August 2017 Community Education E-bulletin

Welcome to the August 2017 edition of Hope House's Community Education E-bulletin!​

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Thank You to the W.R. and Floy A. Sauey Family Foundation
2. Hope House Donation Needs
3. Sexual Assault
4. Domestic Violence
5. Children and Youth
6. Miscellaneous News
7. Local News
8. Parents' and Youth Service Providers' Section
9. Resources
10. Training Opportunities

 

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From left: Ellen Allen, Hope House Executive Director; Floy and W. R. Sauey; Betsy Lewis, CASA Coordinator; and Alison Martin, President of The Foundation.​

Thank you to the W.R. & Floy A. Sauey Family Foundation!
Last month the W.R. & Floy A. Sauey Family Foundation donated $10,000 to support child advocacy efforts in Sauk County! 

The W.R. & Floy A. Sauey Family Foundation supports programs designed to promote education; preserve and increase participation in the free market system; and promote quality of life in local communities with an emphasis on child and family issues.

The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program is a group of highly trained community volunteers that are appointed by the court in cases of dependency and neglect. CASAs act as the eyes and ears of the court, ensuring the best interest of the child is being served. Sauk County CASA operates under the umbrella of Hope House and currently provides advocacy services to thirteen children and six families in Sauk County.
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To learn more and get involved, visit www.saukcountycasa.org.

 

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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 used 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 the following:

• Miscellaneous: New T-Shirts, New Yoga Pants, Deodorant, Toilet Paper, Paper Towels, Full-Size Bottles of Conditioner, Tissues,  Zippered Mattress Protector, Copy Paper, Journals, Pocket Calendars, Wash Cloths, New Flip Flops, and New Stuffed Animals for the Child Appointed Special Advocate Program
• Kitchen:  Pots and Pans, Silverware, and Fresh Produce
• Cleaning supplies: Laundry Detergent, Lysol Spray and Wipes, All Purpose Cleaner, Magic Eraser, and Toilet Bowl Cleaner
• School Supplies: New Markers, Notebooks, Colored Pencils, Pens, and Backpacks         ​

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
Sexual Assault

• I-94 Project Spotlights Human Trafficking: “Recently, a team of concerned community members started the I-94 Project to raise awareness of human trafficking in Wisconsin. The program launched its efforts Memorial Day and will continue through Labor Day. It uses billboards, pamphlets and community events to educate the public about what they can do to help curb human trafficking. Interstate 94 ‘leads to all of the destinations where they’re taking them,’ Yarbough, who now lives in the Milwaukee area, said. The interstate links Chicago and Milwaukee, but also heads northwest, to Minneapolis-St. Paul and into North Dakota by the oil fields”…Read more
• Chester Bennington's Life May Help Male Sex Abuse Victims Speak Up: “They are taught to be tough, fearless and to deny their own vulnerability. They are told to never cry or experience sadness, and that they should always welcome sexual activity. They feel tarnished in terms of their maleness -- powerless, out of control and low in confidence. Many of these men fear being judged for provoking or ‘inviting’ the abuse and blame themselves for not being able to prevent it. They fear that their sexual preference will be questioned. And, as a result, some of these men banish the sexual abuse from their psyche, deny it ever occurred, minimize its impact, normalize or justify what happened to them, or engage in dangerous behaviors like drugs or alcohol to drown it out”…Read more​
• Australian Police Bring Sexual Assault Charges Against Catholic Cardinal: “Police in the Australian state of Victoria say they have charged Roman Catholic Cardinal George Pell with ‘historical sexual offenses.’ The Archdiocese of Sydney says Pell will return from Vatican City, where he is the top financial adviser to Pope Francis, to fight the charges. Deputy Police Commissioner Shane Patton would not give reporters specifics of the charges against Pell but said there are ‘multiple complainants’… He's the most senior Vatican official to ever be charged with sexual abuse”…Read more

