Yesterday, Men Can Stop Rape launched their new bystander intervention campaign geared towards addressing sexual violence on college campuses. “Where Do You Stand?” uses a number of tools such as trainings, posters, and media materials to encourage young men to become active bystanders to end sexual violence.

According to Men Can Stop Rape’s press release, “Where Do You Stand? continues Men Can Stop Rape’s commitment to primary prevention by creating everyday solutions to prevent men’s violence against women and girls,” said Men Can Stop Rape Executive Director, Neil Irvin. “This campaign builds on young men’s ability, desire, and commitment to being strong without being violent.”

Continue reading to view the full text of the press release.

PRESS CONTACT: Amy Terpeluk
Tel: (212) 593-2792
Cell: (917) 826-2326
amy@finnpartners.com

COLLEGE MEN LAUNCH WHERE DO YOU STAND?, A NEW NATIONAL INTERVENTION PROGRAM TO STOP SEXUAL ASSAULT ON CAMPUSES

Leading men’s prevention organization, Men Can Stop Rape, collaborates with American Association of University Women to increase the number of men on campus who intervene to prevent dating violence and sexual assault

WASHINGTON, D.C. – January 31, 2012 – Today, Men Can Stop Rape, a leading national organization mobilizing boys and young men to prevent violence against women, is launching a new nationwide intervention movement to empower college men to speak up and prevent violence on campus.

This new push to build safer college campuses is a direct result of the many recent incidents of rape, sexual assault and dating violence that have occurred on campuses. Sixty two percent of undergraduate students say they have encountered some type of sexual harassment⁽¹⁾, and a recent survey shows that nearly half (43 percent) of all dating college women report having ever experienced violent or abusive dating behaviors ⁽²⁾.

Men Can Stop Rape is taking an entirely new approach to preventing these incidents. For the first time, they are focusing on male bystanders who witness potentially violent situations and teaching them how to step in before situations escalate into actual physical or sexual violence.

This initiative involves several elements including the launch of an innovative public awareness campaign called Where Do You Stand?. This campaign uses a variety of media materials including billboards, posters and t-shirts, displaying provocative visuals and messages that illustrate how easy it can be for men to speak up and prevent violence.Where Do You Stand? also uses bystander intervention trainings and peer-education sessions that equip them with the necessary skills and tools to intervene.

“Where Do You Stand? continues Men Can Stop Rape’s commitment to primary prevention by creating everyday solutions to prevent men’s violence against women and girls,” said Men Can Stop Rape Executive Director, Neil Irvin. “This campaign builds on young men’s ability, desire, and commitment to being strong without being violent. We look forward to using Where Do You Stand? to deepen existing relationships and build new partnerships with college campuses across the country.”

The collaboration with the American Association of University Women’s 100,000 members nationwide, illustrates the spirit of teamwork that Men Can Stop Rape aims to incorporate onto every campus where this new campaign will take root. Men Can Stop Rape hopes to continue to build these powerful collaborations with women’s groups to help support existing rape and violence prevention programs on campuses and to increase these groups’ resources by bringing men and women together around these important issues.

“It’s crucial that both women and men address sexual harassment and violence on campus. This is not just a women’s issue,” said AAUW Program Manager, Holly Kearl. “By joining forces, we can work together to challenge the culture that fosters those dangerous behaviors, involve more men and give all students nationwide the tools they need to be part of the solution.”

The initiative will also seek to increase the presence of Men Can Stop Rape student leaders on college campuses by building more student-led chapters of their Campus Men Of Strength (MOST) Clubs. MOST Club members serve as activists for violence prevention on campus. They facilitate trainings, plan events and partner with other community and campus organizations to educate men about stereotypes that perpetuate violence, different ways to approach potentially dangerous situations and how to overcome men’s reluctance to confront their peers when they see unhealthy interactions they suspect could become dangerous.

Today, college men from Georgetown, American University and George Washington University, along with area high school students, will come together at Georgetown with collaborators from the American Association of University Women (AAUW), and the School and College Organization of Prevention Educators (SCOPE, www.wearescope.org) to launch this new violence intervention movement at a meeting of Men Can Stop Rape student leaders.

“Intervening in the presence of disrespect toward a woman can be easier said than done,” said Matt Scott, sophomore at George Washington University and Campus MOST Club member. “Everybody faces challenges in life where women, and men for that matter, are being degraded in front of them. It is tough to know how to handle it but Men Can Stop Rape makes it easier for men to challenge stereotypes and take a stand.”

Universities across the country have already requested the new Where Do You Stand?intervention materials and programs and are highly anticipating the opportunity to introduce this national campus movement to their students. Additionally, partners from the District of Columbia Office of Victim Services have joined with Men Can Stop Rape with the goal of distributing Where Do You Stand? materials to campuses city wide. The college men leading this movement are working to ensure every campus has violence and sexual assault prevention and intervention programs in place.

The Where Do You Stand? materials, trainings and programs and the Campus MOST Club programming are available to be activated on campuses nationwide. For more information about Men Can Stop Rape, visit www.mencanstoprape.org.

About Men Can Stop Rape
Men Can Stop Rape is the leading national organization mobilizing boys and men to prevent violence against women. The program has reached over 2 million boys and men in the past 10 years with a message of “strength without violence.” Men Can Stop Rape’s cutting-edge prevention programs are grounded in the social ecological model which recognizes that individual actions profoundly affect entire communities and ultimately all of society. Utilizing a proven curriculum, awareness campaigns, prevention and intervention trainings and programming, Men Can Stop Rape is engaging men and boys to build safer and healthier communities. For more information about Men Can Stop Rape, visit www.mencanstoprape.org.

¹ Harris Interactive® online survey conducted on behalf of the AAUW Educational Foundation, 2005

² Liz Claiborne Inc.’s Love Is Not Abuse 2011 College Dating Violence and Abuse Poll, 2011

Today marks the beginning of Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.  In February, there will be activities throughout the country addressing violence in young people’s relationships.  I appreciate that this month is not only about awareness, but includes a focus on prevention.  This is a time to take action.  During this month there will be rallies, forums, media campaigns and flash mobs to mobilize young people to prevent teen dating violence.

In his Presidential Proclamation on National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, 2012, President Obama said

Reducing violence against teens and young adults is an important task for all of us.  This month, we renew our commitment to breaking the silence about dating abuse and fostering a culture of respect in our neighborhoods, our schools, and our homes.

Check out some of PreventConnect’s archived materials about teen dating violence, including

• Healthy Break-Ups and Why They Matter
• Prepare for National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month with That’s Not Cool
• Campaign for the third choice: dating violence prevention and Eclipse
• Understanding teen dating violence prevention: CDC’s Dating Matters
• Respect WORKS!: a comprehensive teen dating violence prevention model

The recently released findings from the Center for Disease Control & Prevention’s (CDC) National Intimate Partner & Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) recognized that almost 1 in 5 American women have been raped in their lifetime. This is a wake up call to recognize how sexual violence is widespread. However, last week, in a Washington Post opinion column, Christina Hoff Sommers claims this report is comprised of “inflated statistics and sensationalism.”

Sommers, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, has a long history of criticizing information about violence against women in her articles and books such as “Who Stole Feminism?” In the Washington Post article, she argues the validity of the CDC’s research in comparison to the number rapes reported to the F.B.I. (which used a definition that recently changed because it was too restrictive) and those reported on the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey. Sommers writes,

The [CDC's] figures are wildly at odds with official crime statistics. The FBI found that 84,767 rapes were reported to law enforcement authorities in 2010. The Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey, the gold standard in crime research, reports 188,380 rapes and sexual assaults on females and males in 2010. Granted, not all assaults are reported to authorities. But where did the CDC find 13.7 million victims of sexual crimes that the professional criminologists had overlooked?

The CDC survey finds so many more victims than the criminal justice-based statistics because it asks about people’s actual experiences. It is a strength of this survey that it asks behavior-specific questions and includes many types of unwanted sexual violence experiences, in addition to rape. The FBI — until this month — only recorded statistics of vaginal rape that are voluntarily reported by the police departments. The National Crime Victimization Survey asks only about rape as part of series of questions regarding various crimes. The CDC has developed a survey that recognizes sexual violence is not only a crime, but it is also a public health problem.

At the same time as these crimes are continuing to occur, funding is in jeopardy for rape crisis centers across the nation. There are already more survivors than social service agencies have the ability to serve. In order to provide services to more survivors — and also to do the primary prevention work to stop violence before it occurs — the rape crisis centers need to increase funding.

Whether your rape statistic is 84,767 or 188,380, sexual violence is still happening, which should make this a priority issue for rape crisis centers, media, funders and other social service agencies. This survey suggests that the problem is even bigger and requires more attention.

Instead using energy that minimizes the prevalence of sexual violence, let’s put our energy toward creating more programs to prevent sexual violence and opportunities to support survivors in their healing.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the concept of bystander intervention. There are so many ways to intervene but when the time comes will I know which one to use? Will I need to go get another friend? Will it be so obvious that I am trying to intervene that it will actually make the problem worse?

This comic reminded me that bystander intervention can be a simple act that has a huge impact.

We first saw this comic through the awesome team at Hollaback! but the original can be found here.

What are some of the simple and easy ways you’ve practiced bystander intervention lately?

When looking to transform our culture to end sexual violence and domestic violence, we have to look at the music we listen to. For many years I have pointed out many troubling songs from “He Hit Me (and it felt like a kiss)” by the Crystals (co-written by Carol King) to the Beatles’ “Run For Your Life” (lyrics start with “I’d rather see you dead, little girl/ Than to be with another man.”) as well as look for positive songs like the list of 16 Songs About Violence Against Women (and Staying Strong and Positive) that I recently blogged about. During PreventConnect web conferences we have explored topics like Masculinity, Sex, and Hip-Hop with Byron Hurt and Shira Tarrant.

In this podcast from BitchMedia, Tracy Wright from the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Althea Hart from the Mississippi Coalition Against Sexual Assault discuss Jay-Z’s “Glory,” the history of female emcees, and strategies for using hip hop and pop culture in conversations about sexual and domestic violence. This podcast was recorded after their presentation at the Roots of Change conference called “Hip Hop and its Exploitation of Communities of Color.”

PreventConnect will soon be releasing other podcasts from the Roots of Change Conference.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Photo from raremusicvideo1‘s Flickr photostream

I love going on facebook. As much as I try to deny it, I love it. It is the way I connect with friends who I can’t see everyday, share important news pieces, learn about social events, it is the way that I feel connected to the world around me. But facebook and I have also had a few tense moments that have caused me to swallow the giant lump in my throat and think critically about my engagement on the site. One of those moments was when facebook suggested that I become friends my abusive ex-partner. I wanted to scream at facebook (yes, the computer, the site, the whole company), and just felt like they should have known better!! How could this happen?! Six years later, and I felt as though no time had passed, I was instantly just as hurt and just as angry. New York Times online Opinionator column addressed this very issue of social media and it’s power to reconnect to potentially triggering individuals in recent weeks.

On January 13, the New York Times published an opinion column written by Dorri Olds called “Defriending My Rapist”. Olds describes how a facebook connection with her rapist had lead her to confront him about the feelings that she still held on to about the situation.

In a private message directly to her rapist, Olds wrote:

“I hope that night has haunted you. I was naïve and a virgin. I see you have a teenage daughter now. Better keep her safe from guys like you.”

Olds continues by saying that:

 “I wanted to hate him and hurt him but realized that the only way to be free was to let it all go. When I defriended him I felt strong. The past was the past, and my mouth wasn’t covered anymore.”

In the age of social media and interconnected, often overlapping, social networks, I can’t help but wonder how to best negotiate new arenas to confront previous trauma. I do know that we, as prevention and intervention specialists and members of the sexual assault movement, have an opportunity to reach out to our communities and talk about this emerging topic. I still believe that social media is an overwhelmingly positive tool that allows us to reach out to members of our community through exciting new channels, encouraging a greater number of people to join our movement and engage in our work. The challenge for us may be in harnessing the power of sites like twitter and facebook to get out a positive message about prevention education, survivor support, and community resources while counterbalancing and addressing the potentially negative consequences of being connected online.

Please share your thoughts in the comments section about how you feel we, as a prevention and intervention community, can speak to our communities about social media and its power to connect survivors with resources and support. 

(21 mins) Lili Herrera of Peace Over Violence in Los Angeles describes the comprehensive primary prevention programs her agency offers in Los Angeles. Their curriculum In Touch with Teens is a foundation for a wide variety of activities. Peace Over Violence has adopted this programs to serve gang-affiliated youth. This program was featured in the 2011 report Innovations in Prevention from the  National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

Listen: Interview with Lili Herrera about primary prevention programs

Zerlina Maxwell writes in her recent article Stop Telling Women How to Not Get Raped in Ebony Magazine that

Holding women and girls accountable for preventing sexual assault hasn’t worked and so long as men commit the majority of rapes, men need to be at the heart of our tactics for preventing them.  Let’s stop teaching ‘how to avoid being a victim’ and instead, attack the culture that creates predators in the first place.

