Transitioning Times

As we posted about before , in Pennsylvania, not everyone who is abused can get a PFA.   Currently, they are offered only to people who have suffered abuse at the hands of someone they dated or are related to by blood or marriage.   Unfortunately, people who have been assaulted, even sexually assaulted, by a stranger or acquaintance, cannot obtain a restraining order (PFA) in Pennsylvania.   In the last session of the PA Legislature, a bill was introduced to protect victims of sexual assault from their assailants.   It would have given them the right to file for a PFA and receive protection under a civil law.   At that time, the bill stalled in the Judiciary Committee and was not passed before the conclusion of the session.   Another bill, PA Senate 681 , was introduced and will be considered when the next session begins on June 3, 2013. This bill allows for victims of sexual assault to ask the court to order the assailant not to contact the victim and specifically, not to

  Happy National Nurses Week from the International Association of Forensic Nurses! National Nurses Week is celebrated annually from May 6, also known as National Nurses Day , through May 12, honoring the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. As of 1998, May 8 was designated as National Student Nurses Day , to be celebrated annually. And as of 2003, National School Nurse Day is celebrated on the Wednesday within National Nurses Week (May 6-12) each year. The 2013 theme for National Nurses Week as set by the American Nurses Association is Delivering Quality and Innovation in Patient Care . For a brief history of National Nurses Week, go to the following link: http://nursingworld.org/FunctionalMenuCategories/AboutANA/NationalNursesWeek/MediaKit/NNWHistory.html Transitions would like to take a moment to recognize all of the nurses, who care for victims of intimate partner violence, sexual assaul

Transitions is happy to report that we we were able to take part in this year's Sexual Assault Awareness Month campaign.  We participated in at least 6 Health Fairs and Community Events, distributed hundreds of coasters/brochures/tagged lollipops/other materials, posted several articles/links to our Facebook page and blog, and joined Susquehanna University in collaboration on their newly formed Sexual Assault Task Force. We were able to reach hundreds, if not thousands, of people in our communities. At just one health fair Transitions received compliments from individuals and agencies alike, heard personal stories of how Transitions was able to help that individual standing before us, their friend, co-worker, or family member, and received several requests for further information, training, or outreach programs, including a request to present programs at a summer camp for clients of a local foster care/counseling agency. Several agencies also offered to provide free or r

Summation of an article by: Dr Scott Hampton, Psy.D. Submitted by Adam H.   Alcohol and sexual assault often happen together . According to some research , 30 percent of all sexual assaults occur when the perpetrator is under the influence of alcohol. In some cases, the victim is also intoxicated. Drinking makes it easy for the perpetrator to ignore sexual boundaries, while the victim's intoxication makes it more difficult for her/him to guard against an attack.   A common misunderstanding is that if people commit sexual assaults only when drunk, then (a) the drinking must have caused the assault and (b) sobriety and alcohol counseling are adequate to prevent future assaults. These erroneous conclusions confuse correlation and causation. To illustrate, consider the correlation between consciousness and sexual assault. Perpetrators of sexual assault typically commit sexual assaults only when they are awake, but it would be ridiculous to suggest that being awake