – but testing ensures that DNA from sex offenders will be uploaded into state and federal law enforcement databases. That’s why, in December of 2011, I encouraged Ohio’s nearly 800 law enforcement agencies to submit whatever testable sexual assault evidence they might have kept in storage to our Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI); our labs would test the kits free of charge. We hired and trained four new forensic scientists to handle the influx of previously untested sexual assault kits (SAKs), and to ensure that the testing of kits from current cases is kept timely and on track. Our SAK project officially got under way in October 2012. So far, law enforcement agencies from around Ohio have submitted more than 3,000 kits, and of those kits, BCI has fully tested more than 1,000. The kits are being processed according to the date the crime was reported so that the oldest kits are tested first; law enforcement also is working to get the test results to police and prosecutors at least a year before the 20-year statute of limitations on rape expires. The goal was to test 1,500 of the kits during the first year (October 2012 to October 2013) and 250 kits per month after that. We’re encouraged by the results of our SAK project so far: Hundreds of DNA profiles have been submitted to the database known as the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), and more than 300 hits have been returned. We’ve provided law enforcement agencies with possible identities of unknown attackers, and we’ve confirmed the names of known attackers who were never prosecuted. We’ve also found DNA from individuals who were not the named attackers, which could clear wrongfully accused suspects. And, we’ve gathered unknown DNA profiles that match other unknown DNA profiles, confirming that some unidentified attackers have committed multiple crimes. The Cleveland Police Department has submitted the largest number of kits, followed by the Akron, Cincinnati, and Toledo police departments. Cleveland’s submissions have so far generated more than 200 CODIS hits, and Cincinnati’s have generated more than 40. To date, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office has received more than 30 indictments as a direct result of our SAK project. One hit from DNA evidence contained in a previously untested kit linked a serial rapist already in prison to four additional rapes. That and many of the other hits underscore the value of testing DNA evidence, however long it might have been set aside. We have no doubt that more crimes will be solved. With cold cases finally coming to light and such high-profile incidents as those recently in headlines from Steubenville and Cleveland, one fact has become clear: The importance of specialized services for sexual assault victims cannot be overemphasized. After thoroughly analyzing the availability of resources throughout our state, we have found that nearly 60 percent of Ohio’s counties do not have comprehensive, direct sexual-assault services. We have pledged to remedy this inequity, and we are in the midst of a five-year plan that will ensure any victim of sexual assault in Ohio access to a quick and compassionate emergency response at any time of day, any day of the week, and in any area of the state. The journey toward justice for victims of sexual assault can be long, but I am determined to help Ohio’s victims make that journey. (Photo of a man at a podium with a room full of people) Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine discusses Ohio’s Sexual Assault Services Expansion Program during a media conference. INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY Ancestral teachings help form prevention education plan By Strong Oak Lefebvre Circle keeper, Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle In 2006, the New England Learning Center for Women in Transition (NELCWIT), a dual domestic and sexual violence agency serving the Franklin County and North Quabbin Region of western Massachusetts, received Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) funding to choose a focus community for the primary prevention of sexual violence. The Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle (VBC), a community-based indigenous initiative to address sexual violence, was created when the focus community determined that it needed an ongoing, trained indigenous presence to address the pressing needs of our community. The group was born of struggle and resistance because the indigenous community “does not deal with our issues” through involvement with established state-funded agencies. By the end of the fiscal year, after eight members of the indigenous community were trained in NELCWIT’s 40-hour sexual assault curriculum, the elders apologized to Strong Oak, the Circle Keeper of the VBC, for not taking the issue or the group seriously. Since its birth in 2006, the VBC has trained 25 members of the indigenous community. It is known throughout the state of Massachusetts for its involvement in the lives of indigenous community members who have been touched by violence. The intertribal community stretches across