While I strongly agree that we need cultural change and to engage men in rape prevention, I think there is an important role for women’s empowerment in rape prevention. What do you think?

(21 mins) Wanda Powless, Kim McArthur and Mark McDanial of Oregon’s Klamath Crisis Center describe their work to engage men to prevent sexual violence in a rural community. PAWS for Change (Prevention, Awareness, Wellness and Strength) is a collaboration of local organizations in Klamath County to engage men and boys as allies in an effort to prevent all forms of violence. This program was featured in the 2011 report Innovations in Prevention from the  National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

Listen: Interview with Wanda Powless, Kim McArthur & Mark McDanial about engaging men and boys

(14 mins) Strong Oak Lefevre from the New England Learning Center for Women in Transition describes the community-based prevention work of Visioning Bear Circle to prevent sexual violence in Native American communities.

Listen: Interview with Strong Oak Lefevre about community-based prevention work

(11 mins) Mary Worthington of Network of Victim Assistance in Bucks County, Penn., describes the agency’s prevention curriculum for students with autism spectrum disorders.

Listen: Interview with Mary Worthington about prevention curriculum

(16 mins) Bari Rosenbluth and Barbara Ball, of Safe Place in Austin, Texas, describe their prevention efforts with adolescents. The programs, Expect Respect and Start Strong Austin, show comprehensive programs that involve youth leadership, community partnership and policy change to prevent violence.

Listen: Interview with Bari Rosenbluth and Barbara Ball about prevention efforts with adolescents

(10 mins) Alex Leslie of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center describes Youth360, a youth leadership program for the primary prevention of sexual violence.

Listen: Interview with Alex Leslie a youth leadership program

(16 mins) Julie Evans of Pittsburgh Action Against Rape describes the Parenting Program, a four?workshop series for parents to prevent child sexual abuse, and the Middle School Social Norms Campaign to promote positive social norms.

Listen: Interview with Julie Evans about preventing child sexual abuse

PreventConnect.org

National Intimate Partner & Sexual Violence Survey

In December 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the initial findings from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS). This survey became the subject of hundreds of news stories about the prevalence of sexual violence, intimate partner violence and stalking. In this web conference, we will share results of the survey and explore the implications for prevention efforts.

Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012 and repeated on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012
This ninety-minute (90 min) session begins at 11 a.m. Pacific Time (2 PM Eastern, 1 PM Central, Noon Mountain, 10 AM Alaska, 8 AM Hawai’i). Click here to sign the wait list if the sessions are full.)

Host/Presenter: David Lee, CALCASA, PreventConnect

Guest Speakers: Michele Lynberg Black, Ph.D., Division of Violence Prevention, CDC; Matt Breiding, Ph.D., Division of Violence Prevention, CDC; Kathleen Basile, Ph.D., Division of Violence Prevention, CDC

Cost: Free

Materials and Recordings: Click here to get this materials at PreventConnect.

What is a Web Conference?
A web conference is an opportunity to attend an online workshop by watching a presentation on your computer screen (using your internet connection) and hearing presenters through your telephone. Prevent Connect web conferences feature an opportunity to participate in online question & answer sessions and live text chat between participants. If for some reason you are unable to join on your computer, you can download the presentation slides from our website and listen on your phone.

Real-Time Captioning Available: Instructions for accessing captioning during this web conference will be provided with your registration confirmation.

Compatibility: The iLinc web conference software used by Prevent Connect is compatible with both Microsoft® Windows® and Apple® Macintosh® computers. Click here for detailed system requirements.

Media coverage of the Penn State child sexual abuse case looked at institutional accountability in a way that most other media coverage of child sexual abuse has not done before. However, the media coverage still failed to examine potential prevention solution, according to a new report from the Ms.Foundation for Women and the Berkeley Media Studies Group. The report analyzed media coverage of the first nine days of Sandusky Penn State case, serving as a timely follow-up on the 2011 report on media coverage of child sexual abuse.

FIrst, the good new – instituational accounability was a big part of the media story:

The attention to Joe Paterno, in sports and general news, was also attention to what he—and what others with authority at Penn State—did not do. In addition to the intense focus on Sandusky and Paterno, however, the first week of coverage also introduced a story about institutional accountability. This is unusual and important. The personal failing of Sandusky for committing the alleged abuse and of Paterno for not doing enough once he learned of the accusation were consistently present in the coverage, so much so that the coverage often seemed to be more about the downfall of Paterno than about Sandusky or child sexual abuse. But the news also calls out the University for its failing as an institution. This broader perspective was all but absent in our earlier study of typical reporting on child sexual abuse.

While the issues were named, media coverage did not focus on the potential solutions such as prevention.

As we found in our earlier study, discussions of how to prevent child sexual abuse were virtually absent from news coverage. In the Sandusky coverage, nearly one-third of the general news included a mention of a potential solution or policy measures to reduce or prevent future abuse, and only 5% of sports news did so. The most frequently named solutions focused on individuals after the fact, such as reporting abuse. There was some discussion, though minimal, about broader societal prevention strategies such as changing cultural norms so we can talk about child sexual abuse and make it unacceptable.

This report helps us consider the lessons learned from the media coverage and plan for how to continue to improve focusing the story on how to prevent child sexual abuse. The report has recommendations for child sexual abuse prevention advocates and report. Click here to see the full report.

(11 mins) Christine Gilfillan of Berks Women in Crisis describes Camp Peaceworks, a primary prevention program featured in the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s recent report on Innovations in Prevention. Camp Peaceworks has adapted the curriculum “Making the Peace” by Paul Kivel to develop a five-day camp for young people that establishes a foundation for young people to take action to prevent violence. This program was featured in the 2011 report Innovations in Prevention from the  National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

Listen: Interview with Christine Gilfillan about a five-day camp for youth

Many primary prevention programs target youth as the intended audience. But do those programs identify youth only as the audience, or do they find ways to support youth as the agents of change in their communities?

The newest issue of Partners in Social Change, a publication from the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, highlights youth led efforts including Youth 360 from the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and STAND & SERVE from Phoenix’s Peer Solutions. (PreventConnect will soon have an interview with Alex Leslie speaking about Youth 360 and check out this interview of Jennifer Rauhouse and Elizabeth Gonzales from STAND & SERVE.)

In Kat Monusky’s opening article, she states

While programs may go by many names (“youth led,” “youth driven,” “peer leadership,” “by and for youth,” etc.), the concepts are the same: creating opportunities for youth to be meaningfully involved and take ownership of prevention in their communities.

How does your prevention program promote youth leaders?

Click here for a link to this publication.

(11 mins) Holly Kearl, author and founder of Stop Street Harassment, talks about some highlights of her recent series of blogs on anti-street harassment successes in 2011. She also talks about the upcoming International Anti-Street Harassment Week, which will be held March 18-24, 2011.

Listen: Interview with Holly Kearl about street harassment

Sexual violence is a pervasive public health problem in the United States. In December 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey. Throughout the country, headlines of local and national papers described that rape is more common than previously thought.

Today an article published in on Significance Magazine’s web site, a publication of the American Statistical Association and Royal Statistical Society, compared these rates to those of smoking – 18.3% of women over 18 reported being sexual assaulted in their lifeline while 17.4% of women reported smoking. Let consider this as we set health priorities.

Just as in smoking prevention, preventing sexual violence before it happens in the first place is crucial. NISVS demonstrated that sexual violence often first happen when peopel are young, thus early prevention efforts are vital.

For more information on NISVS go to CDC’s NISVS page. You can also find materials on PreventConnect, VawNet’s NISVS Resource Page and the NSVRC’s NISVS Page.

Photo from Raul Lieberwirth.

(9 mins) Adrian Velasquez, of Migrant Clinicians Network in Texas, describes Hombres Unidos contra la Violencia Familiar, a primary prevention of both sexual and intimate partner violence in the Hispanic migrant community. Drawing on a promotora model, Hombres Unidos has trained men to facilitate session with their peers.

Listen: Interview with Adrian Velasquez about Hombres Unidos

President Obama recently proclaimed January 2012 to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. In Obama’s proclamation, he stated:

“Our Nation was founded on the enduring principles of equality and freedom for all.  As Americans, it is our solemn responsibility to honor and uphold this legacy.  Yet, around the world and even within the United States, victims of modern slavery are deprived of the most basic right of freedom.  During National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we rededicate ourselves to preventing and ending human trafficking, and we recognize all who continue to fight this serious human rights violation.”

To learn more about Human Trafficking in the United States and abroad, visit the U.S. Department of State’s “Trafficking in Person’s 2010″ site. Please share human trafficking resources that you utilize in the comments section!

January is National Stalking Awareness Month and this year, the Stalking Resource Center of the National Center for Victims of Crime have created this website dedicated to providing resources and information to advocates and community members. The “Stalking: Know it. Name it. Stop it.” website provides sample status updates, PSA scripts, news releases, outreach materials, and resource guides to promote stalking prevention and intervention work in your local area. Visit the site to learn more about how to support the over 3.4 million men and women over 18 years of age who are stalked each year in the United States.

Banners in the conference room from the recent UNITY Advisory Meeting

Last week I had the opportunity to join the UNITY Advisory Meeting at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, Georgia. It was so appropriate to meet at a center for organizing for non-violence and promoting human rights. At this meeting we explored how we can advance the linkages between a range of types of violence (community violence, sexual violence, intimate partner violence, teen dating violence, child maltreatment and suicide) and other important social issues. I appreciated the dedication of this group representing diverse issues while being committed to preventing violence.

While the focus of my work at CALCASA is to advance the prevention of sexual violence, I am reminded of the value of connections. (CALCASA’s national online prevention project is called PreventConnect.)  I see an important part of primary prevention as promoting what we want. We need to find the common protective and resiliency factors in our communities to create positive change in many issues. As we see in the most recent results of the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, we need to focus on prevention.

This past week, David Lee and I traveled to Atlanta to provide trainings for the Georgia Network to End Sexual Assault (GNESA) on primary prevention and bystander intervention. Laura Fidler of the New York City Alliance to End Sexual Assault joined us to provide training on community engagement and to share her experience working on Project Envision. After weeks of conversations about budget cuts and intense media coverage about child sexual abuse at Penn State among other institutions, the positive response we received from the participants of the two-day conference was inspiring and uplifting, reinvigorating my passion for sexual assault prevention work.

The 60 participants came from a wide range of backgrounds but shared a common goal: ending sexual violence in their communities. David started the conference by framing primary prevention, and exploring where our movement has been and the directions in which it is headed. One of the most valuable pieces of this workshop was the conversation about the way we, as prevention educators, can foster behavior change. Take home message? Focus on community level change efforts. Primary prevention is about changing social norms, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors in a community. Response from the crowd? Overwhelmingly positive — David’s message reaffirmed what they knew to be true from the work they are currently doing and wanted to focus on in their communities.

I took on the second half of day 1 by addressing bystander intervention and the way that bystander intervention curricula and concepts help to create community change. We, as educators, are able to engage the entire community as potential bystanders, instead of being potential perpetrators and potential victims. Bystander intervention also opens up the doors to engaging men and boys in new ways, creating a social movement and empowering community members with concrete action steps to address sexual violence. Bystander intervention also challenges us to confront our own tolerance of violence, as it calls on us to intervene each and every time we witness violence or the precursors to violence. What a heavy load to carry alone! My take home message: The more people who you can engage in bystander intervention work, the greater the number of people who will take on community safety as their responsibility. We can create a paradigm shift together, as a united community, intolerant of violence.

Laura followed on day 2 with concrete action steps for engaging your community in these efforts. Laura spoke about her work on Project Envision. In conjunction with 11 of the city’s rape crisis programs, in 2008 the Alliance initiated the second phase of Project ENVISION, a six-year sexual violence primary prevention demonstration project. In this phase, the Alliance trained community researchers in participatory action research methods to conduct needs assessments in three New York City communities: Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the South Bronx and Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Participatory action research was utilized as a community mobilizing strategy. By emphasizing meaningful community involvement at all stages of the research and generating awareness about sexual violence prevention, this approach acts as a component of a primary prevention intervention. Laura conducted an exercise called asset mapping, where she invited participants to examine a map of the Lower East Side and determine how they would locate and identify a number of resources and assets (see picture below). She encouraged participants to reframe and rethink their community assessment methods to identify strategic partnerships, identify influential community members and organizations, and to create an ongoing dialogue with the neighborhood through interviews and focus groups. Take home message? Work with and alongside your community. Give them the power to voice concerns, opinions, goals, challenges and successes. Engaging your community in the process of creating solutions to end sexual violence is essential.

