Bette Davis accepts an award on behalf of the Bay Area Women Against Rape for 40 years in the rape crisis movement.

The first week of August was CALCASA’s 2011 Leadership Conference, which began with a reflection about the evolution and revolution of the rape crisis movement. The morning plenary began by honoring two rape crisis centers in California that have been working to end sexual violence for 40 years. Bette Davis from Bay Area Women Against Rape and Patti Giggans from Peace Over Violence(formerly the L.A. Commission on Assaults Against Women) accepted awards, as both of their agencies were founded in 1971.

In the audience was Linda Bowen, Chief of the Sexual Assault Section-Victim Services Branch of the California Emergency Management Agency, who has been working in the rape crisis movement for 36 years. CALCASA commemorated Linda with a video slideshow to highlight her passion and dedication to ending violence against women.

Leah Aldridge, an advocate who has been in the violence against women movement for more than 20 years, was the keynote speaker who talked about where this movement started and what we need to do as we go forward. She talked about the importance of understanding our roots while at the same time being open and receptive to change.

Leah Aldridge, keynote speaker

During the remainder of the day, attendees participated in sessions about confidentiality, social media, male survivors and management. Tomorrow, the conference will continue with more discussion about intergenerational leadership and how this movement can continue to improve its services and capacity.

Click to view photos on Flickr.

A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to travel down to Los Angeles with CALCASA’s Public Affairs Director Robert Coombs to meet with some of our members. This trip was a chance for us to hear what our members are excited about for the National Sexual Assault Conference that is taking place in September.

Our visit included a trip to Valley Oasis where we met with Program Manager Liza Rodriguez. Then we spoke with Executive Director Debra Suh from the Center For The Pacific Asian Family. And we wrapped up our trip with a visit to Peace Over Violence‘s new location and a tour from Executive Director Patti Giggans.

For more information about the 2010 National Sexual Assault Conference, please visit our NSAC 2010 page.

REMINDER: The deadline for abstract submissions has been extended to Monday, March 22.

Peace Over Violence, one of the CALCASA’s member agencies, has been in the news discussing teen dating violence.

For nearly “two weeks after the alleged Feb. 8 assault involving R&B singer Chris Brown and his girlfriend, the singer Rihanna, teen fans of the couple searched for ways to minimize the episode or justify what sounded like a caffeinated lovers’ quarrel between two very young, very beautiful people.” Patti Giggans, executive director of Peace Over Violence, said this is a “teachable moment;” an opportunity to talk about teen dating violence, domestic violence and its prevalence within the youth community today.

“A lot of kids were saying, ‘I thought maybe he just slapped her. I thought he just pushed her,’ ” says Patti Giggans.

If there’s any silver lining to the bleak story, counselors and parents say, it’s that young people can take lessons from relationship violence playing out so vividly — and so brutally — in people so young: She’s 21, he’s 19.

The case, as ugly as it is, is doing more than any in recent memory, she and others say, to “bust the misconception that it can’t happen with kids, with young people.”

Research shows that violence shows up in about one in four teen relationships, a figure that hasn’t changed much in the past 30 years, says Lenore Walker, a psychology professor at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, and the author of 15 books, most of them about violence against women and children.

Click here to continue reading the USA Today article. Peace Over Violence was also in the LA Times earlier this week.