New England; the prevalence of sexual violence in the area mirrors the violence experienced in tribal communities throughout Indian Country. The scope of the work can be measured by the awareness within the indigenous sex-offender community. VBC offers restorative justice opportunities to those who victimize community members and provides innovative intervention and circle support to those affected by violence. For instance, VBC offers “Circles of Support” to families involved with the Department of Children and Families to hasten family reunification and avoid the placement of indigenous children in non-Indian foster homes. VBC supported the mother of a teen sexual assault survivor in addressing a pow wow community regarding its failure to intervene in preventing the assault of the teen. She had been assaulted on the grounds during a weekend gathering. Since sexual violence is prevalent and, in some instances, even condoned within the established indigenous gatherings in the area, the VBC decided to sponsor its own events. It hosted the only pow wow in the area that successfully obtained stay-away orders to protect two families from contact with their abusers for the weekend event. Prevention is the main focus of VBC’s efforts. The circle tried various “engaging bystander” approaches through collaborations with other agencies over the ensuing years. One approach VBC tried involved a didactic presentation of material through youth and adult team pairings. This approach did not work. Even the trainers were having difficulty embracing it. The group decided to turn to the circle itself for direction. After many Talking Stick Circles, they agreed to gather literature that focused on ancestral teachings. “The Original Instructions” became the focus of attention, and they found two books that address these instructions – one by Melissa Nelson and the other by Medicine Story. Fortunately, the wisdom of many elders is reflected in these two resources. In addition, the group researched indigenous tribal values across the country and came up with 11 key values to inform their work together. These values are: peace/justice (responsibility to act), compassion, generosity, wisdom, courage, respect, sacredness, humility, empathy, balance, and connection to the land. The group decided to develop a curriculum of its own that would focus on indigenous traditional teachings before colonization. The teachings will happen organically in circles across the lifespan, and be the protocol followed for all gatherings. These indigenous teachings taught that violence against women is directly related to the violence against Mother Earth. The taking and ownership of land was the first objectification. VBC redefined the roots of our oppression through this lens, and sees this colonization operating worldwide today. This taking of land and who has a right to own it is the basis of racism, as well. The few decide who has a right of ownership, and they exclude others through a process of “othering.” The VBC is grateful for the RPE prevention funding it receives, because it has empowered them to address sexual violence within their community. The goal of the VBC, with the support of their mother agency, NELCWIT, is to become sustainable as an independent, community-based coalition addressing domestic, sexual, and all forms of violence in the New England area. Strong Oak can be reached at strongestoak@verizon.net, www. nelcwit.org, and at 413-772-0871, Ext. 104. Want More Info? Learn more about the Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle at http://tinyurl.com/kvg34zs. Talking Stick Circles A Talking Stick Circle is an ancient tool to guarantee that the voices of all people sitting in council are heard. The holder of the Talking Stick cannot be interrupted while speaking. Nor is cross-talking possible, until the Talking Stick is passed in a clockwise direction to the next person. All decisions are consensual, allowing for a true democracy. Storytelling in the circle allows for transformation and healing for participants. (Photo of woman holding talking stick) Strong Oak Lefebvre, Circle Keeper of the Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle, leads a Talking Stick Circle in August, during the National Sexual Assault Conference in Los Angeles. (Photo of a group outside, sitting in a circle) Lefebvre participates in a drum circle at Idle No More Northampton. PROFEMINIST MOVEMENT Feminism is going to make it possible for the first time for men to be free. — Floyd Dell, 1914 A short history of a movement you might not have heard about By Rob Okun Editor and Publisher, Voice Male magazine For nearly two generations, a growing number of men of all races and ethnicities in the U.S. and around the world have followed women both in working to prevent domestic and sexual violence, and also in redefining and transforming traditional ideas about manhood, fatherhood, and brotherhood. We’ve been called all kinds of names, but many of us describe ourselves as members of the profeminist or anti-sexist men’s movement. Even though it has been nearly four decades since modern-day men began