Transitioning Times

An  opinion piece  was recently published in Time calling for an end to the rape culture hysteria.  There has, of course, been some backlash from the feminist blogosphere.  Essentially, what the opinion piece says is that rapists should be held accountable for raping people.  Yes.  Absolutely.  We agree wholeheartedly...however.  If these rapists are not being held accountable by their schools, or law enforcement, or the criminal justice system at large, can we really attribute that to each of those individual people being incompetent?  What does it mean when every person a victim speaks to asks them weighted questions about their behavior prior to the assault?  What does it say about the messages young men receive when we have to have PSA's about victims needing to be awake to consent?  Doesn't this assume that these young men have received a contradictory message at some point?  That it's okay to take what you want from a p...

Did you know that fraternities are "the largest single provider of undergraduate housing in the United States?"  As such, fraternities have great power to influence the activities and culture on college campuses.  In a recent story on NPR , I learned that fraternities are insured.  Through this insurance, some research has been done about how to decrease their risk.  The number one claim against fraternities is assault and battery and the second is sexual assault of young women. In fact , 55% of gang rapes on college campuses are committed by fraternities. Consider that with these numbers, fraternities cannot be backed by a usual insurance company, they have had to self-insure through the Fraternity Risk Management Fund.  Instead of changing their culture to fit society's, and business's, rules of behavior, they created their own insurance fund, so that they could still exhibit this behavior, but also be protected from the cons...

We have been posting a lot lately about human trafficking, and as more people understand what it is, there is more media coverage.  When you learn more about human trafficking, a byproduct is that you learn more about sex work.  And whether talking about sex work, sexual abuse of children, or human trafficking, pimps come up. I am appalled that people still use this word in a positive way when bragging about their own, or another man's sexual prowess.  Pimps force, that's right, FORCE people, sometimes children, into working for them, through manipulation or fear.  Consider the words you are using: That man sleeps with so many women, he is a criminal who forces children into prostitution!  Not that sexy anymore, is it?

Working for a sexual assault center can be trying.  We have a prevention education department, a statewide coalition against rape, mandated child abuse reporting laws, Sexual Assault Response Teams, an awareness month, and still, people are victimized.   There are small movements of victory in this battle, and today, I stumbled upon one on the internet .   Two young women, students at Syracuse University, were discussing their experiences as sexual assault survivors and in an effort to combat sexual violence on theirs and other college campuses, they started an organization aimed at creating a movement where women  “become active operatives to stop a rape from happening.”  And The Girl Code Movement was born. What does this mean?  They want women to watch out for other women.  There have been other calls to action along these same lines, but this is done in such a way not to blame victims, but to encourage onlookers and bystanders to get involve...

Shyima Hall has been in the news before, for becoming a naturalized citizen in 2011.  She is currently in the news for writing her own story.  She has written a book, Hidden Girl: The True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave.   Shyima was sold into slavery by her parents at 8 years old, approximately 2 years later, the family she was sold to smuggled her into the United States.  She lived in their garage and worked for the family, including children her own age, from morning until night, for as long as they needed her.  2 years later, a neighbor called authorities because they saw Shyima working but not going to school.  She has stayed in the United States, graduated high school, become a citizen and wishes to become a law enforcement officer. This is human trafficking .  Many people think only of sex trafficking, but human trafficking can also include anyone who is forced into performing labor or services against their will. Watch an interview w...

Say Yes to Advocacy!  Say Yes to Education! Say Yes to Shelter!   Say No More to Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Please save the date for Wednesday, June 4th, 2014 for Transitions 27th Annual Auction at Susquehanna University. Hors d'oeurves & Silent Auction begin at 6:00 p.m. Wine Balloon Sale throughout the evening. Live Auction, Dessert Dash, and Raise the Paddle begin at 7:15 p.m. Dancing & Fun begin at 8:30 p.m. 

We mentioned this victim a while ago on our blog, and wanted to give you an update following a blog posted on The Huffington Post.  I would strongly encourage you to read their blog, as it is more thoroughly researched and reported than this.  Unfortunately, nothing had changed since our last posting.  The family still has no answers, and continue to exhaust all their resources. Although there is not much new to report of their journey, I think it is important to continue to talk about LaVena.  Her loss is in the news for a short time, but this family has lost her forever and misses her...forever.  I would like to add our voice to others calling for a Bill of Rights for Bereaved Military Families .  There has been a Victims of Crime Act since 1984 , and specifically, a Crime Victims' Rights Act since only 2004. Currently the Crime Victims' Rights Act specifically states that if the victim is deceased: "the legal guardians of the crime victim or the repr...