The Resource The National Sexual Violence Resource Center Newsletter. Spring/Summer 2017 CAMPUS CLIMATE ASSESSMENTS: FROM RESEARCH TO ACTION (Cover image is a graduation cap) The National Sexual Violence Resource Center invites your comments: The Resource 2101 N. Front Street Governor's Plaza North, Building #2 Harrisburg, PA 17110 Toll free: 877-739-3895 Fax: 717-909-0714 TTY: 717-909-0715 Email: resources@nsvrc.org Online: www.nsvrc.org COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT LAURA PALUMBO, Communications Director MEGAN THOMAS, Communications Specialist, Editor of The Resource SUSAN SULLIVAN, Prevention Campaign Specialist EMILY BIGGER, Graphic Design Specialist CHAD SNIFFEN, Online Resource Coordinator TAYLOR TEICHMAN, Online Resource Specialist LEADERSHIP DELILAH RUMBURG, CEO KAREN BAKER, NSVRC Director ADVISORY COUNCIL Pamela B. Brown, Atlanta, GA Susan Chasson, Provo, UT Maia Christopher, Beaverton, OR Laurie Hart, Topeka, KS Nancy Hoffman, Fairmont, WV Keith L. Kaufman, Portland, OR Patrick Lemmon, Portland, OR Julie Lindahl, Huntsville, AL Sarah McMahon, New Brunswick, NJ Kelly Parsley, Helena, MT Holly Ramsey-Klawsnik, Canton, MA Jennifer Rauhouse, Phoenix, AZ Delilah Rumburg, Harrisburg, PA Corrine Sanchez, Santa Cruz, NM Mira Yusef, Des Moines, IA This publication was supported by Cooperative Agreement #5UF2CE002359-04 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 or NSVRC. ABOUT THE COVER During the 2014-2015 academic year, researchers at the Center on Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) at Rutgers University–New Brunswick School of Social Work collaborated with the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault on a campus climate tool. They share lessons learned and measurable steps for other schools considering climate assessments on page 5. READ MORE 4 DIRECTOR'S VIEWPOINT 22 RALIANCE MEDIA SUMMIT 29 MILESTONE: NEW OFFICE SPACE 30 SNAPSHOTS: SAAM 2017 CONTENTS 10 COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION Learn the basics of evaluating prevention work through social media. 15 CAMPUS PREVENTION RESTORE Sexual Assault Services shares their work with campuses in New York. 18 ACCOUNTABILITY #LoveWITHAccountability is working to end child sexual abuse. 24 TECH ROUNDUP Read about services offered through the uSafeNH app. 26 COALITION SPOTLIGHT Find out how Iowa’s service transition allowed them to reach more survivors. 32 FROM THE LIBRARY Read about four resources that might interest you. CONTRIBUTORS Elizabeth Barnhill has spent the past 30 years working to end sexual violence and assist survivors. She’s been executive director of the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault since 1990 and has served on many state and national committees and task forces. She is a founding and long-term board member of the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence. Lauren Berger is an outreach and education specialist with RESTORE Sexual Assault Services, where she provides educational programs and information on services. Berger is in her fourth year at RESTORE and holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and rhetoric from Nazareth College of Rochester. Allison Brachmann is a graduate student in the Rutgers Masters of Education program for College Student Affairs. She is a research assistant in the Rutgers Center on Violence Against Women and Chldren and a victim advocate and prevention education assistant for the Rutgers Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance. Delaney Cronin is a graduate student in the Masters of Social Work program at Rutgers University. She is an intern at the Rutgers Center on Violence Against Women and Children and has volunteered as a confidential sexual violence advocate. Julia Cusano brings over four years of experience in researching the impact of trauma on child and adult victims of violence, with a focus on sexual violence on college campuses. She serves as project coordinator at the Rutgers Center on Violence Against Women and Children. She has a master’s degree in social work with a Certificate on Violence Against Women & Children from Rutgers University. Sam Jones is a research associate at the Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI). The bulk of her experience involves data management and quantitative analysis for project areas related to home visiting and healthy relationships initiatives in Michigan. Sam holds a master of science degree in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Michigan. Grace Mattern was executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence for 30 years and has served on numerous statewide and national boards, including the NSVRC Advisory Council. She is the author of two books of poetry and is currently working on a memoir. She blogs at www.gracemattern.com. Sara McGirr is an evaluation specialist with the Michigan Public Health Institute, where she helps coordinate multiple statewide evaluations of sexual violence prevention and teen pregnancy prevention programs. She is a doctoral student in the ecological-community psychology program at Michigan State University. Sarah McMahon is an associate professor at the Rutgers University School of Social Work and the associate director for the School’s Center on Violence Against Women and Children. Her research focuses on violence against women with an emphasis on using ecological frameworks to examine prevention and social change. Julia O’Connor is a doctoral candidate at Rutgers University School of Social Work. She currently is a graduate assistant with the Center on Violence Against Women and Children. She has many years of experience working and volunteering as a domestic/sexual violence advocate. She has master’s degrees in social work and public health. Aishah Shahidah Simmons is a Black feminist lesbian incest and rape survivor, award-winning documentary filmmaker, published writer, international lecturer, and activist. She is a Just Beginnings Collaborative Fellow and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice. Find her work online at NOtheRapeDocumentary.org and LoveWITHAccountability.com. Jennifer Torres is a research scientist at Michigan Public Health Institute Center for Healthy Communities. She conducts evaluation and research on maternal child health, reproductive and sexual health, sexual violence prevention, and tribal health and wellness. Dr. Torres received her B.S. in psychology from Michigan State University and her Ph.D. in sociology from University of Michigan. Director’s Viewpoint Karen Baker, NSVRC Director It’s amazing how much can change when we expand our point of view. For our staff at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, the view has literally changed since we’ve moved to a new building along Harrisburg’s riverfront as of May 2017. Despite the inevitable ups and downs of relocating our numerous staff, voluminous library, and truckloads of office furniture, in return, we have been gifted an opportunity to envision ourselves, organization, and work in new ways. The experience has been a reminder of the many ways change brings challenges and rewards. This issue of The Resource expands on the theme of the opportunities and outcomes that emerge when we change our point of view. For instance, you’ll