Stay tuned for our resource lists from the presentations to get more information on primary prevention, bystander intervention and community engagement!

Click here to be directed to CALCASA’s NISVS Page.

On Wednesday, Dec. 14, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS). This is an ongoing, nationally representative survey that assesses experiences of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence among adult women and men in the United States. This large-scale ongoing study confirms many realities that advocates and educators already know about sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and stalking: These forms of violence continue to be pervasive and deserve more attention and funding. It also sheds new light on the scope and context of these forms of violence.

Click here to be directed to CALCASA’s NISVS Page.

Greetings again from the YWCA Silicon Valley Green Dot Team! After three successful Green Dot speeches, we gathered our first audience for a trial run of the Green Dot Training last Saturday, December 3^rd. Fourteen people who work or volunteer at the YWCA Silicon Valley gave up their Saturday to help us test our clickers and learn more about the Green Dot Strategy. The training ran relatively smoothly and everyone came away from the day feeling empowered and inspired to act. Not only did we get to run through the material, but we also got to use evaluative techniques to gauge what we can improve upon for future trainings. Here is some of the feedback that we received:

“My favorite part was the way the presenters communicated and integrated the audience into the presentation. They left me on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what we were about to hear next.”

“Hearing people’s personal stories really helped to connect the training to real life.”

“I really liked the entertaining videos, the inspiring personal stories, the interactive clicker activities, and the passionate trainers.”

Until next time fellow Green Dotters!

Guest post provided by Stacey Carlotta from the YWCA of Silicon Valley. For more information, please contact her at scarlotta@ywca-sv.org

As I have been reading all of the news about the sexual abuse at Penn State, Syracuse and others, I see a lot of anger at a few individuals who do not act or did not do enough. In his recent article in the Huffington Post, Larry Cohen of the Prevention Institute clearly states that we have to consider what institutional changes needs to take place to prevent sexual abuse:

Of course, we all know that it is not a child’s job to protect themselves from sexual abuse and the predators that perpetuate it; it is the job of the adults and institutions that surround him or her. It is not one or two individuals who have failed the survivors of child rape and sexual assault at Penn State, Syracuse University, and in our churches and schools across the country. We are failing our children. We have created a system that often colludes with perpetrators, supports them and creates a norm that allows sexual assault and child rape to continue. And by blaming individuals alone, we lose the opportunity to upend that system and create policies and systems that protect our children, instead of perpetuating harm.

I agree with Larry when he says that “we must re-examine and revise policies and practices to not only ensure reporting but promote a climate that insists on the safety and health of our children in the first place.” As I said when I spoke last month in Idaho, we need to go beyond describing the problem of sexual abuse, we have to promote the solutions. Not only the individual solutions, but community-wide prevention and policy solutions.

Last week, I had the opportunity to talk to Sara Zatz & Amita Swadhin about Secret Survivors, an interview-based theater project featuring adult survivors of child sexual abuse telling their personal stories on stage. Sara is the Associate Director at Ping Chong & Company, a non-profit tour that creates works of theatre and art that explore the intersection of race, history, culture and technology. Amita is the Project Coordinator for Secret Survivors and she brought the idea for the project to Ping Chong & Company.

In this interview, Sara & Amita discuss the need for conversation about child sexual abuse, and the response the performance has received since its March debut in at El Museo de Barrio. As part of an initiative to expand the impact of its theater production in order to end child sexual abuse in the United States, Ping Chong & Company has been awarded a grant from the Ms. Foundation for Women to develop an educational DVD and toolkit to accompany the live performance of Secret Survivors.

Listen: Interview with Sara Zatz & Amita Swadhin about Secret Survivors

The Pixel Project is celebrating 16 Days of Activism to End Gender Violence with a selection of 16 Songs About Violence Against Women (and Staying Strong and Positive). The selection of songs emphasize women being empowered. Examples include Ani DiFranco’s The Story, RESPECT by Aretha Franklin, Pink’s 18 Wheeler, Fighter by Christina Aguilera, and twelve more. (Click here for the full post.)

I am glad to go beyond listing songs that are about violence against women (though we have a great list of songs and movies on the PreventConnect wiki.) We need more songs (and plays and poems) about taking a stand to stop violence and rape.

What songs inspire you in efforts to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault?

Today, the Sacramento Bee featured an article about WEAVE’s work with violence prevention among young men. The article focused on the “Coaching Boys Into Men” program, a curriculum developed by Futures Without Violence. ”The Futures Without Violence, formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund, Coaching Boys into Men (CBIM) program invites men to utilize their influence to unique position to prevent domestic and sexual violence. First launched in 2001, in partnership with the Advertising Council, CBIM’s core goal is to inspire men to teach boys the importance of respecting women and that violence never equals strength.”

To read the article, visit the Sacbee.com.

(8 mins) PreventConnect’s David Lee interviews Ana Vega and Leslie Malkin of the New Jersey Coalition for Battered Women. They describe their trainings to build domestic violence prevention efforts in New Jersey’s Latino Communities.

Listen: Prevention For Latino Communities in New Jersey

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign is an international effort to take action. Starting on November 25, the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women, and concluding on December 10, International Human Rights Day, the campaign seeks to inspire action to end all forms of violence against women and girls.

What are going to do to take action today? You can download a Take Action Kit and follow on Twitter with the hashtag #16days

Technology is changing faster than ever. With the internet, mobile phones and powerful computers that we carry in our pocket and purses, we have new tools available to advance our violence prevention work. On December 8-9, 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) will convene a workshop titled mPreventViolence: Communication and Technology for Violence Prevention to explore gaps of knowledge management (knowledge generation, integration, dissemination, and application) and how closing these gaps might accelerate violence prevention, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

The public workshop will examine the use of traditional and new media to communicate evidence-based information for violence prevention and new applications of social media and new communications technologies to prevent violence.

Click here for more information. You can register to join in person (in Washington DC) or via webcast. The IOM asks us to disseminate this information widely. They are especially interested in getting audiences overseas. I plan to join the webcast of this workshop. See you there (or follow tweets with the hashtag #mpreventviolence).

Ilene Stohl & Summer Camp participants

(10 mins) PreventConnect’s David Lee interviews Ilene Stohl from the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She describes their Teen Learning Council (TLC) where young people define how to work with youth to prevent domestic violence. This project was a result of the DELTA PREP initiative.

Listen: Washington State’s Teen Learning Council

(15 mins) Katherine Beavis & Emily Haas of the Indiana Campus Sexual Assault Primary Prevention Project describe the way in which the development of communication makes a difference in the prevention of sexual violence. They highlight the prevention posters developed for Purdue University. This program was featured in the 2011 report Innovations in Prevention from the  National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

Listen: Interview with Katherine Beavis & Emily Haas about using communication to prevent violence

Jessy LaHood

(13 mins) Laura Fidler and Lower East Side Coalition community leader Jessy LaHood describe Project ENVISION, a community mobilization initiative to prevent sexual violence. Project ENVISION is a project of the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault. This program was featured in the 2011 report Innovations in Prevention from the  National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

Listen: Interview with Laura Fidler & Jessy LaHood about community mobilization

Two former Syracuse University ball boys have recently come forward, reporting that they were molested by Syracuse Associate Head Basketball coach Bernie Fine. They stated that Fine started to molest them in the late 1970s and continued to assault them through the 1990s.

I agree with the women at feministing.com when they write: “It appears that one positive thing to come from the Penn State case may be that is has empowered other survivors to speak out”.

 ESPN’s Outside the Lines has more details as well as a interview with one of the survivors:

The New York Times is also reporting on the story, including quotes from Fine’s colleague, Coach Jim Boeheim, who  finds it “suspicious” that these men are coming forward with allegations in the wake of the Penn State scandal.

Fine has been placed on administrative leave by Syracuse Chancellor Nancy Cantor while Syracuse City Police investigate these allegations, among others. Cantor has demonstrated her commitment to the investigation as well as the health and safety of Syracuse University students through her public statements and letter sent directly to all students. Cantor told students:

“As you know, this week, I affirmed Syracuse University’s steadfast belief that all of us have the responsibility, individually and collectively, to ensure that Syracuse University remains a safe place for every campus community member and everyone with whom we interact on a daily basis on campus or in the community as part of our learning, scholarship, or work. We do not tolerate abuse.”

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center has created talking points around Child Sexual Abuse in English and Spanish.

We at CALCASA encourage you to use these talking points, as well as the media tools created by Jessica Naiper, CALCASA’s Media and Communication Specialist, to talk to your community and colleagues about ways that we can prevent child abuse and support survivors.

This week I had the opportunity to speak at the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence’s Summit on Sexual Violence. Over 800 people attended this event to highlight creating change in prevention and response to sexual violence. It was an impressive gathering of representatives of rape crisis centers, social services, criminal justice and education gathered to learn how each can contribute to addressing and preventing sexual violence in Idaho. Keynote speakers included David Lisak speaking about the undetected rapist and Dorothy Edwards on “ending violence one Green Dot at a time.” I was tweeting highlights from this summit with the hashtag #IdahoSummit.

On the night before the summit, I spoke to the Idaho Coalition’s membership on the topic “Primary Prevention of Violence: Using Social and Traditional Media to promote Social Change.” Given the deadlines of the day, I used the example of the traditional media and social media responses to Penn State’s sexual abuse scandal. I reviewed how the media has framed this issue (borrowing from the analysis from the Berkeley Media Studies Group recent report on news coverage of child sexual abuse). I also examined how advocates have responded in press releases, e-newsletters and social media. I recommended that as advocates we had to go beyond describing the horrors of victimization. We need to propose solutions – in particular policy and prevention solutions.

Below are the handouts from my presentations:

• Primary Prevention of Violence: Using Social and Traditional Media to promote Social Change.
• Prevent Violence Before it Starts: National Trends to Prevent Sexual Violence

State Plan

(9 mins) In this interview, Carol Gundlach and Joan Sulzman of the Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence share about how they were able to incorporate primary prevention activities into the The Council on Violence Against Women’s 2010 Alabama State Plan.

Listen: Primary Prevention in Alabama state plan

Robin P. Christopherson

(16 mins) In this interview, Ana Hernández of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and Robin P. Christopherson of Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention describe how they strengthened domestic violence prevention efforts in partnership with the Department of Education.

Listen: Prevention in New Hampshire

“We are Penn State. That’ll never change. … Understand this is really a call to duty.”

Last week, Penn State’s campus erupted. The Board of Trustees announced that beloved football Head Coach and collegiate athletics legend Joe Paterno was fired, effective immediately. Penn State football is its own culture, boarding on being a religion to students, alumni and Division I football fans.

Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno and President Graham Spanier were fired as a result of their failure to act after learning of numerous sexual assaults perpetrated by former Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky is currently being investigated by the Pennsylvania Attorney General for 40 counts related to child sexual abuse. Other coaching staff and campus administrators are also being charged as a result of being passive bystanders, choosing to not take any action that would protect or support the victims. University Athletic Director Timothy M. Curley and Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary C. Schultz are being charged with perjury and failure to report child sexual abuse allegations to the proper authorities.

Paterno is quoted as saying, “At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can. This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.”

As the complexity of the situation at Penn State unfolds, Paterno’s comment of “I wish I had done more” resonates with what advocates and prevention educators know to be true; there is more work to be done. Some of that work can be accomplished through these mechanisms:

1) Empower campus administrators, faculty, and staff to speak up and step in when they witness sexual harassment, sexual assault, or intimate partner violence.

• It is not enough that college campuses have a formal policy regarding reporting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or intimate partner violence. The crucial step is putting policy into practice. All administrators, faculty, and staff must be trained on how to report, what the formal mechanisms around reporting are, and the ramifications of failing to report.
• Administrators must place emphasis on and prioritize the well-being of the survivor, and encourage all employees of the campus to do the same.

2) Promote a campus culture that supports prevention efforts, not just intervention efforts.

• There are a number of campus programs that are geared towards promoting gender equity and safety for their entire campus population. These programs bring both administrators and students to the table, encouraging partnership and cooperation to create a community response to violence on campus. Some of the ones that have recently been discussed at CALCASA are:
• UNH Bringing in the Bystander 
• Green Dot
• Alert students to policies and procedures that exist on campus so that they know their role in preventing violence and intervening if or when they witness it. Let them know who they can speak with confidentially and who they can report to, where they can find these individuals, and what process they should follow to insure that their voices are heard.

3) Dismantle our connection between sports, masculinity, and power on campus.

• We can start this process by acknowledging that the real tragedy is not about football. It is not about who holds social and financial power on campus. It is not about asserting that sports culture and the dominant story of heterosexual masculinity that often times comes with sports culture reins supreme on a prominent state school campus. This is about a failure to uphold a legal and ethical obligation to protect a survivor of sexual assault.

