Transitioning Times

I wish I didn't have to write blogs like this.  I wish those people who think domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking are not accepted by society were right.  Alas, this is not the case. In our training of new staff and volunteers, we watch films by Jean Kilbourne , and Sut Jhally , including Killing Us Softly and Dreamworlds 3 .  These films focus on the role that violence against women plays in advertising and music videos.  This awareness has bred outrage and outcry from feminists about the images and messages from the media.  In the recent past, there was loud descent from the feminist blogosphere about rape culture, specifically about the song of last summer, Blurred Lines .  I thought maybe this reaction would cause record labels and artists to consider more thoughtfully the messages they are promoting, not because of any dedication to social justice, but in light of commercial sales figures.  I was wrong.  In fact, ...

January is officially Stalking Awareness Month.   Throughout the month, you will see status updates on our Facebook page with information about stalking.  I am pleased to report, that while researching for this blog post, I received 9.53 million hits when I googled "What to do if I'm being stalked."  Although this is still less than the 10.7 million hits I received when I googled "how to stalk someone," it is still progress.  There is lots of information for victims to help themselves.  I would like to highlight some of the ideas that I found especially useful. Telephone Options: Verizon has an unlawful call center , specifically for calls that include: Threat to Life (yours or someone else's) Bomb Threats Bodily Harm Excessive Obscene or Harassing Calls (The definition of excessive varies by state but generally means more than two to five calls.) Kidnapping This service is only available to Verizon home telephone customers.  You can re...