learn how one campus has embraced a comprehensive approach to conducting climate surveys as an opportunity to learn how to better empower students and bolster prevention. As important as it is for campuses to face the challenge of promoting a safer environment, they aren’t alone in this effort. Local sexual assault programs like RESTORE, of Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York, are reaching out and building relationships with nine local colleges over the past four years to enhance prevention and response to sexual assault. In New Hampshire, the complexity of identifying resources and reporting options for survivors of campus sexual assault was the catalyst for creating an app to make resources more accessible than ever before. Taking on challenges and changing perceptions isn’t just something that’s happening on college campuses. Read about a powerful restorative justice campaign that is reframing accountability as a form of love and healing. This issue also asks us to think differently about social media to see this tool as a way of mobilizing sexual violence prevention. You’ll also find a recap of the Raliance Media Summit, an event which brought together journalists from across the country together to ask what stories need to be told next to move the national dialogue on sexual violence forward. The theme of embracing change is carried home by a spotlight on how restructuring victim services in the state of Iowa has enhanced services for sexual assault survivors throughout the state. In a state with many rural communities as well as traditionally underserved populations, redistributing funds and introducing new models for sexual assault-specific services dramatically increased survivors served, available services, and community outreach. We hope these many examples will inspire you to see opportunities for growth in changing circumstances and new ways of approaching your work. In Partnership, Karen L. Baker A model for campus climate assessments: From research to action By Julia O’Connor, Delaney Cronin, Julia Cusano, Allison Brachmann, and Sarah McMahon • Rutgers Center on Violence Against Women and Children Estimates indicate that one in five women are sexually assaulted while in college. In 2014, President Barack Obama established the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault to offer resources and guidance on ways to improve institutional responses and prevention of campus sexual violence. The Task Force explicitly recommends institutions conduct a campus climate assessment to evaluate students’ awareness of sexual violence and campus resources and ultimately improve campuses’ climates surrounding sexual violence. During the 2014-2015 academic year, researchers at the Center on Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) at Rutgers University–New Brunswick School of Social Work were invited to collaborate with the Task Force to pilot a campus climate tool. The survey was first piloted on the New Brunswick campus, and the following year, the survey instrument was modified and tailored to be used on two of Rutgers University’s smaller campuses in Camden and Newark. As a result of this project, we identified a number of lessons learned and measurable steps to share with other schools who may be conducting their own assessments. The following identifies a suggested comprehensive, collaborative, and action-focused model of gathering data to implement change on campuses. Additionally, we found that although often campus climate surveys may be used as simple compliance measures by some institutions where the goal is solely to complete the survey, with sufficient engagement from administration and students, the assessment can also be a broad educational and awareness-raising process. Campus Climate Assessment Model The model used by VAWC for the campus climate assessment is outlined as a series of steps that can be taken to assess the climate surrounding sexual violence in a way that is comprehensive, inclusive, and leads to action (see Figure 1). Using this model allowed us to assess the campus in a holistic manner that both engaged students and the campus at large, and it provided an educational experience for participants and those exposed to dissemination of the results. (Figure 1. A conceptual model for comprehensive campus climate assessment regarding sexual violence) The model includes the steps outlined in this article and in Figure 1. Now that the first round of the process is completed, we are planning future reassessment to determine if the changes implemented through the action plan have impacted the campus climate surrounding sexual violence. (Image with the following text: 1 in 5 femal undergraduates have experienced unwanted sexual contact since coming to Rutgers.) Results from our campus climate survey indicated that 20% of undergraduate women reported at least one instance of unwanted sexual contact since coming to Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Working within an institution: Building collaborations Prior to beginning the assessment process, we found that building the capacity necessary to undertake such a project and develop a collaborative approach across campus entities was vital. Building capacity includes obtaining the “buy-in” from campus administration, as well as securing their commitment not only to the assessment process, but also to the implementation of an action plan (for more information on capacity building, please see our guide on fostering collaborations at www.socialwork.rutgers.edu/node/963). The development of an advisory board helped us tremendously in the planning and implementation stages as well as translating the findings into action. It was helpful to involve key leadership and engage a diverse group of individuals on campus with the shared purpose of addressing sexual assault. Throughout the assessment process, our research team continued to communicate with campus leadership and the advisory board to ensure a collaborative and wide-ranging campus climate assessment. Resource Audit The first step of our campus climate assessment process was to conduct a resource audit. The resource audit documented the campus infrastructure for responding to and preventing sexual violence. The results were compared to a list of mandates and best practices to give our institution a sense of where we stood. Finally, these results were used to develop a compendium of campus resources, as the basis for creating or tailoring survey questions, and to help evaluate the comprehensiveness of services. Survey The survey was the centerpiece of our campus climate assessment process, and as such, careful consideration of all aspects of the survey from design and administration was key for creating a process that resulted in broad campus engagement. We used the survey measures provided in the Not Alone toolkit (www.justice.gov/ovw/protecting-students-sexual-assault) and tailored them to fit within our campuses’ needs and individual environment. For example, Rutgers University included questions regarding campus prevention efforts and bystander intervention in particular as this approach has been implemented on our campus for a number of years. We decided to use a census approach, which allowed all students to participate in the survey. This