this transformative work, embracing many of the ideas (if not always the label) of profeminism, the breadth and depth of the profeminist men’s movement is revealed in a range of programs and projects — from boys to men and fathering to male survivors and men of color; gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (GBTQ) men, and men overcoming violence; men’s health and men and feminism. Woven together, they create a multilayered tapestry revealing a wide rich swath of one of the most important social change movements you’ve probably never heard of. Profeminist men hold the belief that gender and sexual equality are fundamental democratic goals and that women and men should each have the same rights and opportunities. Although marginalized and largely absent from the national conversation about gender in the mainstream media, modern-day profeminist men have been engaged in a sweeping critique of manhood and masculinity since the 1970s. The first large-scale organized effort was by the National Organization for Changing Men — now known as the National Organization of Men Against Sexism (NOMAS). In 1975, a group of male students in a women’s studies class at the University of Tennessee organized “The First National Conference on Men and Masculinity” in Knoxville. Since that time, groups and organizations have sprung up across North America and in many parts of the world, following in the footsteps of the idealists in NOMAS, men in their 20s and 30s who had been inspired by the women’s movement. What might have begun in part as a kind of “gentlemen’s auxiliary”— providing child care in part so that mothers could participate in demonstrations — soon became an inquiry into a array of men’s experiences, in many cases reluctantly addressing the elephant in the room: male privilege. Despite media messages that lag behind on-the-ground truth, a progressive transformation of men’s lives is well under way. Men’s inclination to become involved in anti-sexist activism grew out of a sense of justness and fairness heightened by men’s involvement in the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s. For many, those feelings easily carried over to women’s call for liberation, itself nothing less than a social justice imperative of obvious historical importance. Many men simultaneously felt threatened and envious of women’s groups, women’s politics — the entire women’s movement. Most of us couldn’t keep up. Women’s bilingual fluency — speaking both “Emotionalese” and “Politicalese”— certainly made it challenging, but not impossible, for men to understand what was happening in those dizzying times; especially once we relinquished our unquestioned belief that in the world of gender, there was only one official language: “Manspeak.” In those early days, some of us were confused and angry; some tuned out, choosing to ignore multiracial women’s marches toward liberation. Still, a small number of men began tuning in. Acknowledging women’s fluency in Emotionalese, haltingly some of us began to talk about our struggles, our feelings, our inner lives. The trouble was that we were primarily doing so with the people we believed could hear and understand us best: women. Slowly, over time, more of us realized (often with a firm push from our partners, wives, or women friends) that we really needed to be talking to other men. Despite the modest number of men involved, chinks in the armor of conventional manhood are visible and, as our numbers grow, the chinks grow larger — threatening to crack open. Since the late 1970s, besides activities in the U.S. and Canada, profeminist men’s work has been ongoing in Great Britain, Scandinavia, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico, and Central America. In more recent years, India and Nepal have joined the growing list, as have a number of African nations. The roots of profeminist men’s work are deep. On the Rise In North America, antiviolence men’s centers and men’s programs have offered general issue support programs for men, as well as groups for young men of color and GBTQ men. Fathers’ groups and a variety of programs for boys on the journey to manhood also are on the rise, as are programs addressing men’s health, including male survivors of child sexual abuse. Batterers’ intervention groups began in the late 1970s and now operate in most states in the U.S., often overseen by state departments of public health. There also are numerous educational initiatives engaging men in gender violence prevention efforts on college and high school campuses, in sports culture, and through a variety of community-based organizations. Since the late 1970s, profeminist men’s activities have ranged from op-eds and letters to the editor, newspaper signature ads, rallies, demonstrations and advocacy campaigns, as well as books and films — all aimed at offering an alternative to conventional notion of masculinities. As time and technology marched on, Listservs were created, websites launched, electronic publications introduced, and social media campaigns inaugurated. (One of the most wide-ranging and comprehensive online resources is XYonline: Men, Masculinities and Gender Politics, which has long been maintained by internationally respected profeminist scholar-activist Michael Flood). As a sign of the growth of the movement, there is today ongoing collaborations with long-established women’s programs across North America and internationally, often through women’s initiatives at the United Nations. (Eve Ensler, the activist and author most well-known for writing The Vagina Monologues, made sure there was a “V-Men” page when she launched her organization’s V-Day website). Moving Forward In 2009, nearly 500 men and women allies from 80 countries met for four days in Rio de Janeiro at a symposium, “Engaging Men and Boys in Gender Equality.” The growing global movement, united under an alliance called MenEngage, now operates on every continent. Major conferences on related themes of men and women collaborating to prevent violence against women and promoting healthy masculinity for boys and men have been held in recent years across the globe. In North America, there are numerous occurring each year from coast to coast, in our largest cities and at many of our most prestigious colleges and universities. Recognizing the movement’s growth and potential to become more of a force for social change, in 2013 the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded a two-year grant to establish the first Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities. Headquartered at the State University of New York, Stonybrook, it is being led by sociologist and writer Michael Kimmel. The profeminist movement is beginning a new chapter. It’s been a long road to get here. (Photo from the Vol. 2, No. 2 M.A.N. For E.R.A. Newsletter in October 1979) Chapters of Men Allied Nationally for the Equal Rights Amendment dotted the national landscape in the late 1970s, when men like those pictured in this 1979 flyer campaigned for the amendment to the U.S. constitution. Although both houses of Congress passed the bill in 1972 and 35 of the 50 states ratified it, the ERA fell three states short of the requisite three-quarters needed to become law. Voice Male, the Book This article was excerpted from the new book, Voice Male: The Untold Story of the Profeminist Men’s Movement, edited by Rob A. Okun (Interlink, 2013). Editor and Publisher of Voice Male magazine, Okun is former Executive Director of the Men’s Resource Center for Change, a pioneering North American men’s center founded in 1982. Email him at rob@voicemalemagazine.org. To learn more about Voice Male magazine and Rob, visit voicemalemagazine.org. From the Library Sex, etc. Published by Rutgers University This award-winning magazine is written by teens for teens, and it covers all topics sex in an engaging and informative way. Content spans health and news, and perspective pieces explore social issues, values and questions. For youth, this resource is great for accurate answers to sexuality questions. Adult readers glean insight into the lives and perspectives of teens, and it’s easy to see that when sex is not “off-limits,” young people have a lot to share and say. The design and content highlight the involvement and voices of teens. This publication is a great resource for youth-serving programs, but it’s a coffee table and waiting room staple for anyone looking to engage with teens on healthy sexuality. Sex, etc. is released three times a year. The Fall 2013 issue is out. The theme of the issue, “What we should know,” asks teens what they should be learning in sex ed. The goal is clear. Sex, etc. wants teens to be informed and better prepared to make healthy decisions. Sex, etc. is available by subscription or in bulk from “Answer,” a project of the Center for Applied Psychology at Rutgers University. Honest sex education does not stop here. At www.sexetc.org, find more great resources and information by teens for teens. Questions about sexuality are comprehensively answered in a way that’s easy to read and follow. Interactive tools help users break the ice when talking about sex and assists with finding local resources, such as a nearby clinic. Don’t forget to follow Sex, etc. on social networks, too. — Written by Laura Palumbo, NSVRC Want more sex, etc.? Visit www.sexetc.org for more resources and information. Follow the magazine on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube, and Google+. Recommend a resource Have you read a recent book or report that you’d like to share? What about a new DVD or eLearning tool? We’re always looking for innovative resources to feature. Email your suggestions to resources@nsvrc.org and your suggestion could be reviewed in an upcoming issue of The Resource. What Soldiers Do: Sex and the American G.I. in World War II France By Mary Louise Roberts This book explores the sexual attitudes and habits of U.S. soldiers during the liberation of Nazi-occupied France. The U.S. liberation of France during World War II is often painted as joyous and glorious, but What Soldiers Do reminds us that relations between French citizens and U.S. soldiers were far more complex. Liberation brought the people of France triumph and relief, but also new