April 2016 Community Education E-bulletin

Welcome to the April 2016 edition of Hope House's Community Education E-bulletin!

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Ways to Get Involved this Sexual Assault Awareness Month
2. Hope House Donation Needs
3. Sexual Assault
4. Campus Sexual Assault

5. Domestic Violence
6. Children and Youth
7. Miscellaneous News
8. Local News
9. Parents' and Youth Service Providers' Section

 

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April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month
It takes a community to create awareness and prevention and to begin building healthier relationships. Be part of the solution and join us at one or more of the upcoming activities and events in April. Click here to go to our Events page to learn more about our Stewards of Children child sexual abuse prevention training on April 2 in Baraboo, our Hope and Healing Quilt Project, Denim Day on April 27, Miss Representation film screening and discussion on April 28 in Baraboo, and more!

 

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Hope House Donation Needs
Monetary donations are most needed.  Individuals have the option of donating online.  Please note that a portion of your online donation will go towards PayPal fees.  Donations can be mailed to Hope House, P.O. Box 557, Baraboo, WI 53913. We also appreciate gas cards, gift cards (Walmart, Kwik Trip, Walgreens, Kohl’s), taxi vouchers from Baraboo Taxi, and used cell phones, iPods and iPads.  Please note that we are not accepting stuffed animals/plush toys, used toys, clothes (except for new sweatshirts and sweatpants), shoes, used books, furniture, TVs, bar soap, hats, scarves or travel-size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, or body wash. Current needs include

• Bathrooms: Toilet bowl cleaner, Toilet paper, Deodorant, Disposable razors, Body spray and makeup, Small garbage cans with bags, Nail clippers, Cleaning supplies such as Lysol disinfecting spray and floor cleaner, Clorox wipes, Hairspray, Bleach, Bathroom rugs and bath mats
• Kitchen: Paper towels, Ziploc bags, Silverware, Tupperware, Small mason jars, Dishwasher soap, 13-Gallon garbage bags, Brush for cleaning bottles, Sip cups, Saran wrap, Aluminum foil
• Food and Beverages: Meat, Fresh fruit and vegetables, Yogurt, Cheese, Canned soup, Snack items (crackers, granola bars, etc.), Fruit juice, Milk
• Laundry: Laundry detergent, Dryer sheets, Fabric softener sheets
• Clothing for Women and Kids: Socks, Women’s underwear, Medium-Large size pajamas, New sweatshirts and sweatpants
• Misc: Diapers (especially sizes 4-6) and pull-ups, DVD or BluRay plaer, Vacuum, New white full/twin bed sheets, Double stroller, Baby wipes, Band-Aids, Pocket-sized calendars, Baby bottles, Umbrellas, Hangers, Weather radio, Journals, Exercise balls, Yoga/exercise DVDs, Relaxation CDs, Baby thermometer, CD players, Regular light bulbs

Special Note about Travel-Size Items: We encourage those looking to donate travel-size items to donate them to the Backpack Project. The Backpack Project strives to provide Baraboo School District students who are financially challenged to enter the school doors on the first day ‘just like everyone else’ and to show these children the community supports and encourages them to learn and do their best. If interested in donating towards this project, please contact Becky Hovde at 608-963-8230 or hivebiz@centurytel.net.

 

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News and Research
Sexual Assault

• The RAINN Survivor Series: “As the personal accounts of the survivors in this campaign reveal, there is no timeline for healing. Half of Online Hotline visitors use the session to talk about an event that occurred within the last six months, while 30% discuss an event that occurred more than 5 years ago. Watch and read the accounts of seven survivors–Keith, Julianna, Adam, Samentha, Lucy, Barbara, and Debra–to hear how RAINN helped them and how they are healing today”…Watch the videos
• More High-Ranking Officers being Charged with Sex Crimes against Subordinates: “Since September, the armed forces have court-martialed or filed sexual-assault charges against four colonels from the Air Force, Army and Marines. In addition, a Navy captain was found guilty of abusive sexual contact during an administrative hearing. Historically, it has been extremely rare for senior military officers to face courts-martial. Leaders suspected of wrongdoing are usually dealt with behind the scenes, with offenders receiving private reprimands or removal from command with a minimum of public explanation”…Read more