was a deliberate decision made in conjunction with the Advisory Board based on the philosophy that we wanted all students to feel that their voice was welcome. A carefully constructed outreach plan was designed that involved engaging student leaders on campus, and students were entered into a raffle to receive monetary prizes. We had over 12,000 students access the survey over a three-week period, for a response rate of just under 30%. Through a well-designed and pre-planned data collection, we were able to engage students around the issue of sexual violence before and during survey administration. (Image of a young woman holding a sign that says: iSpeak because there is still a stigma in addressing campus sexual assault. Image of a young man holding a sign that says: iSpeak because everyone should feel safe on their own campus.) The iSPEAK campaign encouraged students to participate in the campus climate survey. Focus Groups Qualitative data collection, through focus groups, allowed our research team and campus administrators to better understand information gleaned from the survey in students’ own words. Additionally, using this type of data collection allowed us to ensure that we included the voices of underrepresented students such as ethnic minority students; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and intersex students; and those most affected by the issue of sexual violence (e.g., sexual violence survivors). Analysis & Synthesis Important considerations for us when planning the campus climate assessment surrounded data analysis and synthesis. We found it was important to build in time and staff for data analysis, which was quite intensive. Additionally, we synthesized the data in multiple formats in order to disseminate the results of the campus climate assessment to a wide range of audiences. For example, reports were developed for each campus at Rutgers, presented to leadership, and posted online. In addition, there were multiple forums provided to discuss the meanings of the results and to obtain input into the action plan. Action Planning The most meaningful part of a campus climate assessment is translating the findings into action to improve the campus’s prevention of and response to sexual violence. Our campus’s action plan was implemented by Student Affairs with input from an interdisciplinary group. The action plan built upon the campus’s strengths, addressed gaps discovered during the campus climate assessment, and disseminated the key findings to the campus community. Additionally our action plan addressed improvement goals such as additional services; changes in current resources, policies, or protocols; building on educational prevention programming on campus; and faculty and staff trainings. Challenges & Future Steps Although the campus climate assessment conducted at Rutgers University was successful overall, it was not without challenges. When seeking to engage students to participate in the survey, we faced the issue of obtaining a large enough response rate. Additionally, in the process of planning a reassessment, we are considering the timing of the next survey. Sufficient time between surveys is needed in order to measure changes and to ensure students do not experience survey fatigue when asked to fill out a reassessment survey too close to the administration of the first survey. Our campus is considering subsequent campus climate surveys to measure additional forms of interpersonal violence, namely dating violence, and build on the work of the first campus climate assessment. Additionally, we continue to expand our campus climate assessment work to other campuses and improve our survey instrument based on current research and best practices. We have developed a comprehensive guide describing our model and process, which can be found on our website. By following the steps presented in this model, we have begun to systematically assess the current campus climate and take action to better address and prevent campus sexual violence. ONLINE Visit the Rutgers Center on Violence Against Women and Children at: socialwork.rutgers.edu/centers/centerviolence-against-women-and-children The future of community mobilization: Evaluating community reactions to social media efforts for sexual violence prevention By Sara McGirr, Sam Jones, and Jennifer Torres Michigan Public Health Institute Social media is an essential tool for mobilizing youth and communities in sexual violence prevention (SVP) efforts. It expands the reach of messaging, builds engagement, and can shape public discourse via real-time conversations about sexual violence. Given the time commitment to organize and implement a social media presence, it is important to evaluate how well these efforts are working and to make improvements. Several social media platforms provide analytics to users, but these produce mountains of data that can be difficult to navigate and use in meaningful ways. Through our work evaluating Michigan’s Sexual Violence Prevention Program, we created a four-step, user-friendly approach to evaluating and monitoring SVP social media efforts: • Set goals and develop objectives • Pick indicators • Track indicators • Interpret and use findings Step 1: Set Goals and Develop Objectives To begin your evaluation, start with your goals. Examples of social media goals you might be pursuing include increasing SVP knowledge among a youth audience, recruiting volunteers, or getting people to take an SVP-related pledge. Next, you will develop certain objectives you want to accomplish to reach these goals. When developing your objectives, make sure that they fit the SMART acronym: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Based. One SMART objective might be “recruit five high school youth to volunteer via Facebook by the end of the Fiscal Year.” For each objective, decide what activities you will do to meet your objective, such as making a certain number of posts per week, tailoring content to a particular age range, or partnering with other organizations to share your posts with Fans of their page. (Image of a group of people sitting in a row using laptops and phones.) Step 2: Pick Indicators The next step is to decide how you will measure how well your social media efforts are working. After an extensive literature review of social media evaluation, we developed an indicator framework (see Figure 1) that supports an effective evaluation of social media initiatives. Select indicators that will allow you to monitor progress on your objectives and activities. The indicators available will depend on the social media platform you are using. For example, Facebook Insights is a free social media analytics tool available to anyone who has a Facebook Page with at least 30 page likes, and it offers an array of indicators. The indicators used in the examples below are from Facebook Insights, but the concepts can be applied to other social media sites. (Figure 1. Framework for selecting indicators for social media evaluation) Activity indicators tell what you actually did on your page. These include things like the number of posts made during a specified timeframe, number of events created, or number of “boosted” posts on Facebook. Reach indicators generally show the number of people who are seeing your page and/or