indignities as they interacted with American military forces through trade, friendship, and sex. Drawing from police reports, official documents, wartime diaries, and memoirs, Roberts reveals how some U.S. soldiers perpetrated sexual violence against French victims and patronized French women in the sex trade. The book observes that soldiers’ sexual practices were influenced by stereotypes of French women as sexually available, but also intertwined with attitudes about “masculine” American troops rescuing the “feminine” France from her passive distress. In short, What Soldiers Do is a startling and often heartbreaking look at the intersections of war, sex, and gender-based violence. — Written by Angeline Binick, NSVRC Supporting and Educating Traumatized Students: A Guide for School-Based Professionals Edited by Eric Rossen and Robert Hull Edited by Eric Rossen and Robert Hull Traumatic experiences can greatly impact children’s ability to learn and thrive in a school setting. This book serves as a guide to help teachers and other school-based professionals understand what trauma is, how it can affect students’ development and behaviors, and how they can play a significant role in supporting positive outcomes for traumatized youth. Supporting and Educating Traumatized Students acknowledges that while teachers and other school-based professionals typically do not have the training or time to provide clinical interventions to traumatized students, they have a strong desire to see young people thrive. This book is written to empower educators with practical skills and strategies for supporting children and teens with a variety of traumatic experiences throughout the school day. The book is structured in a format that makes it easy for busy educators to reference during times of need. The first chapters provide a broad introduction to trauma and discusses how it affects learning and behaviors, while the later chapters offer practical steps to build school systems that are trauma-informed and promote students’ resiliency. The middle chapters of the book highlight a number of specific traumatic experiences that students might be dealing with, such as sexual abuse, domestic violence, and homelessness, and feature helpful vignettes, cultural considerations, and support strategies relating to each type of experience. The importance of self-awareness and good self-care for educators is stressed from the beginning to the end. For anyone with the goal of helping young people learn and succeed within difficult circumstances, this is a must-have. — Written by Erica Rich, NSVRC Coalition Spotlight In Ohio Navigating the vortex: Cleveland, Steubenville, and beyond By Katie Hanna Executive Director, Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence In the past year, Ohio has been a vortex of high-profile sexual assault cases in the national media. From Steubenville to Cleveland, survivors across the state were triggered by a constant stream of news reports. Communities were asking questions about how this could have happened in their neighborhood and what needed to happen to stop these acts of violence from occurring in the future. With vortices, one never knows the way in which they will move or stretch, and they often shift in complex ways. The Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence (OAESV), a young and emerging state coalition with a staff of 3.5 people, jumped into the vortex and buckled up for the ride, not knowing what would come out on the other end, but understanding the incredible importance for raising the bar on ending sexual violence in Ohio. With the national spotlight repeatedly on Ohio this year, advocates at rape crisis centers saw an increase in hotline calls and more survivors than ever coming in for services, and prevention specialists saw more requests for prevention programming and community outreach. Yet, Ohio had no dedicated statewide funding, and rape crisis centers had closed within the last 10 years due to budget cuts. Like so many other states, Ohio was doing more and more with less and less. Advocating for dedicated state funding became a central focal point in media advocacy surrounding the Steubenville trial, as Jefferson County had only one part-time advocate and received less than $15,000 per year in funding to address sexual assault. Many people wanted more to happen, but there were no funds to provide prevention education in schools and with athletes; to work with youth about defining rape, consent, and how to intervene when something is happening that should never happen; and to intervene again when continued degradation takes place in an international social media storm. Three days following the Steubenville verdict — in which two teen boys were found delinquent of rape — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine held a press conference announcing a sexual assault service expansion plan that OAESV and the state’s Crime Victim Section had collaborated on in the previous year, resulting in a five-year plan with new funding for filling in the gaps in counties where no services exist. That same day in March, Reps. Nan