• The Parents Of A College Student Who Killed Herself After Reporting She Was Raped Have Filed A Wrongful Death Suit: “All of the defendants ‘negligently, recklessly, wantonly, and/or wrongfully acted or failed to act in response to Megan’s reported sexual assault,’ the lawsuit alleges. As a result, it says, Megan Rondini suffered ‘extreme depression, anxiety, PTSD, fear, panic attacks, decline of cognitive functions and general well-being, weight loss, and feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness, all of which directly led to Megan’s loss of life’…The lawsuit says Tuscaloosa officers failed to test Rondini's rape kit, failed to interview witnesses, and failed to record all of the interviews they did conduct. Their behavior ‘was intentional and due to Megan Rondini’s female gender,’ the suit alleges. ‘Megan ultimately was treated as a crime suspect and her status as a victim of a sex crime was completely disregarded,’”…Read more
• Judge in Stanford Sexual-Assault Case Faces Recall Over Brock Turner’s Sentence: “Persky has seven days to respond to the petition, after which the committee has 150 days to collect nearly 59,000 signatures from registered Santa Clara County voters to get it onto the statewide primary election ballot on June 5, 2018”…Read more
• Why Do Colleges Recruit Athletes Who Have Committed Sexual Assault?: “In an interview, Sankey would not endorse a NCAA-wide policy, saying though heightened attention to these issues is important, he said he would ‘want us to think carefully’ before adding a rule across the entire association. He did encourage respective conferences to consider a policy, calling the SEC’s ‘beneficial.’ Adopting such a policy like that communicates the seriousness of sexual violence and infringement of Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, the federal law barring gender discrimination, said Katherine Redmond Brown, founder of the National Coalition Against Violent Athletes. Brown stressed, however, that nuances of a policy must be clearly defined and actually executed properly”…Read more
• La Crosse Woman's Military Sexual Assault Play to Take National Stage: “Carter, who was raped in 2004 by a fellow soldier who was never punished, pulled the play together in 2013 from stories of assaults she and others endured to give voice to MST survivors. ‘I spent over six years drowning in silence because I thought I was the only one,'"…Read more
• After Assault, Some Campuses Focus On Healing Over Punishment: “Activist and survivor Emma Sulkowicz says the approach is not appropriate for everyone. Sometimes, she says, trial and punishment are called for, as in the case of a man on her campus who was accused of several assaults…She questions how they will manage the more nuanced restorative justice approach…Foerster is also concerned that survivors might feel pressured into a restorative option rather than a disciplinary one. And, she says, accused students might be putting themselves in legal jeopardy, if what they say during the restorative process can be used against them later in court…In the meantime, the students involved in the sexual assault at their small school in the Northwest continue to share their story, hoping to show the power of restorative justice for both healing and redemption. They say if their painful journey can provide a roadmap for others going through the same thing — or even prevent an assault from happening – that would be healing in and of itself”…Read more

 

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Domestic Violence

• Nearly Half of All Murdered Women Are Killed by Romantic Partners: “The CDC analyzed the murders of women in 18 states from 2003 to 2014, finding a total of 10,018 deaths. Of those, 55 percent were intimate partner violence-related, meaning they occurred at the hands of a former or current partner or the partner’s family or friends. In 93 percent of those cases, the culprit was a current or former romantic partner”…Read more
  
• Baseball Challenged by Social Media Accusations of Domestic Violence: “The first five cases Major League Baseball investigated under its new policy had evidence that had already been generated by law enforcement or video. In the cases of Norris and Russell, there was none. This means baseball’s investigators must discern whether the allegations on social media are credible. And though players, under the terms of the new policy, are required to cooperate with those investigators, they may be wary of saying anything that could prompt an investigation by the police… ‘They’re not looking for revenge, they’re looking for an end to the abuse,’ said Kim Gandy, the chief executive of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. ‘There’s a lot of conversations about what are the alternatives for victims who are not looking to have their husband or boyfriend go to jail for five years.’ By turning to social media, she added, victims may also be hoping that pressure from peers, or even employers, will stop the abuse”…Read more

 