posts. For example, Facebook provides Page Fans (also known as “page likes”) and the number of people who saw your post in their news feed. Engagement indicators measure the degree to which people have interacted with your content. This includes things like “reacting to” a post by liking it, sharing it, commenting on it, etc. It may be helpful to think about interactions as reflections of low engagement, mid-level engagement, or high engagement. Indicators of low-level engagement might include individual or summative measures of “reactions” to posts, such as Facebook’s Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry. Mid-level engagement involves people engaging with posts to learn more (e.g. clicks on posts to watch a video or follow a link), commenting on a post to voice their opinion, or sharing the posts so their friends can see it. High-level engagement activities indicate interest in moving toward more real-world participation such as committing to taking part in an activity by responding to a Facebook event invitation. Influence indicators tell how your posts are being received by others. This is a measure that builds on reach and engagement by examining things like comments on posts. One influence indicator we have found helpful is comment polarity (the degree to which a comment supports the content of your message). This approach works well when your post states a particular stance or argument. To use this approach, assign a negative (disagrees with argument), positive (agrees with argument), or neutral polarity to each comment on a post or group of posts. (Figure 2. Examples of indicators for selected objectives and activities) (Figure 3. Example of tracking indicators) Conversion indicators measure the degree to which users are “converting” more casual activities that take place online into real-world participation in activities that support your prevention goals and objectives. Examples include requests for information from your help line, donations, participation in events, or invitations to give talks. It is important to note that not every goal will have a conversion measure — sometimes the goal is really just to raise community awareness. Some examples of indicators, matched to an objective and activities, can be found in Figure 2. Step 3: Track Indicators The next step is systematically tracking your selected indicators over time to monitor your progress. This can be done with something as simple as a table with each of your indicators as rows and a number of weeks as columns. For example, you could track the number of posts (activity), views (reach), shares (engagement), and new volunteers who say they heard about you on Facebook (conversion) each week for six weeks (see Figure 3). Step 4: Interpret & Use Findings It is great to collect this information but even better to use it. The first step is interpreting what you have collected. These questions can help you understand and use your data. • How does each indicator change over time? In other words, what patterns do I see when I walk through indicators row by row? Which indicators went up, went down, stayed the same, or fluctuated? Did they change in the ways I expected? • How did each week differ? What patterns do I see when I look at each week’s column? When did things go well, and when did things go poorly? Were other events happening in the community at this time that might have impacted our results? How might changes in one indicator be tied to changes in another (e.g. when one goes up, the other usually goes up too)? • Did I reach my goal for each of my indicators? What might have contributed to meeting or not meeting my goals? What additional data do I need to understand what I am seeing? Remember that while patterns can help track how things are going, a pattern does not always indicate a direct relationship. Keep tracking as you try new things to figure out what works best for reaching your goals. Once you have interpreted your data, think through what these data suggest that the organization should do. Consider asking: • What worked? What strategies should I keep? Do these data suggest I try any new strategies to build on my wins? • What did not work? Are there strategies that I should add, change, or drop to improve my performance? • What else do I want to track to help understand my data better in the future? Are there any indicators that I might want to add, change, or drop? Evaluation can help you better understand how your social media efforts are working. By consistently tracking, interpreting, and putting your data to use, you can ensure that you are getting the most out of the time you invest into online campaigns. The approach and indicators presented here represent only an initial sampling of evaluation possibilities. A wide world of options is out there for you to explore. Are you ready to jump in? (Image: A notebook with the words "social media" written on it) ONLINE Find Michigan Public Health Institute online at www.mphi.org Want to learn more? Keep an eye out for Michigan Public Health Institute’s upcoming xCHANGE forum with NSVRC! RESTORE leads the campus prevention and response effort in the Genesee Valley Region By Lauren Berger RESTORE Sexual Assault Services In July 2015, the New York State legislature passed “Enough is Enough,” a bill designed to hold college campuses to a universal standard of sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, and stalking prevention; conduct violation investigations; and support services. This bill also authorized funds to rape crisis organizations to facilitate and augment these relationships. RESTORE Sexual Assault Services, a program of Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York that serves five counties in the Genesee Valley of New York, was already on its fourth year of partnering with local campuses. After the 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter (issued by the Department of Education regarding Title IX protections for survivors) jettisoned universities into national conversations about sexual violence, colleges increased invitations to RESTORE to provide programming for students. In 2012, one campus provided office space to provide services for students impacted by sexual violence — information, counseling, advocacy, and support throughout medical, criminal justice, or student conduct processes — when an alumna, Christi Waldron, started at RESTORE. (Image: A college campus walkway) Waldron now serves as the college advocate coordinator, and supervises two advocates and an outreach and education specialist — with funding provided by “Enough is Enough.” RESTORE maintains relationships with nine area colleges — private schools, state universities, and community colleges — throughout Monroe, Orleans, Wyoming, Genesee, and Livingston counties. “Enough is Enough” also mandates that campuses establish and publicize a “Bill of Rights” for survivors of gender-based violence that explains students’ rights and includes the statewide definition of “affirmative consent.” The state law articulates national regulations, specifically providing education to groups like new students, residence life staff, and athletes. Waldron notes that the support of the universities is evident in their inclusion of RESTORE in response and prevention efforts, and