Transitioning Times

Domestic violence and sexual assault are difficult topics to discuss. In today's society, there seems to be a stigma that goes along with these two issues, a stigma that unfortunately incorporates victim blaming.  Victim blaming is when the victim of a crime is held solely or partially responsible for the wrongful act done upon them. A recent example of victim blaming happened in the People v. Turner case. Brock Turner blamed college party culture and consumption of alcohol for a sexual assault he initiated rather than taking responsibility for the horrendous crime he committed. Turner, a former Stanford University student-athlete, sexually assaulted an intoxicated, unconscious woman behind a dumpster, whom he met at a house party. Turners’ defense attorney contributed to the victim-blaming when his way of defending this case was to point the finger at the victim and fixate on how much she drank on the evening of the sexual assault. Victims of sexual assault, more times t...

In today’s technology-driven world, many people turn to their smartphones when they have questions. Even more specifically, people may be turning to their phone’s smart assistant, such as Siri or Cortana to aid in this search.  Earlier this month, the Journal of American Medical Association published a study about these conversational agents and their responses to mental health, interpersonal violence, and physical health.   Apple has changed Siri’s responses to rape and abuse to provide the hotline number and website of RAINN.   RAINN’s national hotline number links locally to Transitions. There is still some work to be done, though.  Siri recognizes the word rape, but does not recognize phrases about not wanting to have sex, and someone having sex with you anyway.  As the survivor states in this article , many survivors struggle to name what happened to them as rape, or even abuse. Siri also does not offer to call RAINN, like it does for other com...

Individuals with disabilities experience sexual violence at alarming rates.  Victims of sexual violence who have intellectual/developmental disabilities are often overlooked because they may not be able to speak for themselves.  Many times, these individuals are completely physically and emotionally dependent on someone else and may have a difficult time communicating. Individuals with disabilities are not always taught how to set specific boundaries for themselves, and they are encouraged to be compliant with others.  Some victims are not capable of  giving consent to a sexual relationship. More than 90 percent of people with developmental disabilities will experience sexual abuse at some point in their lives. Forty-nine percent will experience 10 or more abusive incidents (Valenti-Hein & Schwartz, 1995). There are many different ways to help individuals with developmental disabilities that have disclosed sexual violence. ·     ...

If you ask 100 college students what the definition of sexual consent is, you may get 100 different answers.  Some may tell you that it is the absence of a verbal “no”.  Some may say that they “read between the lines” during vague conversations related to the topic and that if they don’t get a strong “No”, they move forcefully ahead.  And yet others say they interpret body language and nonverbal indicators to make their sexual decisions.  Any way you look at it, sexual consent seems to be very difficult for students to define and can be as confusing as an elaborate game of charades.  There should not be any doubt in the mind of an individual who wishes to engage in sexual activity that the other person does or does not want to have sex.  It’s not a guessing game.  Yet students will tell you they find the definition of sexual consent to be much like finding Bigfoot, it can be elusive and unexplained. The hugely popular “No means No” campaign tried...

     When society hears of sexual violence, the assumption is typically that a man has assaulted a woman. This is happening, at rates that are far too high, but so is sexual violence against men. Imagine how hard it is for a woman to report being sexually assaulted or raped? Now, think how difficult it is for men to report the same type of sexual violence.      Texas Association Against Sexual Assault states, “In the United States, 10% of all victims are male.”   “ About  3% of American men  — or  1 in 33  — have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. From 1995-2010, 9% of rape and sexual assault victims were male.   2.78 million men in the U.S. have been victims of sexual assault or rape.”   (RAINN.org)      These men are fathers, brothers, friends, partners, sons, and grandfathers who are looked at as being masculine, aggressive, and self-confident, but men can also be sensitiv...