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Children & Youth

• The Toll Ongoing Stress Can Take on a Child's Brain: “Many of these kids ‘never know what's going to come next’ at home. But at school, square cards taped at kids' eye level remind them in words and pictures that lunch is followed by quiet time, then a snack, then hand-washing and a nap. Breathing exercises have kids roar like a lion or hiss like a snake to calm them. A peace table helps angry kids work out conflicts with their classmates. The brain and disease-fighting immune system are not fully formed at birth and are potentially vulnerable to damage from childhood adversity, recent studies have shown. The first three years are thought to be the most critical, and children lacking nurturing parents or other close relatives to help them cope with adversity are most at risk”…Read more
• America Sees Alarming Spike in Middle School Suicide Rate: “The suicide rate among 10- to 14-year-olds doubled between 2007 and 2014, for the first time surpassing the death rate in that age group from car crashes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2014 alone, 425 middle schoolers nationwide took their own lives”…Read more
  

 

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Miscellaneous News

• Britain Cracking Down on Gender Stereotypes in Ads: “‘It would be inappropriate and unrealistic to prevent ads from, for instance, depicting a woman cleaning,’ the report said. But, it said, ‘an ad which depicts family members creating mess while a woman has sole responsibility for cleaning it up’ might be banned under the new guidelines…Showing a father ‘trying and failing to undertake parental or household tasks’ could be deemed problematic under the new rules…She said the new standards should not be regarded as a restriction, but as an opportunity for greater creativity. As an example, Ms. Clay referred to ‘This Girl Can,’ a 2015 ad by Sport England, an organization that promotes physical fitness. It showed a wide variety of women and girls — of different ages, shapes and sizes — engaging in fitness activities. Their bodies are far from perfect, and the ad captures the effort and even the frustration of working out”…Read more...Read related article: Why the U.S. Ad Industry Will Never Regulate Gender Stereotypes
  
• If GoDaddy Can Turn the Corner on Sexism, Who Can’t?: “So what did GoDaddy do right? The answer is more complicated than just stamping out overt sexism. GoDaddy also focused on attacking the small, subtle biases that can influence everything from how executives evaluate employees to how they set salaries”…Read more
• Guitarist Stops Performance after Seeing Man Sexually Harassing Woman in Audience​
• Pew Research Center’s Online Harassment 2017: “But nearly one-in-five Americans (18%) have been subjected to particularly severe forms of harassment online, such as physical threats, harassment over a sustained period, sexual harassment or stalking…For those who experience online harassment directly, these encounters can have profound real-world consequences, ranging from mental or emotional stress to reputational damage or even fear for one’s personal safety. At the same time, harassment does not have to be experienced directly to leave an impact. Around one-quarter of Americans (27%) say they have decided not to post something online after witnessing the harassment of others, while more than one-in-ten (13%) say they have stopped using an online service after witnessing other users engage in harassing behaviors. At the same time, some bystanders to online harassment take an active role in response: Three-in-ten Americans (30%) say they have intervened in some way after witnessing abusive behavior directed toward others online”…Read more

 

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Local News

• Jesse Dozier, 30, of Wautoma, charged in Columbia County with felony threatening of a law enforcement officer as a repeated offense, misdemeanor domestic battery and repeated domestic disorderly conduct…Read more
  
• Joshua Bledsoe, 29, of Portage appeared in Columbia County Circuit Court on Wednesday facing three misdemeanor counts of domestic abuse, with a felony case lingering in the background…Read more
  
• Michael S. Huebsch, 36, of Baraboo, charged last year with repeatedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl rejected a deal with prosecutors Friday, and demanded a new attorney…Read more
  
• ​Steve Mitchell, 51, of Mauston, owner of the Thompson Funeral Home in the village of Wonewoc, charged with three counts of possession of child pornography…Read more
• Jonathan R. Wanke, 23, of Tomah, faces six charges, including strangulation and suffocation, after an incident June 25 in the town of Necedah…Read more
• Lita A. Bauer, 21, of Camp Douglas, was charged with first degree recklessly endangering safety and child neglect…Read more
• Chris L. Sussek, 35, of Randolph, entered a not guilty plea Thursday to charges of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old child”…Read more
• Jack T. Morrison, 28, of Mauston, is facing three felony bail jumping charges, along with a disorderly conduct, domestic abuse charge after being arrested June 14…Read more
• Joseph R. Steinmetz, 41, of Mauston, has been charged with felony bail jumping, resisting an officer, and disorderly conduct, domestic abuse…Read more