4) Reach out

• There are national, state, and local partners who are trained to provide education and guidance around this topic. CALCASA staff members are able to provide referrals for campus programs, prevention education, intervention and advocacy services, and media response. Please contact:
• Denice Labertew: denice@calcasa.org (Advocacy and Campus)
• Leona Smith Di Faustino: leona.smith@calcasa.org (Prevention and Advocacy)
• Alexis Marbach: alexis.marbach@calcasa.org (Prevention and Policy)
• Jessica Renee Napier: jessica@calcasa.org (Media)

Blog post co-written by Leona Smith Di Faustino and Alexis Marbach.

TD411

(12 mins) PreventConnect’s David Lee interviews Linda Blozie, the Director of Training and Public Affairs of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She speaks about primary prevention efforts after being part of the DELTA PREP initiative for the last three years. She highlights the work to develop a mobile app, TD411, and legislative action to support primary prevention.

Listen: Preventing domestic violence in Connecticut

Guest post from the Green Dot team at the YWCA of Silicon Valley!

Imagine you are walking down the hallway of the YWCA Silicon Valley and you notice a small green dot taped to the wall. You ask yourself, “What is this?” But as you do, you notice another dot ahead and then another, until you are taken to a wall covered in Green Dots. Happily these dots are not mold; instead they are the beginning of the Green Dot Strategy Launch in Silicon Valley. Looking closer you notice there is writing on each Green Dot. Upon further investigation, you realize each dot contains a vignette, a story recounting how someone exhibited a behavior, choice¸ word¸ or attitude that promoted safety for everyone and communicated an utter intolerance for violence in our community.  

            This is what you would have experienced if you walked down the hall of the YWCA Silicon Valley last week for the Week Without Violence. The initial Green Dot stories were written by the Green Dot team and their Rape Crisis Center co-workers, but as the week went on, more and more dots popped up, like the outbreaks of an epidemic just like in the film  “Contagion”. YWCA staff and clients were encouraged and motivated to post their own Green Dot stories both from the inspirational stories on the wall and a persuasive presentation given by one of the Green Dot team members.

The goal of this endeavor was not only to educate and involve YWCA staff and clients in the Green Dot movement but also to encourage advocacy for the Project so that the Green Dots could continue to flow both inside and outside of the YWCA, especially as the launch of the Green Dot Strategy at De Anza College in January approaches….

Stay tuned for more updates, but in the meantime-

Let your green dots flow!

For more information on Green Dot at the YWCA of Silicon Valley, please contact Stacey, Della, Leandra, or Joan from the YWCA!

Della: dduncan@ywca-sv.org

Stacey: scarlotta@ywca-sv.org

Leandra: lpeloquin@ywca-sv.org

Joan: jfriessnig@ywca-sv.org

David Lee was honored at the ICEHS Annual Dinner held during the American Public Health Association’s 139^th Annual Meeting. David received the award for Excellence in Public Service, which is given, “In recognition of outstanding dedication and leadership in injury practice and advocacy with contributions and achievements that have significant and long term impact on the field of injury control and emergency health services”. When presenting the award, Larry Cohen of the Prevention Institute stated that he was inspired by David’s, “energy, courage, thoughtfulness, and leadership” as well as David’s innovative approaches to violence prevention.

Congratulations David!

In the newly released report, Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment at School, sexual harassment is shown to be pervasive in the nation’s schools.

Sexual harassment is part of everyday life in middle and high schools. Nearly half (48 percent) of the students surveyed experienced some form of sexual harassment in the 2010–11 school year, and the majority of those students (87 percent) said it had a negative effect on them.

The report includes recommendation for prevention. Administrations are recommened to make preventing sexual harassment a priority. Educators need to respond and educate about this issue, and students can speak up and take action in their own schools.

The report was released by the American Association of University Women, an organization that previously released the groundbreaking reports, Hostile Hallways (1993) and the 2001 follow up report, Hostile Hallways: Bullying Teasing and Sexual Harassment in School.

Click here for more information about this report.

I just returned from the American Public Health Association’ s 139^th Annual Meeting held in Washington DC. I had the opportunity to meet many dedicated public health professionals (13,000 people attend this meeting.) This year’s theme was “Healthy communities promote healthy minds and bodies.”

There were so many sessions and posters I could not get to everything that I want to see. Here are a few of the highlights from the sessions I was able to attend:

• Learning about ways people use social and mobile media to improve community health
• Hearing stories of the art of creating successful injury prevention initiatives, including great stories from Trauma Foundation’s Andrew McGuire.
• Great panels sponsored by the Family Violence Prevention Forum where I heard Anne Demers from San Jose State University describe her work with Iraq and Afganistan veterans to prevent family violence and Institute of Medicine’s Deepali Patel share about IOM’s Forum on Global Violence Prevention,
• Hearing Joe Vess and Neil Irvin from Men Can Stop Rape describe their work with men in colleges and the military
• A session on social justice perspectives on capacity building to promote the health communities
• Some thought provoking presentations from CDC’s Division on Violence Prevention on leveraging systems to prevent family violence where they discussed different types of evidences (including contextual and experiential evidence) and how complex science is useful in violence prevention decision-making.

If you were able to attend this conference, what were your highlights?

(12 mins) As part of PreventConnect’s series of interviews highlighting the work of DELTA PREP, Laura Berry and Colleen Yeakle of the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence describe efforts regarding Heather’s Law and the development of a toolkit to support local school districts and organizations to provide prevention activities to promote healthy relationships.

Listen: Indiana’s Healthy Relationship Toolkit

Many representatives of California Rape Crisis Centers attended the Town Hall on engaging men in Oakland

Last week the federal Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Housing and Urban Development hosted 10 regional Town Halls on Engaging Men and Boys in Eliminating Violence Against Women.  I had to opportunity to attend the session for Region IX held in Oakland, CA on October 27, 2011 where I moderated the session on engaging men. The results of these Town Halls will be shared with Vice President Joe Biden.

Over 100 people, including representatives of many California Rape Crisis Centers, attended this series of panels and opportunities for community feedback. My highlights included:

• Frank Blaney of Peace Over Violence, describing his work with MyStrength Clubs in Los Angeles. He also explained why he uses the term “young men” instead of “boys” in recognition that all the young men he works with aspire to be “men” and in acknowledgement of the racism where African-American males have been historically called boys regardless of the age.
• Jennifer Rauhouse of Peer Solutions from Phoenix, AZ, describe her top hints for everyone, including men, boys and young people, in the prevention of relationship violence. For example,

• We must view everyone as part of the solution, not the problem
• It is helpful to presume men, boys and young people care about preventing relationship violence, want to be included, do not wants someone they care about getting hurt and most likely have been harmed by relationship violence.

• Donna Garske of Center for Domestic Peace’s Transforming Communities describing how she sees “unlearning violence is a revolutionary and evolutionary process.”
• Ernest Brown describing the misuse of biblical fragments and the importance of men being active to prevent violence,, based on his experience with From Bruised and Battered to Blessed Ministries.
• Wilfred Brown of STAND for Families Free of Violence highlighting how over 200 men have been honored in the last 6 Men of Merit annual awards in Contra Costa County, CA.
• Mario Ozuna-Sanchez from the National Compadres Network describing the culturally relevant rites of passage and violence prevention work of El Joven Noble.
• Chic Dabby of the Asian Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence calling for us to replace “relationships of power with relationships of meaning.” She reminded us not only raising young men to respect other, but also to become active in working with their communities to prevent violence.

If you attended one of these town halls, what where your highlights?

Hello Members!
I am excited to share new materials with all of you. Please feel free to take a moment to review the information of the materials (listed below).

I encourage all of you to take advantage in  helping me to update our library. You can do this by sharing with me the types of materials (DVD’s, curriculum, etc.) you use that has been helpful to you or your agency. What ideas would you like to share or find available in the library?

The goal is to update the library so that it can better serve as a place where you can share the tools or materials you’ve used or created to network with other members, find the information and the resources you are seeking. I welcome your ideas and look forward to working with all of you as we update the library.

Here are some examples I am looking for:

• Curriculum that was helpful for the training needs of your agency.
• Sharing materials you or your organization have created (electronic copies) that you’d like to see circulated in the library to others.
• Materials that you know will be helpful to develop new or existing skills within your staff or agency.
• Materials to learn the latest trends and techniques in doing the work within the movement.
• DVD updates, curriculum, etc.
• Bilingual materials

With deep appreciation of the all the work you do, I thank you in advance for your time. I look forward to hearing your comments.

Please contact me if you are interested in borrowing any of the materials the library. My email is villena@calcasa.org or call (916) 446.2520 ext. 320.

Thanks!
Villena

The Bro Code: How Contemporary Culture Creates Sexist Men
From the cover: The Filmmaker Thomas Keith takes aim at the forces in male culture that condition boys and men to dehumanize and disrespect women. Keith breaks down a range of contemporary media forms, zeroing in on movies and music videos that glamorize womanizing; pornography that trades in the brutalization of women; comedians who make fun of sexual assault; and a groundswell of men’s magazines and cable TV shows that revel in old-school myths of American manhood. The message Keith covers in virtually every corner of our entertainment culture is clear: It’s not only normal — but cool — for boys and men to control and humiliate women. In the end, The Bro Code challenges young people to question this dangerously sexist ideal of masculinity.

For more information:  http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=246#press-reviews

 Generation M: Misogyny in Media & Culture

From the cover: Despite the achievements of the women’s movement over the past four decades, misogyny remains a persistent force in American culture. In this important documentary, Thomas Keith, professor of philosophy at California State University-Long Beach, looks specifically at misogyny and sexism in mainstream American media, exploring how negative definitions of femininity and hateful attitudes toward women get constructed and perpetuated at the very heart of our popular culture.

The film tracks the destructive dynamics of misogyny across a broad and disturbing range of media phenomena including: the hyper-sexualization of commercial products aimed at girls, the explosion of violence in video games aimed at boys, the near-hysterical sexist rants of hip-hop artists and talk radio shock jocks, and the harsh, patronizing caricatures of femininity and feminism that reverberate throughout the mainstream of American popular culture.

Along the way, Generation M forces us to confront the dangerous real-life consequences of misogyny in all its forms — making a compelling case that when we devalue more than half the population based on gender, we harm boys and men as well as women and girls.

For more information:  http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=234

Asking For It: The Ethics & Erotics of Sexual Consent

From the cover: The line between sexual consent and sexual coercion is not always as clear as it seems — and according to Harry Brod, this is exactly why we should approach our sexual interactions with great care. Brod, a professor of philosophy and leader in the pro-feminist men’s movement, offers a unique take on the problem of sexual assault, one that complicates the issue even as it clarifies the bottom-line principle that consent must always be explicitly granted, never simply assumed. In a nonthreatening, non-hectoring discussion that ranges from the meanings of “yes” and “no” to the indeterminacy of silence to the way alcohol affects our ethical responsibilities, Brod challenges young people to envision a model of sexual interaction that is most erotic precisely when it is most thoughtful and empathetic. Ideal for classes in gender studies, communication and sociology, and especially useful for extra-curricular programs and workshops.

For more information:  http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=243

Understanding Hookup Culture: What’s Really Happening on College Campuses

From the cover: When it comes to intimacy and sex, young people today are apparently doing away with the old rules of romance and cutting straight to the chase. If recent reports are to be believed, the rise of hookup culture on college campuses is in the process of killing off dating and courtship, radically altering some of our most basic assumptions about heterosexual sex and gender. But for all the speculation, there’s been little beyond anecdotal evidence to back any of these claims up. This lecture by Stanford University’s Paula England, a leading researcher in the sociology of gender, aims to clarify what’s actually going on. England mobilizes a wealth of data to begin to chart whether the phenomenon of hooking up represents some kind of fundamental change, or whether we’re simply seeing age-old gender patterns dressed up in new social forms.

For more information:  http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=244

 Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising’s Image of Women

From the cover: In this new, highly anticipated update of her pioneering Killing Us Softly series, the first in more than a decade, Jean Kilbourne takes a fresh look at how advertising traffics in distorted and destructive ideals of femininity. The film marshals a range of new print and television advertisements to lay bare a stunning pattern of damaging gender stereotypes — images and messages that too often reinforce unrealistic, and unhealthy, perceptions of beauty, perfection, and sexuality. By bringing Kilbourne’s groundbreaking analysis up to date, Killing Us Softly 4 stands to challenge a new generation of students to take advertising seriously, and to think critically about popular culture and its relationship to sexism, eating disorders, and gender violence.

