Ashley Bradley University Blogger-Center for Prevention of Abuse

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Center for Prevention of Abuse, the only agency in Illinois that provides combined services for domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse. Located in central Illinois, it is a safe haven for victims. Some of the sororities on my university’s campus actually donate money and items to this agency as part of their philanthropy. All of the services and items that the Center for Prevention of Abuse provides for its clients are thanks to donations. The types of services they provide include prevention, violence intervention, therapy, advocacy, domestic violence family centered, sexual assault, and senior services. Their main location actually provides emergency and transitional housing for high-risk (or “Priority Level 3”, as they rank those who may be admitted here) clients whose lives are in great danger. Many people will call in for help from this agency, and they provide them with the best resources to help them. They even offer programs for abusers (the Family Violence Intervention Project is connected with the Peoria County Family Justice Center), which will help them learn how to build positive, violence-free relationships. The services offered are very helpful to both victims and abusers to get them back on a positive path in life.

The Center for Prevention of Abuse is very protective of its clients. When it comes to their main facility, people cannot freely walk into the building. One must be buzzed in, or workers have to scan to enter the building and even certain areas within the building. With such high security because of the housing, it makes sense that the agency doesn’t list their address openly on their website. This is a place where survivors can truly feel safe, and I am happy that a place like this exists.

If you would like to know more about the Center for Prevention of Abuse and how you can help, visit their website at www.centerforpreventionofabuse.org.

Sexual Assault Prevention? There’s an app for that!-Courtney Indiana Blogger

As April showers are upon us once again, so is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.  What is different about Sexual Awareness month in April 2012 is the publicity of the new free iPhone application called ‘Circle of 6,’ which is an app that was made in effort to prevent and spread awareness about sexual assault.  This app enables you to pick 6 trustworthy friends to put in your safety “circle,” and anytime you feel that you are stuck in an uncomfortable situation or conversation, you can simply press an icon on the app and it will send your location to the members of your circle to come pick you up or call you with a distraction.  The app even gives you instant access to local hotline or emergency numbers in cases when you are in immediate danger.

                I felt so proud of our technology-surrounded generation when I heard about this app.  While I admit to constantly checking up on social networking apps, such as Twitter and Facebook, and challenging my friends to a game of Words with Friends, I find these apps to be a waste-of-space compared to the Circle of 6 app, which I downloaded immediately after finding out about it.  I tend to get frustrated with how technology driven the college-aged generation is, and how at times it seems that the basis of our relationships are surrounded by social networking sites and texting, rather than meeting for coffee or calling each other on the phone.  However knowing that this new app is bringing social networking and sexual assault prevention together while bringing us access to such a powerful and safety-driven app really sheds new light onto the motivations and interests of our generation.  It is amazing that after only two short weeks this app was downloaded by 20,000 iPhone users trying to reduce their risk of becoming a victim of sexual assault.

                Most powerful about this new app is that when I added my 6 trustworthy friends to my circle, I then told them about the app, and then they downloaded the app and added 6 friends to their circle, who then they told their 6 friends about the app, and the cycle of awareness continues.  This app shows how spreading awareness can be as easy as letting a friend know that there is a way to reduce his/her risk of being victimized by sexual assault just by taking a few seconds to download a free app.

                 

The Bystander Approach and the Need for Men’s Help-Indiana Blogger- Courtney

The bystander approach suggests that “individuals in a community can intervene when faced with situations involving interpersonal violence,” and this approach is often used in sexual assault prevention programs (Dick, A., McMahon, S., 2011).  Because interpersonal violence (IPV), in specific physical and sexual assault, and stalking, consists of violence inflicted on women more so than men, recent research has focused on the need of men to be involved in IPV programs.

However, men are less likely to intervene due to socially constructed expectations of what it is to be masculine, which consists of being heterosexual, strong and sexually able. Men may not intervene when seeing or hearing about IPV due to fear other men will think they are homosexual or weak, due to these social norms.