Baker (R-16) and Kirk Schuring (R-48) announced that they were requesting a $2 million appropriation for dedicated state funding for rape crisis centers, along with HB 108, a bill that would require sex offenders to pay a fee that’s deposited into the Rape Crisis Center Trust Fund. Three-and-a-half months later, the legislation passed. Ohio now has its first appropriation for rape crisis centers in the state budget, which will provide centers with funds to provide more services and prevention. The vortex is still spinning in Ohio, but in ways that we had always hoped. The energy and momentum produced is intense, and the opportunity that lies ahead — creating a path of hope and healing for survivors and communities — makes it all worth it. We navigate the vortex together, and we never make the walk alone. Thank you to National Sexual Violence Resource Center, National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, Ohio’s rape crisis centers, the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, and all of the state sexual assault coalitions across the country and territories for your support in navigating the vortex. We wouldn’t be able to do it without you. Survivor PSA OAESV has created a PSA in which 11 survivors of sexual assault come forward to share their stories. View it at http://www.oaesv.org/psa-2/ (Photo of news crews covering a rape trial in Steubenville, Ohio) Members of the media wait outside of the Jefferson County Justice Center in Steubenville, Ohio. (Photo of a man and a woman talking outside) OAESV Executive Director Katie Hanna is interviewed by a reporter in Steubenville. Coalition Spotlight In New Jersey Are we there yet? A road map to prevention evaluation By Jyoti Venketraman Director of Prevention & Evaluation, New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention selected New Jersey as one of the six pilot sites for the EMPOWER (Enhancing and Making Programs and Outcomes Work to End Rape) project building the capacity of states to do primary prevention work — preventing the perpetration of sexual violence before it occurs. A diverse team of stakeholders, including the Division on Women (DOW) at Department of Children & Families (DCF), and New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NJCASA) helped create a comprehensive primary prevention plan specific to New Jersey. The 2010-20 New Jersey Sexual Violence Prevention Plan is the result of a three-year collaborative effort by national, state and local partners. Since 2009, nearly two-thirds of the 22 funded local RPE grantees have been implementing bystander strategies, while the other one-third of programs have been using media literacy strategies. (At right: an overview of both strategies.) New Jersey’s next major undertaking has been answering the question: How do we find out if the evidence-informed strategies that we are implementing are making a positive impact in sexual violence prevention? Bystander/gender equity workgroup comprised of prevention coordinators Positive outcomes from collaborative process (Circle diagram: Create evaluation tools for bystander & media literacy strategies > Collect data via clickers or paper-based survey > Analyze data > Improve prevention program using data collected) • Tools ensure consistency in evaluation across state and strategies • Creation of guidance document to standardized evaluation process • Shared understanding of evaluation, commitment to implementation and buy-in to evaluation process • Collaborative, peer-based learning forum for idea exchange, mentoring & support around implementation and evaluation • All tools and guidance document on NJCASA’s website for easy access • Innovative use of clickers (remote polling systems) to capture evaluation data Utilizing an Empowerment Evaluation model, New Jersey’s approach to evaluation includes the following core features: • Evaluation standards workgroup guides all evaluation work • Develop process and outcome evaluation tools and procedures in partnership with prevention coordinators • Encourage local customization/adaptation of tools • Parameters of customization: fidelity to core principles of the strategy & evaluation standards In 2009, a Bystander Interventions/Media Literacy Workgroup consisting of the prevention coordinators from each RPE-funded Sexual Violence Program convened to explore the implementation and evaluation of prevention strategies. Co-facilitated by NJCASA’s prevention director, an empowerment evaluator, and two local prevention coordinators elected as co-chairs, this workgroup has been working on a monthly basis to provide a collaborative learning forum for idea sharing and mentoring related to prevention strategy implementation and evaluation. The workgroup and its members are driving the prevention evaluation work in New Jersey. (Above: a diagrammatic representation of the work involved and the positive outcomes from this collaborative work.) In Union County, N.J., the prevention coordinator observed that students taking the pretest outcome evaluation expressed reluctance to intervene in a potentially harmful situation if they did not know any of the people involved. After the bystander skills training, data from post-test outcome evaluations revealed that this specific attitude regarding intervention had not improved. The prevention coordinator responded to these results by increasing student exposure in subsequent trainings to discussion and roleplaying that let them explore bystander options and increase confidence in their ability to safely intervene if they did not know any of the people involved in a potentially harmful situation. A relatively small sample size has been collected since this augmentation to the curriculum, but so far has shown significant improvement in this particular attitude regarding bystander intervention. 