even the search for a new Chief of University Police on one campus. The schools’ participation in a bi-monthly coalition, led by RESTORE, is a conduit for networking and cross-training, further enhancing the collective prevention and response to sexual violence. The provision of resources for RESTORE on campus is a significant affirmation of support, because it increases familiarity and accessibility with RESTORE. “We would always provide services if they requested it,” Waldron says, “but now we have office space on six campuses.” (Image: 720 construction flags that represent the number of people sexually assaulted each day in the U.S.) One of RESTORE’s campus flag displays at Monroe Community College. The 720 construction flags represent the number of people sexually assaulted each day in the U.S. There is one display up in each county served by RESTORE, and each campus hosts the display for one day during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. “Enough is Enough” also tasked the New York State Police with the creation and maintenance of a “Campus Sexual Assault Victim Unit,” highlighting the joint effort between resources for survivors and offering multiple opportunities for collaborative trainings. Following the bill’s passage, schools across the state have seen an increase in reported incidents of sexual violence on campus. However, Waldron explains, this is attributed to students knowing their rights and options, “not more assaults” than before the bill’s passage. The utilization of RESTORE services on area campuses has been ever-increasing since 2012, and it is crucial to remain engaged with universities to effectively prevent and respond to sexual violence. So far, RESTORE remains a leader throughout New York State, and perhaps nationwide, in this regard. ONLINE Find RESTORE on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RestoreSAS Follow them on Twitter @RestoreSAS (Image: Another flag display) Accountability is a radical form of love By Aishah Shahidah Simmons #LoveWITHAccountability #LoveWITHAccountability was conceived and born out of my own personal child sexual abuse healing work. There is probably no single event that has defined my life more than the molestation I experienced by my now deceased step-grandfather, someone that I both loved deeply for decades and also feared for years. More specifically, it was the experience of being encouraged/forced by my divorced parents to engage with my step-grandfather after I told them about the abuse that has shaped my life. The impact of this abuse and forced engagement with my step-grandfather surpassed so many of the other significant events that have also shaped my life — including my rape, subsequent pregnancy, and safe and legal abortion during my sophomore year in college; my 26 years of Black feminist, queer, anti-rape activism and cultural work; over two decades of work with Dr. Clara Whaley-Perkins, Ph.D., a Black feminist licensed clinical psychologist and founder of the Life After Trauma Organization; and a 14-year practice of vipassana meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka. I spent over eleven years making my feature length award-winning film NO! The Rape Documentary, which examines the international atrocity of heterosexual rape and other forms of sexual assault through the first-person testimonies, scholarship, cultural work, and activism of Black women and men. During that time, I was very out about my incest and rape survivor status throughout the entire process of making NO!. However, I hardly ever shared the details about my molestation. I’ve been pruning in the gender based-violence forest since the early 1990s — for more than 20 years — and yet it wasn’t until the beginning of January 2015 that I was able to cultivate the strength to dig up my child sexual abuse roots. And as is the case with so many victim-survivors, this digging up inevitably leads to questions of love, accountability, and family. The overwhelming majority of us are taught from birth that regardless of any transgression we experience from a family member, we must protect the family at all costs. When child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors break our silence about the sexual harm we experienced, too often we are not believed. Too often we are accused of being mentally unstable or not caring about or loving those who “love us the most.” There’s a painful, uncanny irony that, in the name of familial love and loyalty, CSA survivors are encouraged to remain silent. This must change. We need models of love WITH accountability. (Image: A young girl holding a heart-shpaed stone in her hands.) My new work is designed to explore these questions. #LoveWITHAccountability is a Just Beginnings Collaborative-funded multimedia campaign for child sexual abuse and incest survivors of African descent to speak out in solidarity and to share their testimonies and solutions for creating accountability for the violence done to them within their families. #LoveWITHAccountability addresses the profound harm that comes — especially for people of color — when the only option for addressing child sexual abuse is punishment and incarceration. We must move beyond the criminal justice system being the only available option. We must also move beyond solely focusing on the perpetrator and work to understand the conditions and silent bystander mentality that allows for child sexual abuse to happen in families. There are approximately 42 million survivors of child sexual abuse in the United States today — which means there are many more millions of bystanders who were involved in either looking the other way, allowing the abuse to happen, or covering up the abuse that happened. This must change. #LoveWITHAccountability also explores how the silence around child sexual abuse in the familial institution plays a direct role in creating a culture of sexual violence in all other institutions — religious, academic, activist, political, and professional. We cannot and must not talk about rape, including campus rape, without also talking about child sexual abuse. For too many victim-survivors of rape, child sexual abuse is a precursor. Ending sexual violence starts with ending child sexual abuse, and ending child sexual abuse starts in the family. For me, and for many survivors of sexual abuse, the family is simultaneously a source of deep pain and love. Through my work, I am committed to creating models of holding family members accountable without suppressing that love. And I am not alone. In fall 2015, an intergenerational group of 29 diasporic Black cisgender women, gender non-conforming people, and trans and cisgender men joined me on the online publication The Feminist Wire in exploring what love with accountability looks like in the context of child sexual abuse. Read the #LoveWITHAccountability forum at bit.ly/LWAForum The group included survivors, advocates, and one former bystander. And they included my mother, Dr. Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons, Ph.D., who spoke publicly for the first time about her decades-long journey of finally acknowledging what happened to me as a child and the subsequent cover-up by her and my father. All of the writings in the forum are available both on The Feminist Wire and on the forum page of #LoveWITHAccountability website. Four of the 29 contributors in the forum — my mother, me, Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis, Ph.D., and Luz Marquez-Benbow, are featured on a two-part #LoveWITHAccountability special on Esther Armah’s international syndicated radio show The Spin, which is distributed by NPR Distribution and the Public Radio. (Image: A family watering plants.) What I have learned so far through this work, and through my own personal journey, is that love with accountability is hard — perhaps nothing is harder — but it is worth the struggle. I experientially believe it is a core root of all forms of sexual violence that we must address. Child sexual abuse, by its nature, is complex, and together we must demand accountability systems that honor that complexity. Until we do, we will not end this epidemic. The two interviews featured on The Spin are available for listening on iTunes, SoundCloud, and at bit.ly/LWATheSpin Community Voices For every edition, we reach out to you, our partners and community members, to learn more about your work in the movement. We asked: How are you/your organization an ally to LGBTQ communities? “By being an advocate & connecting with other on/off campus allies to build a community of support” -Violence Intervention Prevention Center @VIP_BCC “We have a two-week residential program and many off-site clubs and projects. We work with our local LGBTQ center and the Safe Zone club at JI Case High School in Racine.” -Christina Davis, SAFE Haven of Racine, Inc. “We aim to amplify the voices and lift up the experiences of those most marginalized in our communities, especially LGBTQ people of color, transgender and gender non-conforming communities, and low-income LGBTQ communities at all times. -Catherine Shugrue dos Santos, New York City Anti-Violence Project We want to hear your response to our next Community Voices question: What makes you most proud of the place where you work? Tweet your answer to @NSVRC or email resources@nsvrc.org using the subject line “Community Voices.” Raliance media summit: Exceptional journalism to end sexual violence By Julie Patrick Raliance On May 9, 2017, journalists and sexual assault experts came to the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, D.C. to celebrate ground-breaking media coverage on sexual violence. The event was made possible by Raliance in partnership with The Poynter Institute for Media Studies and through sponsorship by the NFL and the Glover Park Group. The goal of the day was to discuss ways to move the needle on how the public understands sexual violence. In her opening remarks, Poynter’s Kelly McBride noted current journalism on sexual violence is both strong and weak. New voices emerging help strengthen the national dialogue; local reporting, however, has not kept pace with this robust national conversation. Local communities are generally less likely to cover sexual violence. There are always exceptions to this, which is why The RALLYs Awards honored these examples of local, state, and national coverage. (Image: Journalists and advocates at the Raliance media summit.) In her keynote address, New York Times David Carr Fellow Amanda Hess discussed how better reporting illuminates real life as well as sexual violence experiences. She emphasized listening to victims, all kinds of victims, and not simply for their most sensational details. “What would journalism look like if it accurately reflected the whole scope of sexual violence? We would see more working-class victims, elderly victims, some male victims, too. We would read stories about abuse committed not just by strangers or sadistic frat boys but by family members and committed partners, not just in elite colleges but in detention facilities.” - Amanda Hess (Image: Amanda Hess delivers her keynote address.) Raliance remains committed to changing the conversation about sexual violence by working closely with the news media and promoting new voices to help shape this national dialogue on sexual violence and solutions. Now more than ever, sexual assault experts must work more closely with the news media and vice versa. Learn more about the media summit and the winners of The RALLYs at bit.ly/RALLYs uSafeNH: Putting resources in the hands of victims By Grace Mattern Where do victims of sexual assault on campus turn for help? A friend or professor? Campus security or health services? A roommate? Too often the answer is no one. Students assaulted on campus are more likely to drop a class or move to another residence hall than to seek counseling, medical help, or a criminal justice or campus disciplinary response. And yet we know that students who disclose a rape and are supported do much better than those who don’t, or those who get negative reactions when they tell someone they’ve been raped. At least one reason campus sexual assault victims don’t ask for help is the confusing process of finding the help they need. What services are available on campus? What are their reporting options? Who else will find out about the assault? Simply, what’s next? uSafeNH is changing that in New Hampshire. Developed by a collaborative team led by the Prevention Innovations Research Center (PIRC) at the University of New Hampshire, the uSafeNH app makes campus-specific resources and information available on students’ phones. The easy accessibility made possible with a phone app is important, because the sooner victims know about resources and supports after an assault, the more likely they are to use them. Click on the app and there is a description of options for victims from reporting to police to finding ongoing support. “Helpful Answers” has trauma-informed replies to common questions like “Was I assaulted?” or “How do I help my friend?” uSafeNH also has a complete list of campus and community resources, tailored for each college or university. Campus-based resources include health services, counseling centers, Title IX coordinators, campus safety or police, and the campus sexual assault policy. Local resources include 24-hour crisis center hotlines, hospitals, and police departments. uSafeNH also has a built-in safety feature called “Expect Me.” A student can enter the phone number of a friend or roommate to be called automatically if the student doesn’t check back in as safe within a set amount of time. The app was developed through a collaborative process including PIRC researchers and students and representatives from the NH Attorney General’s Office, the NH Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, the NH SART Project, and the NH Violence Against Women Campus Consortium. Focus groups were conducted on seven campuses with 200 students to provide guidance in creating the app. PIRC incorporated feedback from students on rural and urban campuses who were enrolled in community colleges, four-year undergraduate institutions, and law and graduate students statewide. Every aspect of the app was discussed, including the name, color scheme, text font and size, readability, resources provided, frequently asked questions, and interactive features. PIRC launched uSafeNH on 22 college and university campuses in New Hampshire last year. The app is available to download for free from the iOS App Store or Google Play on Android phones. In order