It's August and many student athletes around the country are gearing up for fall sports.  Ma'Lik Richmond is one of them .   Ma'Lik Richmond was adjudicated delinquent in March of 2013 of raping a 16 year old girl in Steubenville, Ohio.  Maybe you've heard about it on television, radio, or the internet; basically there was outrage everywhere.   He played in a scrimmage Tuesday.  Is this right?  Is this fair?  That a Tier II sex offender, who must register every 6 months for the next 20 years is permitted to participate on a school district-sanctioned sports team?   At what point does a student's right to an education include extracurricular activities?  When I attended Mifflinburg High School in the early 2000's, if a student violated the Code of Conduct, or refused to sign it, they relinquished their right to participate in extracurricular activities.  And, to be fair, Ma'Lik Richmond was barred from these activities for the bal...

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...

  According to a study funded by the United States Department of Justice , many youths who are detained are being victimized.   These numbers are self-reported by the youth who are detained.    10.8% of males and 4.7% of females reported sexual activity with facility staff.   9.1% of females and 2.0% of males reported unwanted sexual activity with other youth.   Youth with a sexual orientation other than heterosexual reported significantly higher rates of sexual victimization by another youth (12.5%) compared to heterosexual youth (1.3%).     Youth who had experienced any prior sexual assault were more than twice as likely to report sexual victimization in the current facility (24.1%), compared to those with no sexual assault history (10.1%).   The above statistic is especially unsettling to me.   We know that in the general population, an adult who was a sexual abuse victim as a child is an average of 2.5 more li...

November 12th through the 16th is International Forensic Nurses Week We would like to take this opportunity to both express our gratitude and highlight the wonderful SANE nurses we have at Evangelical Hospital. Lindsay, Rachel, and Hannah are the trained SANE nurses at Evangelical Hospital.  They are on call in a rotation and must still work their regular shifts.  Their patience and skill are an example to all nurses and we are very grateful that they have chosen this work.  Evangelical Hospital continues to be the only hospital in Northumberland, Snyder, and Union Counties to employ SANE nurses.  Although there are other hospitals, their nurses and physicians may not be trained in evidence collection.  The chain of custody of said evidence may be broken in another medical facility.  Evangelical Hospital maintains an exam room, office, and bathroom in a suite to the rear of the Emergency Area specifically for SANE patients.  Their continued dedi...

We would be remiss if Transitions didn't include some mention of Representative Todd Akin's comments in our blog.  In case you have not heard, Rep. Akin (R-Mo.), while being interviewed on KTVI-TV, was asked if he supports abortion in cases of rape.  His response included the following statements:  “It seems to be, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, it’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down.” Herein sparks the outrage. There have been many articles and statements  about the comments, what they mean, what consequences there may be for both Rep. Akin and the Republican Party, as well as general outcry about the words he chose and what he's saying.  We wish to add our voice to all the other voices who are loudly saying that this is unacceptable.  We stand with President Obama and other organizations saying that rape is rape.  There is no q...

Many of our posts are about the impact violence has on its victims, often specifically violence against women.  We have been rallying to get the Violence Against Women Act reauthorized , a great deal of our time is spent helping domestic violence victims, often women.  Much of our work is reactionary, how to heal, how to deal, what to do after a traumatic event.  But what if there was no violence against women?  What if the climate that allows, ignores or encourages men to perpetrate violence against women changed?  There are organizations that are working to  challenge men and boys to define their own masculinity.  I was especially moved by a speech given by Tony Porter about the "manbox."  Men are told that their emotions need to contained within a box that includes only anger and fearlessness.  Men and boys are taught that they are strong, which in turn means women are weak.  That in order to be a "real" man, th...

There is a film making the rounds at independent film festivals and it brings up a sensitive and deeply buried issue-- sexual abuse within the U.S. Military Ranks. This film, while in itself is a triumph, has also been credited with giving fuel to a civil suit brought against the Pentagon. The Invisible War tells the stories of female military personnel who were sexually assaulted, raped, or harassed by other military personnel. The film was screened on Capital Hill the week of February 6th, with a standing room only audience including 2 Senators and 5 Congresspersons and their staff. Senator Barbara Boxer and Congresswoman Jackie Speier introduced the film, with Senator Boxer assuring that "no one would leave the room unchanged." The filmmakers felt that the screening was a great success and hope to have more showings so that policymakers can see the real people that policies (or lack thereof) affect. Military life has many hardships. The day-to-day work of...