For more information:  http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=241

New Book & Curriculum

InSideOut Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives [Hardcover]

Overview: Joe Ehrmann, the coach profiled in the national bestseller Season of Life, explains how coaches at every level, from Little League to high school to NCAA Division I and even the professional leagues, can use sports to transform lives. Coaches have a tremendous platform, says Joe Ehrmann, a former Syracuse University All-American and NFL star. Perhaps second only to parents, coaches can impact young people as no one else can. But most coaches fail to do the teaching, mentoring, even life-saving intervention that their platform provides. Too many are transactional coaches; they focus solely on winning and meeting their personal needs. They see sports as a simple exchange: the athlete performs to a coach’s demands and in return gets something, usually praise or a position in the starting lineup. Some coaches, however, use their platform. They teach the Xs and Os, but also teach the Ys of life. They help young people grow into responsible adults; they leave a lasting legacy. These are the transformational coaches. These coaches change lives, and they also change society by helping to develop healthy men and women.

Sports have become a secular religion, according to Ehrmann. Tens of millions of children play sports, and millions of coaches have the potential to influence the lives of these children — and through them to touch their parents’ lives as well. Children can be diminished and discouraged by their sports experiences, or they can be strengthened, uplifted, even in some cases redeemed. Sports can be a life-changing experience if coaches understand why they are coaching and redefine their measurement of success.

For more information: http://www.amazon.com/InSideOut-Coaching-Sports-Transform-Lives/dp/1439182981/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319505234&sr=1-1

Safe DATES: An Adolescent Dating Abuse Prevention Curriculum

 Description: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year, 1 in 4 adolescents experience verbal, physical, emotional, or sexual abuse from a dating partner.

It is imperative to stop dating violence before it ever starts. Safe Dates, second edition, can help with that. This evidence-based program helps teens recognize the difference between caring, supportive relationships and controlling, manipulative, or abusive relationships. It is during the critical pre-teen and teen years that young people begin to learn the skills needed to create and foster positive relationships. With Safe Dates, young people are given the tools needed to build these skills.

Highly engaging and interactive, Safe Dates reflects the issues faced by today’s teens. The curriculum includes:

• Updated statistics and facts
• Information on dating abuse through technology
• All handouts and parent resources on CD-ROM
• New Families for Safe Dates program to get families talking about healthy dating relationships and dating abuse

Safe Dates has been designated as a Model Program by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and was selected for the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP), receiving high ratings on all criteria.

For more information: http://www.hazelden.org/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=38103&sitex=10020:22372:US

How do we create prevention messages that work? In the Fall/Winter 2011 issue of Moving Upstream, the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance’s prevention newsletter, Brad Perry shares six principles of “sticky” ideas, a concept articulated by Chip and Dan Health in their book Made to Stick, in part 2 of his article We Talk – Do They Listen?: Effectively Expressing Primary Prevention Messages. The six principles of stickiness are

• Simple
• Unexpected
• Concrete
• Credible
• Emotional
• Stories

Click here to see the entire newsletter (Volume 7, Issue 2).

This is the last issue of Moving Upstream that Brad Perry will edit. Over the past seven years this newsletter has been a valuable contribution to sexual violence and domestic violence practitioners. I appreciate how much good work that Brad has done that helps everyone in this field. I have had the opportunity to co-write an article on sexual violence prevention with him and Lydia Guy Ortiz, discuss prevention theory and practice into the night,and enjoy many wonderful meals talking about music with Brad over the years. I wish Brad the best as he is learning more about how to create effective prevention messages.

Today the Institute of Medicine released a workshop summary on the Social and Economic Cost of Violence. On April 28-29, 2011, the IOM’s Forum on Global Violence Prevention held a workshop to evaluate the social and economic costs of violence.

Understanding the costs of violence are important to build the case for prevention. (See the PreventConnect web conference on Cost-Effectiveness of Sexual and Domestic Violence Prevention.)

Here is the summary of the costs of sexual violence:

The estimates vary widely, depending on the cost categories included and methods used. For example, Cohen (1988), using pain and suffering awards from more than 100,000 jury decisions in the United States, calculated that the annual aggregate direct and indirect costs of rape were $14.9 billion—equivalent to 0.2 percent of GDP.

In contrast, the U.S. Department of Justice (1994) calculated the economic losses of rape as $33 million, based on reported direct medical costs and lost earnings, though this estimate did not include psychological costs. For costs at the level of individual rape victims, Miller et al.(1993) used the NCVS to calculate a total cost of $85,000 per rape.

The summary concludes with a section on investing in prevention. Articles include one on the “Value of Prevention” by Rachel Davis of the Prevention Institute and one on the Communities that Care model.

Click here to download the report for free. In September, IOM also released a workshop summary on Preventing Violence Against Women and Children.

from Daniel Alexandre | Photography

Still, the question remains, how does the new idea get adopted? I refer to the behavior theory Diffusion of Innovation (developed by Evert M. Rogers) that looks how an idea spreads over time to different populations. In the blog The Technium, this was described as four steps in the “natural history of a new idea.”

1) Outright wacko. “This is worthless nonsense”
2) Odd but unproven. “This is an interesting, but perverse, point of view.”
3) True but trivial. “This may be correct, but it is quite unimportant.”
4) Obvious. “What’s new? This is what we’ve said all along.”

Otherwise translated as “Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. Obvious.” While the blog applies this concept to heart transplants, here is a version looking at bystander responses:

1) Outright wacko. “There is no way I will do anything.”
2) Odd but unproven. “Someone could do something, but it won’t matter.”
3) True but isolated . “OK, that makes sense, but I might be the only one who cares.”
4) Obvious. “Of course we do something; that is what everyone does.”

The work of prevention is to make the desired behavior become the obvious behavior.

CALCASA is looking for consultants to conduct assessments to determine how CALCASA’s activities improve the capacity for prevention. Click below for one of two opportunities to respond to CALCASA’s requests for proposal:

• RFP: California Rape Prevention and Education Primary Prevention Assessment
• RFP: PreventConnect National Online Community of Practice Evaluation

Since the 1960′s and 1970′s, the U.S. experienced a shift in societal perception that had denied, dismissed and ignored gender-based violence to the acknowledgment of sexual violence as a major social problem.  ”Changing Perceptions of Sexual Violence Over Time” maintains that understanding perceptions is helpful because it offers a “roadmap of future directions” to further engage communities in the discourse surrounding sexual violence.

On November 9, 2011, join other PreventConnect prevention practitioners throughout the country in the November PreventConnect Reading Club to examine “Changing Perceptions of Sexual Violence Over Time” by Sarah McMahon in consultation with Karen Baker, published by VAWnet, a project of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence.   

The Prevent Connect Reading Club is a small, one hour session where public health practitioners and researchers can discuss the intersections of research and practice in ending sexual violence.

NOTE: This is not a web conference nor a training.  Your active participation is essential to the Reading Club.

READING CLUB SESSION

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

This sixty minute (60 min) session will start at 11.00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time).  Registration is limited to 50 people per session.

NOTE: The November session is full!  To add your name to the wait list, click here.

he October 2011 issue of Forced Migration Review has an article titled Preventing partner violence in refugee and immigrant communities that discusses some of the promising practices that are part of Robert Wood Johnson Foundations’ Preventing Partner Violence in Immigrant Communities: Strengthening What Works Initiative.

The promising practices are:

• Engage young people whose attitudes are still forming
• Address multiple and overlapping layers of discrimination
• Engage spiritual and community leaders
• Target unhealthy traditional or religious practices
• Overcome shame and stigma
• Draw on informal networks of support
• Challenge community norms that tolerate IPV
• Include men and women in programming
• Build community capacity or “social capital”

How does your organization work with immigrant communities to prevent sexual violence and domestic violence?

Click here for a link to this article by Greta Uehling, Alberto Bouroncle, Carter Roeber, Nathaniel Tashima and Cathleen Crain.

The Prevention Institute‘s newly released fact sheet Links Between Violence and Health Equity states clearly why violence is not only a criminal justice issue, but also a social justice and public health issue.

Violence is a health equity issue, and preventing violence is an important component of achieving equity in health and in communities. Health inequities are related both to a legacy of overt discriminatory actions on the part of government and the larger society, as well as to present-day institutional practices and policies that perpetuate a system of diminished opportunity for certain populations.

While the focus in this fact sheet mainly addresses youth violence, I believe these concepts also apply to sexual violence and domestic violence. This fact sheet recognizes that we have to examine community-level issues to prevent violence.

Domestic violence and sexual violence are health equity issues.  We know that some people are are greater risk for violence than others. For example women are at greater risk than men to be abused. A study released this week in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. research showed that men with disabilities have a four times greater risk for being sexual abused than men without disabilities. This fact sheet challenges us to look at the institutional and community level reasons for why some people are at greater risk than others.

By acknowledging the links between health and violence, we can focus on preventing violence as an important way to improve the overall health of our communities.

Click here to check out this fact sheet developed by Prevention Institute for it’s UNITY Initiative.

Yesterday, the LAUSD Board voted unanimously on a resolution aimed at preventing teen dating violence and creating prevention strategies in schools. This vote comes after 17-year-old Cindi Santana was stabbed to death in a courtyard at her LA-area high school. Her ex-boyfriend, Abraham Lopez, allegedly stabbed her. Another student and a dean were also stabbed trying to intervene.

This policy, which was adopted from Peace Over Violence, is an initiative that the sexual and domestic violence center has been putting efforts toward for more than 10 years. Peace Over Violence has been working on the current form of the policy for the past six months, and it was slated to go to vote last Tuesday; however the unfortunate tragedy of Santana’s murder required the board to postpone the vote.

The estimated $2 million proposal involves hiring a district coordinator on dating violence and providing training for one staff person at each school. The program will also focus on educating parents and students to recognize warning signs and promote healthy relationships. The following advocates and legislators told the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence that they welcome the resolution as a potentially significant step toward keeping students safe on campus:

Assemblymember Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) said the South East High murder shows that schools must be a part of any strategy to address youth relationship violence. “The tragic death of Cindi Santana highlights the magnitude of the problem of teen dating violence,” he said.  “We must work together to find workable solutions that our schools can incorporate in a culturally appropriate manner.”

Assembly Speaker pro Tem Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) agreed that the time is ripe for new community strategies. “This tragic incident that happened on a school campus illustrates how teen dating violence affects an entire community,” Ma said. “Now more than ever, our state needs new innovative programs and role models to promote healthy relationships.”

Sen. Ron Calderon (D-Montebello), offered his support of the resolution, saying “I am deeply saddened by this tragic event that took place in my district, and I applaud the Los Angeles Unified School District for considering this resolution, which I hope will help to prevent future tragedies from occurring.”

Among adolescents aged 12 to 21, almost 3 in 10 have experienced violence in opposite-sex relationships; teens identifying as LGBTQ are as likely to experience violence in same-sex dating relationships. Women ages 16-24 experience the highest rates of relationship violence.

PreventConnect.org

In this podcast, I talked with Juley Fulcher, from Break the Cycle, talks about the upcoming Twitter Town Hall about primary prevention of teen dating violence. Sponsored by VAWnet and the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, the Twitter Town Hall will have people tweet about how to make healthy relationships cool for youth and share strategies and lessons on the use of language and generational accessibility. Join others throughout the country and world on Wed., Oct. 19 at 3pm Eastern/12 Pacific by sending tweets on this topic using the hashtag #reachyouth. PreventConnect will be tweeting using @PreventConnect and Juley will be tweeting using @JuleyFulcher.

Juley Fulcher on Teen Dating Violence Prevention Twitter Town Hall

Katryn Duarte, Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator, spoke with CALCASA about the prevention services available to Latinas in Iowa as well as the challenges of prevention work in ending sexual violence.  To watch the interview in Spanish, please click on the link below.

There is no translation in English for the interview. 

Katryn Duarte, Cordinadora de la Linea Emergencias y Coordinadora de Voluntaria/os, hablo con CALCASA acerca de los servicios de prevencion disponibles para Latinas en Iowa, asi como los retos del labor de prevencion en la erradicacion de la violencia sexual.  Para escuchar la entrevista, haga clic en el siguente link.

At the National Sexual Assault Conference in Baltimore, I had the opportunity to meet dozens of practitioners and researchers from around the U.S., Puerto Rico and American Samao.  Marizaida Sanchez, researcher and professor at the Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Ciencias Médicas, shared with CALCASA about her prevention research and services in Puerto Rico.  To watch the interview in Spanish, watch the short clip.

There is no translation of the interview into English. 

En la Conferencia Nacional Contra la Agresion Sexual en Baltimore, tube la oportunidad de conocer a varias colegas y investigadoras de los Estados Unidos, Puerto Rico y Samao Americano. Marizaida Sanchez, Universidad de Puerto Rico, recinto de Ciencias MEdicos, Centro de Investigación y Evaluación Sociomedica, compartió con CALCASA sobre la investigación de la prevención en Puerto Rico. Para saber mas, vea el siguente video clip.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a new report Understanding Evidence: Part 1: Best Available Research Evidence.  Subtitled A Guide to the Continuum of Evidence of Effectiveness, this publication provides guidance on how to understand  the different types of evidence about prevention strategies.