to continually improve uSafeNH, data generated using in-app software and qualitative feedback from focus groups and individual interviews is being used to evaluate the app. Holding focus groups with students is also part of the ongoing evaluation. This spring PIRC will conduct individual interviews with victims of campus sexual assault to better understand what barriers to recovery they face and how they use resources. Now PIRC is preparing to take the app to the national level with the release of uSafeUS. As an initial step, information about the app will be distributed to campuses and state sexual violence coalitions across the Eastern Seaboard. If a college or university chooses to adopt the app, an upfront fee will cover PIRC’s costs of customizing the app for that institution. PIRC will also provide ongoing support to be sure the campus can update resources, information, and policies as they change. Curious and ready to see how easy it can be for victims of sexual assault to find resources? Check out uSafeNH.org – and spread the word. You may help a victim of campus sexual assault easily find exactly what they need when they need it. CONTACT For more information, contact Sharyn J. Potter, Ph.D., MPH, Executive Director of PIRC, at Sharyn.Potter@unh.edu or (603) 862-3630 Restructuring Iowa victim services enhances services for sexual assault survivors By Elizabeth Barnhill Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault ONLINE Find IowaCASA online at www.iowacasa.org As a long-time executive director of a sexual assault coalition, I spent many years frustrated at the inability of our dual domestic violence/sexual assault programs to provide comprehensive services to sexual assault survivors. Although advocates were committed to their work and healing for survivors, existing organizational structures inhibited their efforts. In 2012-2013, we conducted a review of services. The Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault (IowaCASA) wanted improvements, and the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV) wanted to move beyond shelter as a core service. During the preceding decade, funding for victim services had been continually cut, with programs laying off up to 25% of their staff. Outreach offices had been closed, programming reduced, and some agencies closed. Iowa has 99 counties, and in 2012, had 20 shelters, 24 dual domestic abuse/sexual abuse programs, three stand-alone sexual abuse programs, three stand-alone domestic abuse programs, seven culturally specific programs, and about 279 staff statewide. The Iowa Crime Victim Assistance Division (CVAD), the primary state administering agency, issued 35 contracts annually for an average of $260,150. For several years prior, attempts at a collective self-review of agencies and funding distribution had only yielded recommendations that services remain unchanged. The numbers showed service gaps and indications that money was not being distributed effectively. In FY 2013, programs served 18,310 survivors of domestic abuse, 3,912 survivors of sexual assault, and 945 victims of other violent crimes. Shelter was an ineffective and costly way to serve survivors; the vacancy rate statewide was 42 percent, and the cost of running a shelter about $400,000. Shelter used about 40 percent of the state resources, but served only 11.2 percent of crime victims. In rural areas, most services were shelter-based, with survivors often crossing several counties to reach advocates. The numbers of sexual assault survivors served did not reflect numbers expected given the population base, nor the age groups most likely to be sexually assaulted. Services for sexual assault survivors were usually limited to hospital response and accompaniment to the criminal legal system. (Image: Graph showing an increase in the number of traditionally underserved survivors served between 2012-2015.) In the summer of 2012, CVAD asked IowaCASA and ICADV to consider a restructuring plan that would: • use funds efficiently; • change service models; • distribute funds equitably across the state by population; • strengthen sexual abuse services, especially to youth; and • better reach underserved communities. A model was proposed to divide the state into six regions, with each region having one to two comprehensive sexual assault programs, one to two comprehensive domestic violence programs, and one to two shelter programs. The model also proposed enhancing culturally specific sexual assault/domestic violence programs. In Iowa, the legislature appropriates victim services funds without indicating specific amounts for domestic violence and sexual assault programming. Those decisions are left to CVAD. The new model proposed that each type of service (sexual assault, domestic violence, shelter, culturally specific) would have separate funding and staff. The proposed change would enhance sexual assault services, create new and robust domestic violence housing services other than shelter, allow shelters to specialize in crisis sheltering, and provide reliable funding for culturally specific programs. For domestic violence survivors, the state of Iowa shifted to a housing-first model, with a focus on accessing and stabilizing safe housing as the first priority. All agencies were asked to provide mobile advocacy, hiring advocates from and working with survivors in their home communities. The state proposed distributing the funds as follows: 10% of all the federal and state funds would be allocated to the culturally specific programs; of the remaining funds, one-third would be allocated to comprehensive sexual assault programs, one-third to comprehensive domestic violence programs, and one-third to sheltering programs. We sought input in a number of ways: lengthy discussions with agencies at IowaCASA and ICADV membership meetings, community forums held across the state, and dialogue with national experts and peers who had changed service models. The process proved challenging. In our tour of the state, communities, media, and community partners were primarily concerned with potential loss of shelters. Few if any had concerns about other ways to serve survivors of domestic violence, and there was very little discussion regarding sexual assault. During the following legislation session, we were able to convince key legislators of the need for change and the need to adequately fund changes. These discussions were also challenging, as some legislators heard from constituents who believed that shelter was the best way to offer services. We realized that over the years, Iowa had come to rely on a community understanding that prioritized shelter and considered other services, including sexual assault services, less essential. We were able to secure an additional four million dollars in funding. After a lengthy grant application process, funds were granted to eight emergency shelters, 12 comprehensive domestic violence programs, 10 comprehensive sexual assault programs, and seven culturally specific programs. The culturally specific programs generally serve one or two counties but respond statewide with technical assistance to the other programs. Culturally specific programs serve: • Asians and Asian-Americans; • Latinas; • African immigrants; • the LGBTQIA communities; • the Meskwaki