 

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Parents' & Youth Service Providers' Section

• Why Some People Hide Sexual Assault After Abstinence-Only Education: “‘This can make it harder for them to disclose sexual abuse because they feel ashamed and worry they'll be judged for what happened to them.’ Hiding this kind of trauma from loved ones and the authorities ‘can have long-term effects,’ Cushman reminds us. Whether it’s physical or emotional pain, it can last well into adulthood. For example, Nicole, 26, didn’t report her sexual assault because she wasn’t even ‘aware that it was assault at the time of the incident.’ Growing up in a religious, conservative home, there was an unspoken expectation that she would wait until she was married to explore her sexuality. As a result, she was too ashamed to tell anybody that her best friend assaulted her three separate times when she was 16 years old…Similarly, even though Katie, 30, wasn’t taught abstinence-only sex ed in school, her mother ‘was extremely anti-sex’ and threatened to disown her if she lost her virginity before marriage. Therefore, she kept it a secret from her parents when she was raped in college”…Read more
• The Power of Inclusive Sex Education: “‘We’re not trying to create anything subversive,’ said Cabrera. ‘We’re trying to treat people as people.’ Not supplying that treatment can have long-term effects on kids, said the Human Rights Campaign’s Kahn. Cis-gender, heterosexual students who don’t hear about LGBTQ peers in their classroom are sent the subtle message that there’s something ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’ with their peers, and it increases the chance the latter will be bullied. In turn, the stress on LGBTQ students manifests itself in increased risk for depression, substance use, and sexual behaviors that place them at risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases”…Read more
• 9 Ways Parents Can Help Bullied Kids Learn Resilience: “Targets of bullying can also benefit from helping others in a similar position, says Michele Borba, author of ‘UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World.’ Kids who have suffered often have higher levels of empathy. She recalls a teen who emigrated from Haiti a few years ago. ‘No one would eat with him,’ Borba says. ‘After he made the football team and gained acceptance, he mobilized other kids, including his entire football team, to sit with students who were eating alone.’ Similarly, 16-year-old Natalie Hampton created the ‘Sit With Us’ app to help kids find people to eat lunch with. After being ostracized the year before, she wanted to help others in the same situation”…Read more

 

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Resources

• 1in6.or’s Online Peer Support Groups for Adult Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse: “These weekly chat-based support groups are anonymous, confidential, and free. They’re facilitated by professional counselors and trained moderators, for adult male survivors who are seeking a community of support. They provide a safe space to discuss issues related to the effects of and recovery from unwanted or abusive sexual experiences. Here are the currently available groups: Monday Group | 9 - 10:30pm CDT and Wednesday Group | 7 - 8:30pm CDT Please join on time, since the door will be closed after 30 minutes. Each session lasts 90 minutes & is limited to a maximum of 12 men”…Learn more
• Connecting the Dots: Recognizing and Responding to Stalking: "The National Center for Victims of Crime – Stalking Resource Center developed a video to enhance the ability of law enforcement to recognize and effectively respond to stalking. The video is designed so that it can either be shown in its entirety or as individual chapters.  The video can be accessed on YouTube here.  There is an accompanying video discussion guide found here."

 

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Training Opportunities

• Wisconsin Serving Victims of Crime Conference Aug. 16-18, 2017, Wisconsin Dells: “Attend this unique conference to gain the latest knowledge and skills you need to serve victims of crime. Learn about innovative victim assistance programs and gain resources for enhancing the services you provide using a multidisciplinary approach. Choose from a wide variety of workshops conducted by knowledgeable experts addressing some of today’s most critical topics and issues facing victims of crime and service providers”…Click here to register
• Wisconsin State Victim Assistance Academy Sep 27-29, 2017, Appleton, WI: "The Wisconsin Victim Assistance Academy focuses on giving victim advocates, counselors, attorneys, and law enforcement the latest knowledge, skills, and legal approaches for best serving victims of crime. The academy will provide you with insights into victims’ rights as well as the trauma that victims are experiencing"...Click here to register

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