While the focus of this report is on research, I like the way this report acknowledges that research is only one type of evidence used for violence prevention work. The report states

Literature suggest that two other forms of evidence are also very important when making decisions based on evidence:

• Experiential Evidence: This type of evidence is based on th professional insight, understanding, skill, and expertise that is accumulated over time and is often referred to as intuitive or tacit knowledge.
• Contextual Evidence: This type of evidence is based on factors that address whether a strategy is useful, feasible to implement, and accepted by a particular community.

Check out all of the great charts on effectiveness and strength of evidence.

Click here to get this report.

Do you find this report helpful for how you will approach violence prevention evidence?

Today, the Office of the Vice President released the following message:

We thought you might be interested to know that Vice President Biden will be the special guest on “The View” this coming Tuesday, September 27 (11AM Eastern).  The Vice President will focus on the threat of dating violence and sexual assault among teens and young adults.

Last week, in a video message, Vice President Biden called on high school and college students to share their ideas for how to prevent dating violence and sexual assault at their schools and on their college campuses.  Young men and women are invited to join this important conversation by submitting their ideas via the new whitehouse.gov/1is2many page or by using the hashtag #1is2many on Twitter.

Visit the website to learn more about federal efforts on this important issue: http://www.whitehouse.gov/1is2many/about/federal-efforts

All the best,
The Office of the Vice President

To follow the conversation on Twitter, tweet #1is2many and #biden4life .

www.scottishwomensaid.org.uk

Ellie Hutchinson, Prevention Worker at Scottish Women’s Aid in Edinburgh, Scotland, discusses the work of Scottish Women’s Aid to prevent violence against women and young people through bystander-focused work on university campuses, and though the development of media campaigns such as VoiceAgainstViolence.org.uk.

Click here to listen

PreventConnect.org

Lydia Guy Ortiz spoke in Denmark about primary prevention.

Three years ago I had the opportunity to attend the first Danish national conference on primary prevention of violence against women prevention in Copenhagen, Denmark. I shared my impressions of prevention trends in the United States so people in Denmark could consider how to start primary prevention efforts.

In Mach 2011, Lydia Guy Ortiz went to speak in Denmark about primary prevention. In this interview, she shares her impressions. Also, check out her blogs about her visit to Denmark at LGO Consulting‘s web site.

Lydia Guy Ortiz on Primary Prevention in Denmark

PreventConnect.org

Some of the most exciting prevention efforts are those taking place internationally. From South Africa to India to Brazil, I have seem tremendous ways to prevent gender based violence (which seems to be the term used outside the United States.) I believe that prevention efforts in the United States can learn from those efforts. For example, EngenderHealth is adapting Program H from Promundo‘s work in Brazil to work in school here in the States.

Check out this video of Andrew Levack of EngenderHealth discuss his presentation at the 2010 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting  “Addressing gender norms in schools in New York City and Los Angeles: Lesson from the adaptation of an evidence-based program in Brazil.”

PreventConnect.org

I am very impressed with prevention efforts that work with coaches, such as Coaching Boys Into Men.  One great example of a coach making a difference is former college allstar and NFL player Joe Ehrmann.

Check out this interview as he discusses his book InsideOut Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives. This book includes preventing sexual violence and dating violence as part of the issues that coaches must address to promote social justice and address this country’s crisis of masculinity.

Joe Ehrmann on InSideOut Coaching

During CALCASA’s 2011 Leadership Conference, in Sacramento, Calif., Millennials represented the endnote address. Hugo Rios and Ashleigh Klein, who were both born while the Rape Crisis Movement was already gaining momentum, talked about the future of this work and why they are a part of this movement.

PreventConnect.org

Kasia Reterska from Fenton will share how to frame data to make the case for prevention.

Join Fenton, a social justice communications firm, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others from the PreventConnect national community of prevention practitioners for a conversation about framing data to make the case for primary prevention. On September 20, 2011, PreventConnect will hold a web conference titled Framing Data to Demonstrate the Need for Primary Prevention. (the session will be repeated on September 21, 2011.

This fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will release initial results of the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS). The new data about intimate partner violence, sexual violence and a stalking will create opportunities to raise awareness about the prevalence of these public health problems and to make the case for prevention. In this web conference, we will discuss NISVS and its messaging implications for the field, explore tools for creating a strong message framework around IPV/SV/stalking data, and workshop questions solicited from the field in advance of the web conference. This information will provide practitioners with the knowledge necessary to develop strong messages about the data and the need for primary prevention in order to reach a variety of constituents.

This web conference is part of a series of PreventConnect web conferences that prepare prevention practitioners to use data to make the case for prevention.

Click here to join this web conference.

During CALCASA’s 2011 Leadership Conference, Leah Aldridge, an activist who has been in the rape crisis movement for almost 25 years, gave the keynote presentation about the past, present and future of this work. This year’s conference theme, The Evolution and Revolution of Our Movement, celebrates the 40 years of how the California Rape Crisis movement was formed, how it has grown and evolved, not only as a grassroots movement, but as a profession. This field was founded in a revolutionary time; it has evolved and we are once again at a pivotal moment, one in which we must consider a new type of revolution. As we continue to lay the foundation for the future of our movement, we have much to reflect upon and consider. We must strive to successfully engage and embrace a new generation of advocates and leaders; to integrate new ideas and approches; to be receptive to adapting our existing efforts to intervene and prevent sexual violence. We must meld the youth, the founders and our new generation of emerging leaders, because only together can we transcent the many challenges that we face today.

©Men Can Stop Rape. Used with permission.

Men Can Stop Rape has just released its newest comprehensive bystander intervention program for men called Where Do You Stand? This program is designed to implement on college campuses.  This program builds on the strength of their Strength Campaign by including positive messages, promoting  healthy masculinity, and having action recommendations that highlight what can be done.

Click here to see the Were Do You Stand? Campaign Guide.

Photo Credit: www.ellagroup.org

Recently on the PreventConnect email group, there has been a good deal of discussion about the the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault’s Guidelines for Choosing a Self-Defense Course. Although the National Coalition no longer exists, the Guidelines continue to be a useful resource for the selection and evaluation of a women’s self-defense program.

National Coalition Against Sexual Assault:
Guidelines For Choosing A Self-Defense Course

Self-Defense Philosophy  – Ideally, a good self-defense program should reflect these philosophical points in its outlook:

1) No one asks for, causes, invites, or deserves to be assaulted. Women and men sometimes exercise poor judgment about safety behavior, but that does not make them responsible for the attack. Attackers are responsible for their attacks and their use of violence to overpower, control and abuse another human being.

2) Whatever a person’s decision in a given self-defense situation, whatever action she/he does or does not take, that person is not at fault. Someone’s decision to survive the best way she can must be respected. Self-defense classes should not be used as a judgment against a victim/survivor.

3. Good self-defense programs do not “tell” an individual what she “should” or “should not” do. A program should offer options, techniques, and a way of analyzing situations. A program may point out what USUALLY works best in MOST situations, but each situation is unique and the final decision rests with the person actually confronted by the situation.

4. Empowerment is the goal of a good self-defense program. The individual’s right to make decisions about her participation must be respected. Pressure should not be brought to bear in any way to get someone to participate in an activity if she’s hesitant or unwilling.

Questions to ask when evaluating a self-defense course:

What is self-defense? Self-defense is a set of awareness, assertiveness, verbal confrontation skills with safety strategies and physical techniques that enable someone to successfully escape, resist and survive violent attacks. A good self-defense course provides psychological awareness and verbal skills, not just physical training.

Does self-defense work? Self-Defense training can increase your options and help you prepare responses to slow down, de-escalate, or interrupt an attack. Like any tool, the more you know about it, the more informed you are to make a decision and to use it.

Is self-defense a guarantee? There are no guarantees when it comes to self-protection. However, self-defense training can increase your choices/options and your preparedness.

Is there a standard self-defense course? There are many formats for training. They may be as short as two hours or as long as 8 weeks or a semester. Whatever the length of the program, it should be based on maximizing options, simple techniques, and respect for individuals’ experiences.

Is there a course I should stay away from? Only you can answer this question. Find out about the philosophy of the program and the background of the instructor. Observe a class session if you can, and talk to an instructor or a student. Is the instructor knowledgeable and respectful of your concerns? Is it a length at you can commit to and at a cost that you can afford? You deserve to have all your questions answered before taking a class.

Who’s better, a male or female instructor? For women, there is an advantage to having a female instructor as a role model, who has similar experiences surviving as a woman. All-woman classes tend to provide an easier atmosphere in which to discuss sensitive issues. On the other hand, some women feel having male partners to practice with can add to their experience. The quality of a class depends on the knowledge, attitude and philosophy of the instructor, not necessarily on gender. The most important aspect is that the instructor, male or female, conducts the training for the students geared to their individual strengths and abilities. Feeling safe and building trust come before learning.

Must I train for years to learn to defend myself? A basic course can offer enough concepts and skills to help you develop self-protection strategies that you can continue to build upon. Self-defense is not karate or martial arts training. It does not require years of study to perfect. Many people have successfully improvised and prevented an assault who have never taken a class. People often practice successful self-defense strategies without knowing it!

If I use physical self-defense could I get hurt worse? The question to answer first is what does “hurt worse” mean? Rape survivors speak eloquently about emotional hurts lasting long after physical hurts heal. Studies show a physical self-defense response does not increase the level of physical injury, and sometimes decreases the likelihood. Also, going along with the attacker does not guarantee that you will not be brutally injured anyway. The point of using self-defense is to de-escalate a situation and get away as soon as possible. Knowing some physical techniques increases the range of possible self-defense options, but the decision to choose a physical option must remain with the person in the situation.

What does “realistic” mean? Words like “most realistic”, “best”, “guaranteed success”, etc., are all advertising gimmicks. Choosing a self-defense class is a serious decision and is preferably based on some research. No program or instructor can replicate a “real” assault since there are so many different scenarios, and because a real attack would require a no-holds barred fight which would be irresponsible and extremely dangerous to enact. Responsible self-defense training requires control. It is important that each student is able to control her own participation in the class and never feel forced to participate.

What is the role of mace or other aggressive “devices” as self-defense aids in harming an attacker? Any device is useless to you unless you understand how to use it, and you have it in your hand ready to use at the time of the attempted assault. There is nothing “guaranteed” about any of these devices. None are foolproof. None of them can be counted on to work against all possible attackers (no matter what the labeling may state to the contrary). Realize that anything you can use against an attacker can also be taken away and used against you. While some of these devices have sometimes helped women escape to safety, it is important to be aware of their limitations and liabilities.

How much should I pay? Paying a lot of money for a course does not mean that you automatically get better instruction. On the other hand, don’t assume that all programs are the same and just go for the cheapest. It is always beneficial to be an educated consumer. Shop around the same as for anything else you buy that is important to you.

Where can I find a self-defense class? Check with your local rape crisis center. Some centers provide self-protection classes or can refer you to one. YWCA’s and Community Colleges sometimes offer classes. Some martial arts schools provide seminars and workshops. Check the phone book. If there isn’t one in your community, get involved and try to organize one.

Am I too old? Out of shape? What if I have some disabilities? You don’t have to be an athlete to learn how to defend yourself. A good program is designed to adapt to every age and ability and provides each student with the opportunity to learn. Each individual is unique and students should be able to discuss their own needs. Some programs have specialized classes for specific groups.

How can I tell a “good” course from a “bad” one? A good course covers critical thinking about defense strategies, assertiveness, powerful communication skills, and easy-to-remember physical techniques. The instructor respects and responds to your fears and concerns. Instruction is based on the belief that we can act competently, decisively, and take action for our own protection. Essentially, a good course is based on intelligence and not muscle. It offers tools for enabling a person to connect with her own strength and power. These courses are out there. Good luck in your research. Taking a self-defense class is one of the most positive things a you can do for yourself!

Prepared for the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault by the NCASA Self-Defense AD-HOC Committee:

Chair – Patricia Giggans, Los Angeles, CA
Co-Chair – Mary Brandl, Minneapolis, MN
Linda Adams, Cape May Point, NJ
Py Bateman, Seattle, WA
Mary Boland, Glen Ellyn, IL
Kathy Hopwood, Durham, NC

I strongly believe that good prevention efforts have to go beyond working to end what we do not like. We need prevention efforts to promote what we want to see.  For example, many teen dating violence prevention efforts  seek to promote healthy relationships.  So what do we want to promote for sexual violence prevention?

One answer is described in the new report Healthy sexuality for sexual violence prevention: A report on promising curriculum-based approaches from the Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance. In the report helathy sexuality is defined as

… the capacity to understand, enjoy, and control one’s own sexual and reproductive behavior in a voluntary and responsible manner that enriches individuals and their social lives.