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• Reminder: Sexual Violence Against Women Is More Important Than Sports: “So when we discuss alleged sexual violence, let’s keep the focus on the crimes, rather than on how those crimes might impact a sports team’s performance. Because when we put the pain of survivors on the back burner in favor of our March Madness brackets, no one wins”…Read more
• Out Here, No One Can Hear You Scream: “In 2012 in Texas, members of the Parks and Wildlife Department complained about a ‘legacy’ of racial and gender intolerance; only 8 percent of the state's 500 game wardens were women. In 2014, in California, female employees of the U.S. Forest Service filed a class-action lawsuit—the fourth in 35 years—over what they described as an egregious, long-standing culture of sexual harassment, disparity in hiring and promotion, and retaliation against those who complained...And this January, the Department of the Interior’s Office of Inspector General announced that it had ‘found evidence of a long-term pattern of sexual harassment and hostile work environment’ in the Grand Canyon’s River District”…Read more

 

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Campus Sexual Assault

• There’s a Moving Story behind this Powerful Photo of Biden and a Sexual Assault Survivor at the Oscars: “Karesek, 22, told the vice president that before she went on stage she had been thinking about all the women and men who weren’t there because they’d taken their own lives after being sexually assaulted. Karasek began to cry, her eyes fixed on the floor, as she told him she hoped the performance would make others feel less alone, that it would save even just one life. That’s when Biden stooped down, clasped her hands and rested his forehead on hers. He told her that was why her bravery that night had been so important”…Read more
• Students Protest Howard University's Handling of Alleged Rapes: “More than 100 Howard University students gathered Tuesday to protest the university's handling of investigations into two allegations of rape…In both cases, the alleged attacker is a student at Howard and a former residence hall advisor…And accusations of sexual misconduct appear to have followed the RA from California, where a woman forwarded a letter purported to be from UCLA officials to the same man – banning him from campus amid accusations he distributed revenge porn depicting a female student. Students have released a list of demands for the university in response to the alleged rapes, including more thorough investigations for alleged assaults”…Read more
• Gov. Walker to Sign Sexual Assault Bill to Help College-Age Victims Report Crimes: “Petrowski says the new law will not only allow victims to report sexual assault without fear of being cited for alcohol consumption, certain witnesses will also have the same protections”…Read more
• Why I Stayed and Why I Left My College After I Was Raped: “Whether or not they choose to report the assault, survivors on college campuses face an impossible dilemma of staying on a campus with her assailant or leaving the school. Neither choice is wrong. Cosmopolitan.com spoke with two women who were raped at their respective colleges — one woman who chose to stay after reporting her crime and another who chose to leave”…Read more

 

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Domestic Violence

• Marissa Alexander Released from Jail: “Marissa Alexander, the Florida mother whose case became a rallying cry for anti-racism activists and survivors of domestic violence, was released today after three years of incarceration. Alexander had faced up to 60 years behind bars for firing a single shot near her abusive husband, unable to convince a jury she had feared for her life”…Read more
• Kansas City Group Opens Rare LGBTQ Domestic Violence Center: “Many areas of the country have only one LGBTQ anti-violence project and several states have none, said Chai Jindasurant, co-director of Community Organizing and Public Advocacy for the New York City Anti-Violence Project. And the few LGBTQ-specific shelters that do exist are mainly for runaways and homeless”…Read more
• Why Undocumented Immigrants Stay in Abusive Relationships: “Of the 2,000 immigrants surveyed for that research, 70 percent of those who were undocumented said they would not contact law enforcement if they were victims...‘There are a lot of barriers for victims for domestic violence already, and when you add being undocumented, a whole other level exists. Unfortunately, the fear of deportation is one that is especially high’”…Read more

• Dentist Helps Domestic Violence Survivors Smile Again With Free Services: “Dr. Tina Meisami, a Toronto-based dentist founded Project Restoring Smiles, a network of dentists that provide free dental treatment to survivors of domestic violence…CTV News reports that Meisami started the program in 2011 on International Women’s Day. Five years ago, there were only five dentists involved. Today Meisami has grown her network to 18 dentists (including herself) who have treated 45 patients and provided more than $200,000 worth of free dental work”…Read more
• Domestic Violence During Pregnancy Doubles Risk Of Premature Birth: “Women who are in abusive relationships are also more likely to have less prenatal care and inadequate nutritional intake, she said, and some may turn to coping behaviors such as drinking or smoking cigarettes. Saftlas said she hopes that these findings will encourage OBGYNS and general practitioners to do more to screen pregnant women for signs of abuse, so they can get access to resources”…Read more

