Transitioning Times

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_ news/2013/08/28/20235700- montana-judge-defends- decision-to-sentence-teacher- to-just-30-days-for-sex-with- 14-year-old How is it that we are still blaming victims, students, CHILDREN for their rape? This judge decided that a 14 year old held the same knowledge/experience/power as a teacher to decide to engage in a "consensual" relationship, and therefore, the teacher was ordered to serve 30 days. In today's FFF, I ask when will enough be enough?! Too many young women are dying in light of bullying, sexual harassment, and the after-effects of rape.

People make all kinds of excuses for inappropriate behavior.   They make excuses for themselves, and excuses for the ones they love.   Many abusers make excuses for their behavior, both to their significant others and to the outside world.   Victims often tell us that their abusers accuse them of infidelity. It makes sense to people from the outside world that if one person is the “cause” of the problems, i.e. s/he actively engaged in an affair, s/he deserves to be punished.   Please, do not misunderstand me, neither myself or Transitions believe that ANYONE deserves to be followed, abused, or otherwise “punished.”   However, in popular lexicon, we have seen this type of behavior normalized and even celebrated in movies, television, the news, etc.   That is the crux of this blog post, that abusers frame their abuse or stalking in the context of finding out if the person engaged in an affair, or because s/he engaged in an affair, and therefore...

The daily life of a woman in the Pennsylvania coal region during the 19 th and 20 th Centuries is clearly defined in Susan Campbell Bartoletti’s Growing Up in Coal Country (copy right 1996). Gender specific domestic household duties were completed by the women. Then men worked in the mines and provided for the family. Young women were expected to learn all the household skills to take care of a home and family. “Throughout coal country, mothers and daughters worked side by side. For them, Monday meant wash day; Tuesday, ironing; Wednesday, baking; Thursday, sewing; Friday, cleaning; Saturday, shopping and bathing; and Sunday, church, rest and recreation.”   Caption to the side of the picture: On Mondays, women washed the clothes.  Canal Museum at Hugh Moore Park, Easton, Pennsylvania Text in the picture: [...]large brick ovens erected in the backyards.  Bread was a staple of every miner's lunch, and depending on the size of the family, twenty ...

Many staff members and volunteers were representing Transitions at National Night Out events on August 6th, but if you missed those, consider going to Snyder County's Night Out.  There will be staff members representing Transitions and informing the public of the good work we do! Please see the below flyer.

My name is Erin R. and I am a Junior at Shippensburg University. I am majoring in Psychology and minoring in Women and Gender Studies. My goal upon graduation is to become a sexual assault and domestic violence counselor. Becoming a volunteer at Transitions this summer was something I wanted to do to gain knowledge and hands-on experience in the field I plan to work. I knew I would learn a lot, but never expected to learn as much as I did. Coming in on my first day I was not sure of anything. I was not sure if I would like it or even be able to handle such and emotionally tolling kind of work. I knew that the job the staff members and volunteers do at Transitions was no easy task. However, I knew after my first day I was going to love what I was doing and the people I would be working with. I attended a staff meeting on my first day and immediately felt welcomed by all. As the weeks went on, I felt more and more comfortable speaking up at these meetings and expressing my feeli...

On Friday, we heard Michelle Knight speak in court at her perpetrator’s sentencing.  This young woman is courageous, strong, and compassionate.  The bravery that it takes to face a perpetrator in court is remarkable.  I am grateful that our country believes in the impact of allowing victims to provide input to the court system.  Providing input can help a victim’s recovery in many ways, including giving her/him  a sense of power, having her/his voice heard and having an opportunity to face her/his attacker.  The victim/survivor did not have power in the moments that the crime was being committed; therefore, regaining that power may be a constructive part of the healing process. The rights of crime victims and survivors have not existed for that long .  In fact, the crime victims’ movement in the United States started in the 1960’s and 1970’s.  The crime victims’ movement was an outgrowth of the fields of victimology, the women’s movement, st...

Everything in our home revolves around baseball with my two sons Guy and Russell. My oldest son Guy is 6 and recently played his first year in tee ball and rookie league.   We play baseball or catch just about every night. His new favorite baseball movie: A League of Their Own. The first time he watched the movie he turned to me and asked, “Why are they making such a big deal about girls playing baseball?”   I replied, “Not that long ago women weren’t allowed to vote, work outside the home and they didn’t have the same rights as men.”   Guy’s response, “Well that’s just dumb.   Girls are people too.”   I have to secretly admit it was a super proud mommy and feminist moment for me!   Last week when my cousin’s daughter Brynn joined us for a game of baseball and Guy stepped up to coach her. She was all decked out in her zebra print skirt and leopard print sneakers ready to play.   I do believe this was her first time on a baseball diamond. ...