This report recommends several programs programs as promising healthy sexuality curricula. This programs are

• Our Whole Lives Lifespan Sexuality Education Curricula from the Universalist Unitarian Association,
• Life Planning Education: A Youth Development Program from Advocates For Youth,
• Care For Kids from Leeds, Grenville, & Lanark Health District, Ontario, CA,
• Family Life And Sexual Health (FLASH) Curricula from King County Office of Public Health (Washington) .

What you do think about healthy sexuality programs to prevent sexual violence.

Click here to see this report.

PreventConnect.org

VAWnet's Casey Keene describes the new special collect on DELTA

DELTA is a prevention program close to my heart. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s national program to advance the primary prevention of intimate partner violence funds fourteen state domestic violence coalitions to build the capacity of local communities to prevent domestic violence.  I had the opportunity to help coordinate one of these local programs in California when it started. Nine years later, I continue to learn about prevention work in communities from the great DELTA programs.

In this PreventConnect interview with Casey Keene, the manager of VAWnet, a project of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, she discusses the new VAWnet Special Collection: Models in Prevention — CDC’s DELTA Program which highlights the intimate partner violence primary prevention work in 14 states during the last nine years.

Models in Prevention: CDC’s DELTA Program

Click here to see this special collection.

Berkeley Media Studies Group published a report on news coverage in the United States of child sexual abuse

Case by Case: News coverage of child sexual abuse released by the Berkeley Media Studies Group with support from the Ms. Foundation for Women, demonstrates that child sexual abuse is underreported and that media coverage does not describe the social context of child sexual abuse.  The report includes recommendations for journalists on ways to improve coverage of child sexual abuse as well as recommendations for advocates to help push for policies that will institute prevention.

PreventConnect.org

Emily May of Hollaback

Join PreventConnect for our next web conference Diversifying Leadership: Building the Voice and Vision to Prevent Sexual and Domestic Violence on August 30, 2011 (repeated on August 31, 2011.) Emily May of Hollaback and  Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence‘s Jeff Matsushita will join Annie Lyles of Prevention Institute to explore strategies to find new voices to take the lead in preventing sexual and domestic violence.

We will discuss how to incorporate the voice and vision of the diverse communities we serve. Participants will learn new strategies to diversify leadership and how these strategies strengthen efforts to prevent sexual and domestic violence. Be ready to join the discussion by sharing ideas or posing questions to our guests via live phone and text chat.

Click here to register and get more information.

Emily May

Are you seeing the same faces at every meeting? Could your collaborative use an influx of inspiration? Does your leadership team really reflect your community? Join an insightful discussion with Hollaback‘s Emily May and Jeff Matsushita from the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence as we discuss how to incorporate the voice and vision of the diverse communities we serve. Participants will learn new strategies to diversify leadership and how these strategies strengthen efforts to prevent sexual and domestic violence. Be ready to join the discussion by sharing ideas or posing questions to our guests via live phone and text chat.

Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011 and repeated on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011 

This ninety-minute (90 min) session will start at 11 AM Pacific Standard Time (2 PM Eastern). The Aug. 31 session is a repeat of the Aug. 30 session.

To register, visit the PreventConnect.org website.

In July 2011, PreventConnect Reading Club hosted two lively discussions on “Evaluation of Green Dot: Active Bystander Intervention on College Campuses.” Participants exchanged stories of how Green Dot works on their campus and the future of bystander interventions on campuses and in the community. Besides great ideas and suggestions on how to approach bystander intervention, participants also recommended literature that addresses opinion leaders to promote behavior change and sexual violence prevention efforts with youth in Canada:

Identifying Opinion Leaders to Promote Behavior Change by Thomas W. Valente and Patchareeya Pumpuang

Building Prevention: Sexual Violence, Youth and Drinking

My Life, a primary prevention program for girls was highlighted at the 2011 CALCASA Leadeship Conference

At last week’s CALCASA Leadership Conference, several California Rape Crisis Centers gave presentations about the primary prevention work they are doing in their communities.  The stories we heard described how these prevention programs supported people in their communities to become agents of change.  As we were recognizing 40 years of a movement to end sexual violence, I see the next 40 years as creating some major shifts in social norms.

Tarah Fisher and Cynthia Patterson of the Monterey County Rape Crisis Center talked about MyLife, a primary prevention group for girls that helps them determine how to take action to change the social norms that contribute to sexual violence, such as offensive advertising. Hugo Rios of Fresno County’s Resources for Resource Center for Survivors of Sexual Assault and Family Violence described the work he does with young men through MyStrength – California’s adaption of the Men Can Stop Rape’s “My Strength is Not For Hurting” media campaign and Men of Strength Clubs.

Finally, Niko Johnson from Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalition in Grass Valley shared her experiences with Green Dot as her agency is planning to implement this bystander intervention program in a local high school. Inspired by the Green Dot training, she shared she had to reexamine  how she responds to situations she sees in her everyday life.

I provided a short overview of the trends in prevention. Click here for a list of the programs, materials and resources I highlighted.

These are only a few of the excellent examples primary prevention in California.  There are so many other examples. What is the primary prevention in action in your community?

While I was attending the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault’s iLEAD Conference in May 2011, I heard a great presentation from Terri Phoenix, Director at the LGBTQ Center at the University of North Carolina, on preventing sexual violence violence in LGBTQ communities. Check out this PreventConnect interview with her.

PreventConnect.org

Break-ups can be messy, painful and drawn-out. These days, they can also be broadcast world-wide with the click of a mouse. Last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine section had an article about the Boston Public Health Commission’s Break Up Summit. At Peace Over Violence’s 3rd Annual Violence-Free Teens Conference,held February 4, 2011, I had the chance to see the discussion of “face it, don’t facebook it” in action in front of a room of youth and adults. Casey Corcoran, Director of Start Strong Boston at the Boston Public Health Commission, and Start Strong Peer Leader, Nathaniel Brewer, explored what a healthy teen break-up looks like, feels like and sounds like as well as helped participants gain new skills and a better understanding of how break-ups can affect future relationships.

At the 2011 Leadership Conference in Sacramento, Calif., CALCASA will host a variety of workshops dedicated to Prevention for advocates working with survivors of sexual violence. Among those workshops is Community Mobilization to Prevent Sexual Violence Part 1 & 2.

Sexual violence is supported by societal and community norms. Eliminating it requires fundamental change on many levels. One of those levels is the community level. Communities are a powerful force in shaping the behaviors of their members. One effective tool in creating social change is community mobilization.  This workshop will provide an overview of two community mobilization frameworks and showcase the work of one California rape crisis center to mobilize members of its community to prevent sexual violence. Additionally this workshop will provide participants an opportunity to evaluate and discuss community mobilization strategies in relation to their own violence against women work.

Presenters: Lydia Guy Ortiz & Evelyn Garcia

Download Workshop Materials:
Workshop PowerPoint
Community Development Handout
Peer2Peer Project

At the 2011 Leadership Conference in Sacramento, Calif., CALCASA will host a variety of workshops dedicated to Prevention for advocates working with survivors of sexual violence. Among those workshops is Prevention In Action: California Primary Prevention Practice.

California is on the cutting edge of promising primary prevention of sexual violence activities. The session will begin with a summary of current trends in sexual violence prevention. This workshop will also feature California Rape Crisis Centers highlighting their prevention efforts including examples of MyStrength, prevention with girls and young women, and Green Dot.

Presenters: David Lee, Hugo Rios, Tarah Fisher, Cynthia Patterson & Niko Johnson

Download Workshop Materials:
Resources CDPH 2011
The MyLife Club PowerPoint

At the 2011 Leadership Conference in Sacramento, Calif., CALCASA will host a variety of workshops dedicated to Prevention for advocates working with survivors of sexual violence. Among those workshops is Social Media to Advance Prevention of Sexual Violence.

How can emerging social media technologies help rape crisis centers to frame discussions around sexual violence? What is the value of these technologies for prevention, education and intervention programs? How can social media help us to tell a good story? Participants in this workshop will learn about a range of social medial tools and their common usage. The workshop will address some of the factors to consider when thinking about the role social media can play in achieving an agency’s communication goals, and provide examples of internal policies that can help agencies to manage the way social media strategies are implemented.

Presenters: Chad Sniffen & Jessica Napier

Download Workshop Materials:
Workshop PowerPoint
CALCASA Social Media Policies
Social Media Policy Framework

PreventConnect.org

Manuel Colorado-Reyes will present on working with men and boys to prevent intimate partner violence.

Working with men and boys is a growing strategy for primary prevention of intimate partner violence. In this upcoming PreventConnect web conference, Working with Men and Boys to Prevent Intimate Partner Violence: Lessons Learned from DELTA Programs, several prevention practitioners will share experiences in developing, implementing and evaluating local prevention programs. Join this session to learn from practitioners in the field about the challenges, opportunities and resources to create change in communities.

DELTA is a national program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that funds 14 state domestic violence coalitions to deelop, implement and evalaute primary prevention of intimate partner violence efforts.

Click here to register for this free web conference on August 19, 2011 – 2:00-3:30pm Eastern Time (11:00 am – 12:30 Pacific Time, noon-1:30 Mountain Time; 1:00 – 2:30 Central Time.)

PreventConnect’s David Lee, who is the CALCASA’s Director of Prevention Services, will be joined by Jeanne Noordsy, Domestic Violence Project of Catholic Charities of Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties, New York; Scott Michels, Jewish Family Services of Delaware; and Manuel Colorado-Reyes, Family Violence & Rape Crisis Services, Pittsboro, N.C.

On Tuesday, the Office of the Vice President and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy launched the “Apps Against Abuse” technology challenge – a national competition to develop an innovative software application that provides young adults with tools to help prevent sexual assault and dating violence.

Below is a detailed description of the challenge:
Vice President Biden and Secretary Sebelius are honored to announce a challenge that encourages the development of applications that provide college students and young adults with the tools to help prevent dating violence and sexual assault. The application envisioned will offer individuals a way to connect with trusted friends in real-time to prevent abuse or violence from occurring. While the application will serve a social function of helping people stay in touch with their friends, it will also allow friends to keep track of each other’s whereabouts and check in frequently to avoid being isolated in vulnerable circumstances.

The primary users of the application may include (but are not limited to) college/university students, residential advisors, sorority or fraternity members, and young men and women who would like to be role models and promote prevention in our communities.  Everyone has a role to play in the prevention of violence and abuse, and while no one can do everything, everyone can do something. This application is envisioned to empower young people, in real time, to look out for their friends in order to prevent violence or assault before it occurs. The application should also be designed to provide potential bystanders with real-time support from friends and access to resources that will encourage them to intervene before abusive behavior happens and educate them about how to do so safely and effectively. This application is a step in enabling young women and men to take an active role in the prevention of dating violence and sexual assault.

How to enter:
Interested persons should read these Official Rules and register at the Challenge.gov portal: ?challenge.gov?. Registration is free and can be completed anytime during the Application Submission Period, July 13, 2011, to October 17, 2011.  Submissions should include a title, text description of the submission, a link to the application/prototype, and a list of data sources and/or datasets used.  Pictures and video are optional but helpful.

Webinars will be held in August and September 2011 with domestic violence/sexual abuse prevention experts, White House representatives, and HHS staff members to highlight the significance of this topic, provide additional information and answer questions from potential applicants about the developer’s challenge, and offer opportunities for potential applicants to talk with others about forming collaborative teams.

Prizes:
The winner of this challenge will be publicly recognized and celebrated by HHS, and all finalist applications will be featured on an HHS website. Representatives from HHS, (e.g., Todd Park), OSTP (e.g., Aneesh Chopra) and OVP will be present for the announcement of the Challenge Winner (Date TBD) to celebrate innovations toward ending domestic violence and sexual assault, including the winning applications and teams from this challenge.

Eleni Koumis, 10 years old

As a survivor of childhood sexual assault, I always felt that children must be free to ask about adult behaviors that are confusing, even when it is behavior not related to sexual abuse. I realized how important it was for me to teach my children about sexual abuse and how to recognize it.

I remember the first time my daughter, Eleni asked me the question, “What is rape?” At the time, she was five years old, and it was a day that I had brought her to work, so she was exposed to posters and conversations. I simply told her, “It is when someone takes something away from you.” Hearing my own voice, I stopped what I was doing, knowing there was no other way around it. I had to tell her what it really meant — being touched without permission. I wondered how could I bring the discussion of sexual abuse into my family life and make it part of our conversations without feeling embarrassed or ashamed.