In a study on male’s attitudes of the bystander approach (Dick, A., McMahon, S., 2011) it was found that men do in fact think IPV is a very serious problem, and it is should be the responsibility of men to act on it.  However, the researchers also found that males still express anxiety when talking about actually intervening, which again suggests that cultural definitions of masculinity may make men hesitant in getting involved in IPV prevention programs. 

This study really makes me wonder about our power to change social norms and gendered expectations.  One of my Gender Studies professors constantly emphasizes that because social norms and scripts are socially constructed, we, as a society have the power to change them.  Because more women are sexually assaulted then men, it is viewed as a “woman’s issue,” and thus women are expected to be the ones that are proactive in preventing sexual assault, while similar expectations may men resist intervening in fear of threatening their masculinity.  These social norms are glued to our minds because of the way sexual assault, femininity and masculinity are depicted in our society, and only WE have the power to alter these norms to make the world a better and safer place for both genders to live simultaneously/at the same time.

Men; You Can Help by our Kansas blogger-Chris

It is widely assumed that sexual assault only happens to women.  Pop culture portrays it this way but it couldn’t be further from the truth.  In reality one in ten sexual assault victims is male.  Although this pales in comparison to the numbers you see about female sexual assault, it should be a call to action for men everywhere.  Sexual assault happens and you can help in several ways.

If you are in college you can get involved with the programs at your school.  Check with your school’s involvement center or women’s resource center.  You can help instruct self-defense classes or join a buddy program.  At my school there is a program called JayWalk where volunteers will meet you where you are and walk you to your car at night.  If your school doesn’t have it, make it happen.

If you are out of school you can still help.  Look for organizations in your community that support sexual assault victims.  It could be answering phones on a hot line or accommodating someone at a safe house. 

There is no need to pretend like sexual assault does not happen.  The issue has become taboo and the only people willing to stand up and fight are women when it can happen to anyone.  Men; you can help.  Show your support for both male and female sexual assault victims.  Stand up with the victims and survivors of sexual assault.

Girl Power- by Chicago Blogger Diane

One of my favorite parts of the movie "Miss Congeniality" is when Agent Gracie Hart, posing as contestant Gracie Lou Freebush, performs during the talent round of the Miss United States pageant. She originally wanted to play the glass harp but the other Miss United States contestants drink all the water out of the glass harp. So as a last minute decision, she decides to show the audience some self defense using the acronym S.I.N.G. (Solar plexus, Instep, Nose, Groin). While it is a humorous scene to watch, the skill of self defense is no laughing matter.

Self-defense is a potential life saving skill. Taking a self defense class will give you more confidence and it can bring out that fighting spirit in you. Knowing how to defend yourself in an attack situation occurs, will give you confidence and peace of mind. For those in Chicago IMPACT Chicago is a great place to take a self defense class in the city. Founded in 1987, IMPACT "is committed to ending violence and building a non-violent world in which all people can live safely and with dignity"( www.impactchicago.org).  

In another scene in Miss Congeniality, the main character Agent Gracie and a beauty queen Cheryl Frasier are in a nightclub, Cheryl speaks of a time in college where her professor attacked her and she didn’t report it. When Gracie asks why she didn’t report the crime Cheryl speaks that her experience happens all the time and is not a big deal. It is a big deal; while statistics don’t lie 1 in 5 women in college will be a victim of sexual assault. This crime doesn’t have to be with prevention being the key to discussing this crime and the reality of it, before it becomes the normal experience.  Let’s start the discussion of why the crime of sexual assault needs to be not part of anyone’s coming of age experience. Send us your comments on ways to discuss breaking the silence of this crime at your school to gwen@leilagrace.org or tweet us. 

Sisterly Love by Courtney

Sisterly Love

Being a member of a sorority, I would like to think that I know my loyal sisters inside and out, however, when it comes to sexual assault, this is far from the case.  I find it extremely heartbreaking that I have spent hours upon hours sharing stories with the women I call my best friends, yet speaking about sexual assault is not commonly dinner-table conversation, to say the least. 