tribe; • Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities; and • African-American communities. The two coalitions were granted monies to enhance their training and technical assistance efforts. As of 2017, we have greatly increased the numbers of survivors served, changed the types of services available, and reached survivors who previously did not know of our existence. In all cases, the numbers increased dramatically; we are now providing assistance to 10,000 sexual assault survivors and assist about 3,700 survivors with culturally specific services. Sexual assault survivors are now seen in high schools and middle schools, colleges, and universities and receive advocacy far beyond engagement with the criminal legal system. Shelters and domestic violence programs have experienced great success in moving survivors more quickly from shelter to permanent housing. Challenges remain. Our state legislature just cut the victim services grants by 26%. The level of funding we previously had made this model successful. Some federal funding and guidelines do not match the changes we have made here. Although support for the changes has increased over time, in some cases we are still working on buy-in from directors and advocates. Mainstream programs continue efforts to increase their reach into marginalized communities, and co-advocacy with culturally specific programs is not always a smooth process. Although we have increased the number of advocates to 400 available statewide, many work alone on a day-to-day basis; support and remote supervision are ongoing issues. We had a unique opportunity to work closely with the domestic violence coalition and the funder to make these sweeping changes. None of us involved think we would have been successful without such a close partnership. We are happy to speak in more detail about the success and challenges. New space, same work: NSVRC & PCAR move offices By NSVRC staff (Image: Exterior of the office building. Image: The Susquehanna River.) After nearly twenty years in our Enola, Pennsylvania offices, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape have relocated to a new office space in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s capital city. The new space accommodates our growing teams and provides ample space for meetings — plus beautiful views of the Susquehanna River. The move presented an opportunity for clearing out and starting new, and we look forward to continuing to provide resources, information, and assistance from our new location. You can now find us at our new address: 2101 N. Front Street Governor’s Plaza North, Building #2 Harrisburg, PA 17110 Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2017: Engaging New Voices By Susan Sullivan National Sexual Violence Resource Center The theme of this year’s campaign was Engaging New Voices – a message that focused on mobilizing parents, coaches, faith leaders, and Greek Life to get involved in sexual violence prevention efforts. Campaign materials provided these groups with actionable steps to promote healthy attitudes and behaviors. Many campaign organizers used this as an opportunity to brainstorm ways to reach out to new allies in their own communities. They held film screenings, vigils, rallies, town hall meetings, tabling events, and more throughout the month, which successfully brought new voices into the movement. Social media also played a large part in this year’s campaign. Many organizations saw an uptick their online audience engagement during SAAM by posting share graphics, the campaign video, and encouraging involvement in the annual 30 Days of SAAM Instagram Contest. There were around 3,000 submissions to the contest this year, with everything from group photos to the artistic and empowering – and everything in between! With so much momentum behind the campaign, it’s hard not to look forward for what’s to come in 2018. Next SAAM we’ll continue the momentum of reaching out to new allies and focusing on prevention through changing the culture. Check back to the SAAM website at www.nsvrc.org/saam and blog for updates – such as the announcement of next year’s campaign theme. (Image: A group of sorority members at a table) (Image: People wearing SAAM temporary tattoos) (Image: A cat near a photo that says "Cats against catcalls") (Image: A group of college students at a rally) (Image: Teal letters spell out 'AST') (Image: A woman holds up a sign that says "If I hear locker room banter, I will call it out for what it is -- sexism, violence & dismissive of people's dignity") (Image: DJ Zeke Thomas spoke out in a PSA) 4 resources worth checking out The National Sexual Violence Resource Center library is overflowing with great materials, containing more than 39,000 unique titles and growing every day. NSVRC staff members share four of the collection’s resources you might want to grab for your own library. Looking for research materials? Search the database at www.nsvrclibrary.org. South of Forgiveness by Thordis Elva and Tom Stranger Thordis Elva was 16 years old when her boyfriend, Tom Stranger, raped her. After being disconnected for years, Thordis began a correspondence with Tom, relieving her burdens and expressing the trauma he had caused her. The two eventually met up in person in South Africa, and what followed was a journey of honesty, vulnerability, and, ultimately, forgiveness. South of Forgiveness, authored jointly by both Thordis and Tom, tells their remarkable story. South of Forgiveness by Thordis Elva and Tom Stranger. (Scribe Publications, 2017) 307 p. Making Out Like a Virgin: Sex, Desire & Intimacy After Sexual Trauma This anthology contains the accounts of several survivors sharing their journeys to reclaim their bodies after an assault. The book covers topics from self-blame to anger, sexuality to spirituality, and the many ways individuals have moved beyond trauma to healing. Making Out Like a Virgin by Catriona McHardy and Cathy Plourde (editors). (Animal Mineral Press, 2016) 170 p. Dating and Sex: A Guide for the 21st Century Teen Boy by Andrew P. Smiler Designed for an audience of teen boys, this book delves into the nuances of dating, relationships, and sex. The conversational tone and hand-drawn graphics give this book a relatable feel that will resonate with teenagers. Dating and Sex: A Guide for the 21st Century Teen Boy by Andrew P. Smiler. (American Psychological Association, 2016) 288 p. Beyond Blurred Lines: Rape Culture in Popular Media by Nickie D. Phillips Have you ever wondered about the history of the term “rape culture,” or how it shows up in our everyday media and pop culture? This book points out how popular culture, the media, and the internet all impact and shape a culture of violence. From depictions of rape on television to the Robin Thicke song from which the book draws its name, Phillips provides context to rape culture in the images and messages we see every day. Beyond Blurred Lines: Rape Culture in Popular Media by Nickie D. Phillips. (Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2017) 296 p. Recommend a resource Read something interesting? Let us know! We could add it to our library and feature it here. Tweet suggestions to @NSVRC, share them on NSVRC’s Facebook page, or email resources@nsvrc.org using the subject line, “From the Library.”