 

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Children & Youth

• Dating Violence: Peer Education Offers Strong Dose of Prevention: “Today, York, 21, chairs the National Youth Advisory Board at loveisrespect, a nonprofit group that aims to empower youth to end dating abuse. The group runs a hotline that teens and young adults can call, text or chat with online for advice about their lives. When they call, the voice on the other end of the line is someone just like them: a teenager or a young adult learning about how to build healthy relationships, someone who could be a friend but also has training and resources…Sometimes it pays to take a step even further back to learn how to talk about the kinds of important conversations that keep a relationship healthy, say the leaders of Speak About It, a nonprofit performance group based in Maine that talks with young people about sexual consent, boundaries and healthy relationships”…Read more
• Native American Girls Fall through the Cracks: “They’re poor, more likely to be sexually abused, end up in foster care, drop out of school, become homeless. They’re often the prey of traffickers. American Indian and Native Alaskan girls are a small fraction of the population, but they are over-represented in the juvenile justice system, whether they are living on or off the reservation…American Indian girls often find themselves without state or local social service programs tailored to their cultural backgrounds and experiences, which are distinct from other girls living in or on the edge of poverty”…Read more

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• Teen Sexual Assault Survivors Felt Isolated And Alone. Now They’re Uniting To Protect Others: “Safe BAE is essentially a toolkit for students to set up campaigns to talk about sexual violence, consent and harassment at their schools. Students can start their own school chapters, or ‘SafeBAE Squads,’ and receive readymade flyers to use, as well as a brief introduction to their Title IX rights to go to school without facing gender-based harassment. PAVE recruited four survivors of high-profile high school sexual assault cases to help get Safe BAE off the ground. The squad includes a Houston teen named Jada Smith; Daisy Coleman of Maryville, Missouri; a survivor named Ella Fairon who started an advocacy campaign called ‘Buttervly’; and Delaney Henderson from Florida”…Read more
• Sent Home From Middle School After Reporting A Rape: “Under those guidelines, schools have to thoroughly investigate all claims of sexual harassment and assault — even if the police are already investigating, and even if students don’t come forward themselves. Schools are supposed to ensure that the campus is not a ‘hostile’ sexual environment, inform students and their families about Title IX grievance procedures (such as who to file a complaint with, or what to do if you’re retaliated against for reporting), and designate a special Title IX coordinator to ensure they’re following the rules”…Read more…Read related article: High Schools Are Failing Girls Who Report Sexual Assault​

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Miscellaneous News

• ​When It Comes To Domestic Abuse And Sexual Assault Reporting, Deaf Women Are Underserved By Police: “Deaf women experience sexual and domestic abuse at much higher rates than women who hear, but are unlikely to report it. A new initiative announced last week from the Vera Institute of Justice, a New York City-based nonprofit, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime aims to change that by training police officers to facilitate communication with deaf victims, such as teaching them how to find legitimate sign language interpreters”…Read more
• Hey Siri, Can I Rely on You in a Crisis? Not Always, a Study Finds: “Apple and Google’s assistants offered a suicide hotline number in response to a suicidal statement, and for physical health concerns Siri showed an emergency call button and nearby hospitals. But no virtual assistant recognized every crisis, or consistently responded sensitively or with referrals to helplines, the police or professional assistance”…Read more
• Etsy's 6 Month Paid Parental Leave: The New Normal In Tech As U.S. Law Lags: “All employees of the online retailer will be eligible for six months of fully paid leave, regardless of gender or whether they become parents through birth or adoption…The U.S. remains the only developed country in the world with no laws guaranteeing paid parental leave of any kind. The Family and Medical Leave Act mandates 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave, but only to full-time workers at companies with over 50 employees. Only 12% of American workers are offered paid leave through their employers”…Read more
• Riveting Video Shows The Harmful Consequences Of Objectifying Women: “Women Not Objects, a project dedicated to calling out the objectification of women in commercials, magazine spreads and other forms of advertising, has released a new video focusing on how harmful these unrealistic beauty standards truly are…To combat this mistreatment of women, people held up signs explaining why they’re standing up to the use of women and their bodies as mere objects. It’s not just affecting them”…Read more...Read related article: 5 Things You Can Do to End Sexual Exploitation of Women and Girls in the Media