2 Strategies Bystander intervention: This approach offers opportunities to build communities and a society that does not allow sexual violence. Strategies under this goal work to enhance skills in middle school through college-age students and the institutions serving them. Media literacy: Media literacy curricula teach people to identify and critique negative sexualized mass media and to understand its impact. Through the Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) grant funded by DOW, NJCASA — in partnership with the Media Literacy Project, New Mexico — created the media literacy curriculum Gender, Race and Sexuality: How Media Shapes our Culture. Gail Burns-Smith Award Honors Gail Burns-Smith awardee honored for work with victims, offenders Steve Bengis, below, is the 2013 recipient of the Gail Burns-Smith Award, given annually by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. Bengis is the Director and Co-Founder of the New England Adolescent Research Institute Inc. (NEARI) in Holyoke, Mass. NEARI offers books and online courses to professionals working with sexual assault victims and/or sex offenders. In addition to Bengis’ work with NEARI, he also is the President of the Massachusetts Adolescent Sex Offender Coalition (MASOC). Through his work with MASOC’s conferences, Bengis has helped bridge the divide between individuals working with sexual assault victims with those working with sex offenders. Thanks to his leadership, MASOC has two victim advocates among its board of directors. The award The Gail Burns-Smith Award recognizes those preventing sexual violence through facilitating partnerships between victim advocates and those working in sex offender management and treatment. Call for nominations Nominations are due by the end of May 2014. Visit www.nsvrc.org/gbs-award for details. About this year’s recipient & his work Steve Bengis is Director and Co-Founder of the New England Adolescent Research Institute Inc. (NEARI) and President of the Massachusetts Adolescent Sex Offender Coalition (MASOC). Read the press release announcing his award at http://tinyurl.com/BengisGBS. For more on NEARI, visit www.neari.com. For more on MASOC, visit www.masoc.net. National Sexual Assault Conference Snapshots from Los Angeles California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA) hosted the 2013 National Sexual Assault Conference (NSAC) in August. Keynote speakers included Delores Huerta, Faye Washington, Michael Kimmel, Mira Yusef, Jacob Chevalier, and Carmen Rios. Each year, the conference is co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR), National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), and CALCASA. PCAR and NSVRC will host next year’s event from Aug. 20-22 in Pittsburgh, PA. For more about next year’s conference, go to www.nsvrc.org/nsac. (Photo of a crowd of people) Conference attendees gather outside of The Ray Dolby Ballroom at Loews Hollywood Hotel. (Photo of a woman speaking at a podium) Lynn Rosenthal, White House Advisor on Violence Against Women, speaks at the conference. (Photo of a group of people seated at tables) The theme for the 2013 conference was “Inspire A Movement, Invest in Change, Imagine ... ” Sexual Assault Awareness Month Coming Up It’s time … to talk about April 2014 By Laura Palumbo NSVRC Prevention Campaign Specialist April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), and each year NSVRC shares resources and tools for the national campaign. Healthy sexuality has been the focus of SAAM resources in recent years. The national campaign draws audiences into sexual violence prevention with the slogan “It’s time … to talk about it!” SAAM tools encourage communities and individuals to bring healthy sexuality into the conversation. Healthy sexuality is an approach to sexual violence prevention that provides individuals and communities with information and skills to express sexuality in positive, life-enriching ways. SAAM resources explored the theme of healthy sexuality for the first time in 2012, and the following year revisited healthy sexuality with a focus on childhood sexual development. Each campaign discussed the characteristics of healthy development and positive attitudes and behaviors, building skills of individuals across the lifespan and working toward a vision for healthy, safe environments. As planning for SAAM 2014 began, enthusiasm for dialogue and resources about healthy sexuality