So when can this conversation take place?  When can these women have a chance to share their stories without feeling alienated or as if they are finally coming clean about something they feel they have kept from their sisters?  I understand speaking about one’s experience with sexual assault is not by any means a quick and easy process, so I wanted to give my sisters an opportunity to speak up in a private manner.

In order to do so, I sent out a survey to my entire sorority, in hopes that my sisters would feel comfortable sharing their personal views and stories in a completely anonymous manner.  Out of 10 questions, there was one in particular that really boggled my mind.  When asked the question “have you or someone you know ever been a victim of sexual assault?” 80% of my sisters, my best friends, responded “yes.”  I have heard time and time again, 1 out of 5 college women have been victimized by sexual assault, but this statistic sparked a personal realization when I acknowledged that there are women that live under the same roof as my own that have survived a sexual assault.  These are the women I sit next to at every meal, and who knows if they have ever shared their painful experience or if they are aware of the confidential resources available to them?

Survivors of sexual assault feel that their freedom of choice and ability to use their voice has been violently taken from them.  While I felt helpful in giving my sisters a voice through a survey, I feel that that is not nearly enough.  Within the Greek community at Indiana University, there is a program called “Safe Sisters,” which consists of a few women from each sorority that are supposed to emotionally support, provide resources and give a voice to their sisters following a sexual assault.  However, an alarming 70% of my sisters were not aware that these resources even exist within our chapter.   How will my sisters ever speak up about their experience if they are not even aware that they are living down the hall from a sister who is more than willing to listen and to be a shoulder to cry on?

This lack of awareness really got me thinking.  Crucial and proactive sexual assault prevention programs, such as Safe Sisters, and any other programs around campus need to be known!  Whether they are publicized through fliers around campus or spreading the word to other Greek organizations, awareness is a necessary factor in giving sexual assault survivors their voice back.

Post 1-Rape culture in today's society-By Blogger Soma

If you follow the Daily Beast, or even the Gawker Twitter account, you might have seen an opinion piece by one Rikki Kleiman regarding a rape allegation recently raised against Greg Kelly, a local NYC TV anchor and son of NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly. In the piece, Kleiman asserts that the real victim of this case is Greg Kelly, not the accuser. The comments made by Kleiman are surprising to say the least, especially if you consider her history - she used to prosecute rape cases in Massachusetts and is currently a member of the board for the Rape Treatment Center in Los Angeles, California. Her whole theory is that there is no way to know what happened when Kelly and his accuser went up to the accuser's office (where the rape allegedly occurred) and that all of the recently published "evidence" (published mostly by tabloids, hence the quotations) points towards a consensual relationship. So what is this recently published "evidence"? Sexual texts between Kelly and the accuser before and after their date, an alleged abortion of a pregnancy caused by the alleged rape, and the three-month delay in reporting the crime. Kleiman then goes on to bring up other high-profile rape allegations in which the defendant was falsely accused. In this same piece, she says things like "even a prostitute can be raped," but that there is no doubt that this woman who aggressively pursued Kelly and is just upset that he spurned her advances. She ends all of this with a statement on how we have to create an environment in which victims need to feel comfortable about reporting rape. 

It's a bit confusing, isn't it? To have a someone with a background like Kleiman's say these things. Her comments about how Kelly's accuser is just doing this out of anger and spite because he didn't like her - comments like that are exactly what create an unwelcoming environment for rape victims. By writing something like this, she and the Daily Beast have just stoked the flames of insecurity that so many victims experience. It would be one thing to derive a judgement if the published "evidence" was presented in a trial, but to take the words of numerous tabloids as fact is highly irresponsible. This case is only about a week old, and for anyone to question the accuser's character at this point is premature. Why don't we all wait to see if this even goes to trial, which will be a whole other unsettling issue if it doesn't.