My daughter is now 10 years old, which means that for half of her life she has been exposed to news and conversations on the topic of child sexual abuse. This knowledge has made her well aware of her surroundings. When approached or put in an uncomfortable situation, she speaks up and does not hesitate to state her feelings. About a month ago, there was a particular incident that happened at her school, and she wanted to share it on CALCASA’s blog. Below is her story:

At school during lunch time in the cafeteria, my friends and I were eating lunch. Our backs were facing the boys sitting behind us at the other table. There were three boys who always picked on my girlfriends and I almost every day. On this day, only two of the boys were involved. (We will call them Paul and Peter.) They sometimes say things like, “Hey, Timmy likes you and you like him.” But on this day, Paul and Peter said, “Hey, Timmy wants to rape you.” Then Paul says directly to me, “Timmy had you three times.” In my head, I thought, “WHAT?!” I told them, “That’s sexual harassment!” They laughed at me. One of my girlfriends told me to ignore them. I told no and that I am going to tell the teacher. I can tell they were embarrassed and scared. They got a warning from the teacher. Paul came and apologized to me.

After Eleni shared her story with my husband & I, she also shared her story with CALCASA staff and sat down with some key staff and learned about Green Dot! She was so proud of herself that she wanted to share her story on CALCASA’s website. I am glad she knows what is right and that she speak up in whatever community she is in. I encourage you to find ways to talk to your children about this issue and help him/her understand how to respond if it ever occurs. No one should tolerate being harassed. My husband Lefteris, Bobby (her big brother) & I are very proud of Eleni.

Bystander intervention is a critical component of the national movement to end sexual violence on college and university campuses

PreventConnect Reading Club

Programs to encourage bystanders to take action to prevent sexual violence and domestic violence have become recognized as promising approaches to primary prevention of violence.  In the June 2011 issue of the journal Violence Against Women, there are many articles sharing the results of research on the effectiveness of bystanders programs.

On July 28, 2011, join other PreventConnect prevention practitioners throughout the country in the July PreventConnect Reading Club to examine “Evaluation of Green Dot: Active Bystander Intervention to Reduce Sexual Violence on College Campuses” (Violence Against Women, June 2011 vol. 17 no. 6 777-796.)

PreventConnect Reading Clubs are small, one hour session where public health practitioners and researchers can discuss research and practice. This Reading Club, will focus on bystander intervention as a means to reduce sexual violence on campuses.

Reading Club Session

Thursday, July 28, 2011. This ninety minute (90 min) session will start at 11.00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time).

Registration is limited to 28 people per session.

To register, click here.

PreventConnect.org

Lori Dorfman of the Berkeley Media Studies Group

The next PreventConnect web conference From Data to Prevention II: Using Data to Make the Case for Prevention will explore how to “create news to prevent violence.”  The web conference will be held on Monday, July 25, 2011, 11am Pacific Time (2pm Eastern Time, 1pm Central Time, noon Mountain Time) and repeated on Tuesday, July 26, 2011. Click here to register for this free web conference.

Larry Cohen of the Prevention Institute

ln this web conference, participants will learn how to use the media effectively to move our work forward, and go from a downstream, reactive approach to an upfront, proactive approach. Join an insightful discussion with Berkeley Media Studies Group‘s Lori Dorfman and Prevention Institute‘s Larry Cohen as they discuss how to make the case for prevention in media using data and other forms of media messaging. We will discuss the broader media context as well as the most current opportunities and discussion focusing on media messaging and data analysis. Sexual and domestic violence advocates cannot change norms and environments without acknowledging and leveraging the critical role that media coverage has in shaping the understanding of, and conversations about, violence.

This web conference is the next in a series to prepare for Fall 2011  release of data from the new sexual violence, intimate partner violence and stalking survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Previous web conferences on related topics included From Data to Prevention: Framing Sexual and Domestic Violence Prevention Impact From a Cost-Effectiveness Perspective, Understanding the Differences Between National Sexual Violence and Intimate Partner Violence Surveys, and Changing the public perception about violence against women.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN for the CALCASA Annual Meeting and Statewide Leadership Conference on August 2 to 4.

We are excited to once again host this year’s conference and bring together rape crisis centers, rape prevention programs and allied members from across California. This year’s theme is “The Evolution and Revolution of Our Movement.” After hosting last year’s National Sexual Assault Conference in Los Angeles, it became clear to us that the rape and sexual assault movement has significantly evolved since its birth 40 years ago. Additionally, our movement is now experiencing major demographic and cultural shifts that could potentially revolutionize how services are delivered to survivors from numerous communities, as well as how advocates and future leaders in our field are trained and empowered. This year’s conference theme and program reflects this unique point and opportunity in our field’s herstory/history to further advance the work each of us are doing to serve more survivors and to help end sexual violence in our state.

To register visit: http://tinyurl.com/calcasa2011

When: Tuesday, August 2 – Thursday, August 4
Where: DoubleTree Hotel, Sacramento, CA
Scholarships: 2 per agency per Cal EMA grant. (Application details will be forthcoming.)

General Agenda:
Tues, 8/2 – Morning: Position Specific Forums; Afternoon: Annual Membership Meeting and Vote for New Slate of Board Officers
Wed, 8/3 – Morning: Opening Plenary and Keynote + workshops; Afternoon: Half-day Institute
Thur, 8/4 – Morning: Half day institutes; Afternoon: workshops

Paul Kivel

(29 mins) At the end of June, PreventConnect attended the California Department of Public Health‘s 2011 Ending Violence Against Women & Teen Dating Violence: A Forum for Primary Prevention Advocates, which took place in Sacramento, Calif., June 27-29, was also sponsored by Safe and Active Communities. Keynote speaker Paul Kivel, activist and co-author of “Helping Teens Stop Violence, Build Community and Stand for Justice,” talks about how adults can stand as allies with young people.

Listen here>>

(26 mins) At the end of June, PreventConnect attended the California Department of Public Health‘s 2011 Ending Violence Against Women & Teen Dating Violence: A Forum for Primary Prevention Advocates, which took place in Sacramento, Calif., June 27-29, was also sponsored by Safe and Active Communities. Keynote speaker Paula Arrowsmith-Jones, Community Outreach Coordinator from the North Coast Rape Crisis Team, talks about how youth and adults can build on the wisdom that is already present in this movement as we move forward.

Listen here>>

Donna Garske

(24 mins) At the end of June, PreventConnect attended the California Department of Public Health‘s 2011 Ending Violence Against Women & Teen Dating Violence: A Forum for Primary Prevention Advocates, which took place in Sacramento, Calif., June 27-29, was also sponsored by Safe and Active Communities. Keynote speaker Donna Garske, Executive Director of Transforming Communities: Technical Assistance, Training & Resource Center, talks about how organizations can keep their vision in moving toward social change.

Listen here>>

The Summer 2011 Issue of Partners in Social Change features articles about engaging men in sexual violence prevention.

“Will men take action to prevent sexual violence?” That was a question I  heard when I started in this work almost 30 years ago when I was among very few men engaged in this work.

I have seen a remarkable change, especially in the last ten years.  Now activists and rape prevention organizations actively seek to engage men to prevent rape. Slowly, more and more men recognize that rape prevention is important work for men.

Since 2005 CALCASA’s MyStrength Campaign supports young men to stand up and speak out against sexual violence. Through that campaign and other efforts I see more men at trainings, web conferences, rallies and meetings.

Now the question has shifted to “How can we support men take action to prevent sexual violence?” There is a wide variety of great efforts and resources including Men Can Stop Rape, Young Men’s Work, A CALL TO MEN, Office on Violence Against Women’s Engaging Men Initiative, Coaching Boys into Men, and so many more.

The Summer 2011 issue of Partners in Social Change is another resource that focuses on engaging men to prevent sexual violence. Here is a description of the contents of this resource:

The notion that men need to be involved in ending gender-based violence is not new by any means, but we want to take a look at how we can genuinely involve men as part of a movement that benefits everyone. Our first article is written by a male in our movement who wishes to examine how socially constructed male privilege has shaped his own experiences and also examines how other men can be a part of this movement with sincerity. We already know that some men are involved in this work and have contributed greatly, but what about the larger groups of men that are not involved? Our next two articles examine groups of men that are sometimes excluded from our messaging: queer men and “Average Joe”. Finally, we learn from one of our community sexual assault programs in Washington about the process of engaging men in their community.

Partners in Social Change is a prevention journal from the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. Click here to see this issue.

Aimee Thompson

(43 mins) At the end of June, PreventConnect attended the California Department of Public Health‘s 2011 Ending Violence Against Women & Teen Dating Violence: A Forum for Primary Prevention Advocates, which took place in Sacramento, Calif., June 27-29, was also sponsored by Safe and Active Communities. Keynote speakers Cristy Chung, a consultant from GroundSpark, and Aimee Thompson, Executive Director of Close to Home, talk about the way in which effective primary prevention is social change and social justice work.

Listen here>>

The newest issue of Connections features several articles about commercial sexual exploitation of children. The voice of a survivor (who received services from the Oakland, CA based MISSEY) provides a powerful statement about the experience of sexual exploitation in this excerpt of a poem published in this resource:

All my life I’ve been rejected
All my life I’ve been neglected
All my life I’ve been disrespected
All I ever wanted to be was protected

Other articles include Know the Facts: Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children developed by The Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation that provides background on this issue. I like the prevention focus of the article Addressing Demand that highlights 10 steps to demand change including raise awareness, everyday action, advocate for change and keep learning. New York based Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS) describes how to use the Stages of Change model to counsel child victims of commercial sexual exploitation.

Connections is a publication of the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. Click here to get this issue.

I remember the saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  But when times get tight, often prevention is the first thing to go.  The recently released report, National Prevention Strategy America’s Plan for Better Health and Wellness, places prevention front and center in our nation’s efforts. Prevention needs to be a key component of our efforts to build healthy, safe and respectful communities.

Larry Cohen of the Prevention Institute commented on the significance of this report:

For the first time the nation has delineated a broad, coherent approach to prevention, and made it clear that prevention is critical for improving our health. For too long, when people talk about health or healthcare, what comes to mind instead is illness. The Surgeon General herself said yesterday, “[As doctors] our biggest challenge is changing the way we think about health in this country.” But as the Strategy makes clear, prevention can save lives, reduce the demand on health care services, build equity and save money.

This report was released by the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council consisting of 17 heads of Federal departments, agencies, and offices including Departments of Education, Justice, and Health and Human Services. The report identifies that empowered individuals is essential to building effective prevention efforts.

One of the seven priorities is injury and violence prevention.  Esta Soler of Futures Without Violence said “We are pleased to see the National Prevention Strategy include addressing domestic and sexual violence and children’s exposure to violence as a critical element in our nation’s effort to improve the health and well-being of American families,”

The report specifically names school-based programs to prevent violence (such as bullying and teen dating violence) and intimate partner violence prevention efforts. In addition, sexual violence prevention efforts are specifically named in the priority areas of Reproductive and Sexual Health.

Click here for a copy of the report.

Last week UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet presented at a panel discussion in Geneva on “Good Practices and Remaining Gaps in the Prevention of Violence against Women” for Human Rights Council Annual Day. She described primary prevention as “…a new frontier in the field of violence against women.” Below are some of the prevention activities she highlights:

To stop the intergenerational transmission of violence against women, we must support expanded efforts to work with young people of both sexes to address gender equality and violence prevention, sustain social mobilization campaigns, and build commitment and capacity in the mass media to change the way that they portray women and report on issues of gender-based violence. Community mobilization that engages young people, men and shapers of customary values and public opinion, is particularly important. Real change will have to take place at local levels, where violence occurs, where community norms govern gender relations.

Click here for her full remarks.

Building vibrant sexual violence and domestic violence prevention programs require more than a curriculum and presentations. In the Spring/Summer 2011 issue of Moving Upstream, the Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance‘s newsletter on primary prevention of sexual violence and domestic violence, there are several articles that that highlight how to raise funds for prevention and develop strong communications strategies.

Margaret Mikkelsen, Executive Director of Sexual Assault Resource Agency, discusses how her agency embarked on a “Campaign For Prevention” to raise funds. She wrote:

In our first fundraising letter for this campaign, we included a survey of teachers where we asked them to identify problem behaviors they see that are connected to SARA‘s work. They gave us a list that included examples of sexual harassment, older students coercing younger students into sex, bullying using homophobic slurs, etc. So then we connected our prevention work to all of these very real behaviors, describing how our programs positively impact each behavior. We talked about how we will see an increase in empathy, bystander skills, respect, personal boundaries, and an understanding about gender roles as a result of our prevention work.

In another article, Brad Perry looks at how to create sexual violence and domestic violence prevention messages that stick. He warns against creating messages that “preach to the converted” – that is those messages that are caught up in jargon, based on assumptions that are not accepted by the intended audience, and resonate only with prevention practitioners.

Click here to check out these articles. What do you think about this articles?

The Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance is holding its prevention conference Building Futures III on August 2-4, 2011 in Richmond, VA featuring many of the best prevention efforts such as Men Can Stop Rape, Bringing in the Bystander, Expect Respect, The Line, Youth Radio and Project Envision.  I will not able able to attend in-person this year, but recommend you check it out (unless you are in California where you should attend the CALCASA Leadership Conference.)