A multidisciplinary response to sexual assault cases is beneficial to our work and our communities. It cultivates communication and collaboration among service providers and system professionals; increases the effectiveness of criminal justice, social service, medical, and community interventions; and ultimately, it improves the response to and experiences of survivors.
This approach is most often supported through the development of teams comprised of the primary stakeholders who…
Providing advocacy services for children and teens who have been sexually abused often requires specialized knowledge and skills. Ensuring that your young clients and their parents are fully informed and supported means having specific information about things such as:
In this issue of "Partners in Social Change" we examine what it looks like to engage men in sexual violence prevention. Much of the work we do focuses on how communities can prevent sexual violence; therefore this issue seeks to examine men as a community that has the potential to help create social change. The notion that men need to be involved in ending gender-based violence is not new by any means, but we want to take a look at how we can genuinely involve men as part of a movement that…
The topic of sexual assault is challenging on many levels. When we begin to create a cultural view of sexual assault, we see that we are dealing with a complex set of systems. As we try to understand individual cases of sexual assault, it is helpful to have the sense of perspective that comes from understanding the history (or her-story) of the sexual…
Sexual assault program managers are drawn to the coaching model of supervision because it is in line with the values we have in our field. The coaching approach is attractive because:
When we coach, we listen more than we talk, we facilitate rather than control, and we work with staff members to come up with…
Relationship-building with youth who have been commercially sexually exploited is no small task. In many cases, abuse, abandonment and betrayal have characterized their relationships with adults and created mistrust. Additionally, they may not see themselves as victims of exploitation or know how they want to move forward.
As advocates, you already have many of the skills you need to support youth who have been commercially sexually exploited. Building rapport with this population is…
Children who have been sexually abused have often experienced an entire series of traumatic events, from multiple victimizations to seriously disrupted relationships with their parents. These children's experiences can't be described with the traditional posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) label; their fundamental ways of interacting with the world and sometimes even their biological functions are changed because of the chronic, pervasive stress to which they have been exposed at this…
Each member of your Board of Directors has accepted crucial responsibilities for the welfare of your agency, and needs training of the highest possible quality to carry out those responsibilities. The Office of Crime Victims Advocacy (OCVA) Accreditation Standards state:
Each member of the governing board or advisory committee for a sexual assault program must have orientation and training specific to their role.
The suggestions below are relevant…
In cases of child sexual abuse, some prosecutors discourage parents or others from placing a child in therapy until after the trial. The fear is that therapy will create memory and suggestibility issues which may be used by defense counsel to attack the child's credibility. Therapists confronting this issue can make the following points.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is a therapeutic technique that helps clients to deal with trauma and disturbing memories. Developed by Francine Shapiro, Ph.D., in the 1980s, EMDR has been extensively researched and found to be an effective method of treating posttraumatic stress. The theory behind EMDR is that trauma memories must be disrupted not only cognitively but also neurologically, allowing the brain to handle past trauma in a different manner. EMDR is…
Some highlights of this issue:
No matter what your formal position, you can be a leader in advocating for services to address Intimate Partner Sexual Violence (IPSV). Often, it takes just one dedicated individual to initiate these much-needed services.
Even if you are a very experienced advocate, it is crucial to educate yourself thoroughly on Intimate Partner Sexual Violence. Two great starting places: the book…
This webinar will provide an overview of crisis intervention in cases of child sexual abuse. It is intended to build upon and enhance the content presented in the related section of the From Hurt to Hope Child Advocacy Guide. The guide and each complementary webinar aim to support sexual assault advocates in their work with children and families.
The information gathered from this survey highlighted those areas that require further attention and additional resources. It also identified that programs have been adaptive and innovative in responding to this problem despite existing resource and knowledge gaps. Some of the practices that are already being implemented, such as system coordination, have proven to be quite valuable in this context but we must also continue to expand our thinking and relationship-building efforts beyond…
To this day, having a sexual orientation or gender identity, real or perceived, that differs from the mainstream puts one at a higher risk for sexual violence.
Homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny continue to pervade society and support the rape culture we live in. This has a tremendous impact on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) communities.
This webinar will incorporate the positive aspects of sexuality education into a sexual violence prevention framework. If we’re working to prevent rape and other forms of sexual violence, we must simultaneously promote healthy sexual interactions. This webinar will address a sex-positive approach to violence prevention, provide a model workshop outline, and explore the challenges of this approach.
Sometimes we are so busy walking the path of our daily lives that we don't have the time to go exploring for resources. We hope this resource guide will support you in your journey working with children and teens who have been sexually assaulted and their nonoffending family members. The resources in this guide were supplied by therapists across the state doing this work.
Some of the resources are designed to help therapists expand their own knowledge, while others are intended to be…
Working with child sexual abuse/assault (CSA) victims and their nonoffending parents/caregivers/families can present a unique dynamic for Community Sexual Assault Programs (CSAPs) and advocates. What does confidentiality look like for a 10-year-old or a 15-year-old? What decisions can children or teens make for themselves? Who is my client, the child or the parent? Why is the child going through a medical assessment when the last abuse was three months ago? Why does the parent act like this…
Prevention programming is happening in communities across Washington in a variety of settings. However, it's hard to deny that schools are not a very popular place to deliver these messages. And for good reason, that's where the kids are. That's where our future goes to figure out what kind of world we'll all be living in tomorrow.
For this issue of the PISC, we are talking about schools. We take a look at the laws about what schools must offer, we provide ideas and resources about…
In 1997, Washington State developed its first sexual violence prevention plan. The plan focused on changing the conditions that cause sexual violence. In 2008, the state began the process of revising the plan. Like the 1997 plan, this new plan emphasizes meaningful change rather than symptoms. Both plans view community development as a lever for change.
The Washington State Department of Health and the…
This Guide is a supplement to the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs' (WCSAP) general guide to psychoeducational support groups, Circle of Hope. Circle of Hope provides excellent information about the nature of psychoeducational groups and how they differ from self-help and therapy groups. In addition, there is information about how to select participants, work with a co-facilitator, establish a curriculum, handle the inevitable concerns that arise in the course of running…
Intimate Partner Sexual Violence (IPSV) is a comprehensive term that includes not only marital rape, but all other forms of sexual assault that take place within a current or former intimate relationship, whether the partners are married or not. Sometimes referred to as "sexual assault within the context of domestic violence," IPSV is a complicated, heart-wrenching form of abuse that has often been overlooked by the general public, law enforcement, and human service providers. IPSV is at the…
Many sexual assault and domestic violence survivors engage in self-harming behaviors like cutting and burning. This webinar will address the reasons for self-harm, how to intervene, where to seek help, and how to distinguish self-harm from suicide.
I am a person, so treat me like you.
Don't hurt me, abuse me,
or embarrass me too.
I think and I feel and I will speak out-
If someone does hurt me,
I'll stand up and shout!
This poem is a nice summary of this issue of Partners in Social Change, where we turn our attention to disabilities and sexual violence prevention.
To craft this issue, we asked ourselves a few questions.
This issue of Partners in Social Change explores current prevention strategies in our state and delves into community development as a primary prevention strategy. Additionally, it discusses educational presentation efficacy.