encouraged us to keep the conversation going. The third installment of our healthy sexuality resource set for SAAM moves the conversation forward with a focus on young people. Engaging youth is a vital direction for sexual violence prevention, and the voices of youth are needed to shape and reclaim many messages related to sexuality. Adults play an essential role as allies who can influence and support young people as they develop. Organizations reaching out to and partnering with youth are another key resource, and when working together, young people, adults, and organizations can make an incredible impact. The upcoming campaign will provide tools on healthy adolescent sexuality and engaging youth. This April, use your voice to impact our future. Everyone has a role to play, and we are excited to share tools to promote a healthy foundation for relationships, health, and sexual violence prevention. The SAAM campaign will provide online tools and resources in English and Spanish starting in January 2014. Stay tuned for updates. At a Glance SAAM 2014 theme: Healthy sexuality & young people Slogan: It’s time ... to talk about it! Your voice. Our future. Prevent sexual violence. On the Web: www.nsvrc.org/saam (Photo of the SAAM logo) A blue clock, an orange conversation bubble, and a teal ribbon TECH ROUNDUP New app encourages victims to Hollaback! at street harassment By Emily May Co-Founder and Executive Director of Hollaback! The Hollaback! app was recently relaunched in New York, making the New York City Council the first local government in the world to accept real-time reports of street harassment. Based on the reception in the Big Apple, Hollaback! hopes to scale additional features to other cities in our global network, which is thriving in 65 cities and 22 countries. Here’s how the new features work in New York: If you get groped on Wall Street — or anywhere in the five boroughs — and report the incident through the Hollaback! app, you’ll be given the option to include your demographics, location information and what, if any, formal reporting process you went through. Your report will flow into CouncilStat, the City Council’s citizen reporting system formally reserved for such grievances as potholes and noise complaints. From there, it will be sent to your council member and will also be available publicly at nyc.ihollaback.org.The New York app also provides a list of resources for people who experience harassment and a “Know Your Rights” guide. To ensure that legislators take these reports seriously, Hollaback! plans to issue semiannual reports that look at issues and trends across New York. Those reports also will help the organization advocate for harassment education, policy changes, and improvements to make the city safer. For example, if Hollaback! discovers that this is happening most often to 16-year-olds, the group will focus its energy on educational programs in high schools and middle schools. If most of the harassment is found to be happening in the subways, Hollaback! will launch a public service campaign. If data show that the majority of this is happening outside of Penn Station, Hollaback! will work with community members to do a safety audit of the surrounding area, looking for issues that could be creating an unsafe environment, such as insufficient street lighting. With this new tool, New York becomes the first city to undertake an effort to gather the data needed to understand the scope of street harassment and learn how to reduce those incidents. Preliminary data show that population density is the No. 1 indicator for street harassment—which makes sense. If one out of every 50 people walking down the street is going to harass you, it takes a lot longer to pass 50 people on a suburban street than it does in Times Square. Outside of New York, Hollaback! works as a crowd-sourced reporting tool, allowing people to share incidents they witnessed or experienced through the app or online through city-specific platforms. The stories are then used by local leaders to advocate for on-the-ground change in those communities. Get it for free Download Hollaback’s free app via Google Play and iTunes, or share your story online. For more information, visit www.ihollaback.org. (Photo of a smartphone with the Hollaback! app loaded on its screen) Save the date August 20-22, 2014 National Sexual Assault Conference Aparta la fecha 20-22 de Agosto de 2014 Conferencia Nacional Sobre La Agresion Sexual Pittsburgh, PA Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR): www.pcar.org California Coalition Against Rape (CALCASA): www.calcasa.org National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC): www.nsvrc.org NEW INFO PACKET: Engaging Bystanders to Prevent Sexual Violence http://nsvrc.org/publications/nsvrc-publications-information-packets/engaging-bystanders-prevent-sexual-violence National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) 123 North Enola Drive Enola, PA 17025 Toll Free: (877) 739-3895 Email: resources@nsvrc.org www.nsvrc.org facebook.com/nsvrc twitter.com/nsvrc © 2013 National Sexual Violence Resource Center. All rights reserved.