• Company has Perfect Response after being Sent Pink 'For Her' Pens: “On International Women's Day, British smoothie company Innocent received some pink and purple BiC 'For Her' pens in the post. Rather than getting annoyed by the bizarre gift, Innocent decided to handle the pens in the best way possible — with some good, old-fashioned social media sarcasm”…Read more
• Names We'd Like To See When We Google 'Women Changing The World': “In honor of International Women's Day and Women's History Month, here's a collection of some amazing global women that NPR has profiled in just the past few months. Maybe in a few years they'll top Google's lists of women changing the world in ways large and small”…Read more
• 16 Courageous Women Standing Up to Violence: “The Institute for Inclusive Security, an NGO that supports women’s contributions to peacebuilding, brought these 16 women together for its 2016 annual colloquium to talk about how they stand up to violence in all its myriad forms”…Read more
• President Obama Applauds Every Brave Woman Speaking Out Against Online Harassment: “Obama said that while it’s important for women to continue to speak up about online harassment, it’s also integral that men join in. ‘This is not just the role for women,’ he said. ‘It’s about men speaking up and demanding better of themselves and their peers, their sons, their friends, their coworkers. Because we’re all in this together’”…Read more

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Local News

• Dakota Myer, 23, of New Lisbon, is charged with sexual assault of a child under 16 repeater and incest repeater…Read more
• April Stokes, 36, of Elroy, is charged with two counts of sexual assault by correctional staff…Read more
• Patrick Kraemer, 47, accused of killing his then-girlfriend, 43-year-old Traci Rataczak in April 2013, has been committed to a psychiatric treatment facility where he will remain until he is found competent to proceed with his trial on a charge of first-degree homicide…Read more
• Shaquille Brown-Johnson, 22, of Reedsburg, faces three felony charges of second-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 16 and three misdemeanor counts of sexual assault of a child over 16…Read more
• Anne Simon, 59, of Baraboo, who stabbed her brother to death pleaded guilty to reduced charges Monday and was sentenced to five years behind bars…Read more
• Justin Bryce, 26, of Friesland, charged with two counts of strangulation and suffocation, two counts of substantial battery-intent to do bodily harm, and one count of false imprisonment…Read more

 

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Parents' and Youth Service Providers' Section

• National Youth Violence Prevention Week April 4-8: “The National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) is proud to be a founding partner of the National Youth Violence Prevention Week Campaign…SAVE serves as the crossroads to the campaign and provides countless resources to prepare for the event, including the official campaign Action Kit that serves as a step-by-step planning guide, suggestions for how each sector of the community can support the campaign, activity ideas, links to national organizations sponsoring the event, articles and interviews on violence prevention, and much, much more!”
• April is Child Abuse Prevention Month: Check out the website from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services’ Child Welfare Information Gateway. It has tip sheets, a prevention resource guide, scenarios, sample calendars, videos, and more. 
• Child Sexual Abuse: Stop It Now: “We've recently updated the Take Action page on our website to include new ways you can help make a difference…We hope you'll spring into action and join with us to take the necessary steps towards protecting children.”
• The Trevor Project’s Lifeguard Workshop: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth are at increased risk for depression and suicide. The Trevor Project’s Lifeguard Workshop—a free online module—is designed to help educators support these students. The site also offers classroom activities and other resources.

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• 10 Things About Childhood Trauma Every Teacher Needs to Know: “Detroit-based clinical director of the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children, a program of the Starr Global Learning Network, Caelan Kuban Soma offers these tips for understanding kids who have been through trauma, plus strategies for helping them”…Read the tip
• Staying Safe While Staying Connected Tips for Caregivers: Check out this two-page resource from The National Child Traumatic Stress Network for caregivers on talking to young people about sexting.
• A Survival Guide to Teens' Digital Lingo: “From 'TMRW' and 'WYCM' to 'vamping' and 'vlogging,' the current digital lingo resembles that of an encrypted secret language -- a secret code only known to those still waiting for their driver's licenses…Our Digital Glossary gives parents and teachers a window into the world of kids' digital lingo”…Read more…Read related article: Got FOMO? Practical Tips for Easing Kids' Social Media Anxiety
• Video: Know the Warning Signs of Abuse: Mary Kay has released a new video on the warning signs of dating violence, asking people to pay attention and step in to help.

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