8
May
2017
My Documentary Aims to Break the “Contract of Silence”
Authored by: Danijela Stajnfeld, survivor and filmmaker. View her website: https://www.holdmerightfilm.com/ Why do survivors feel guilty when they are sexually assaulted? What makes them feel like they are somehow at fault? What keeps survivors from coming forward? A major part of the reason is that our society is still guided by false assumptions about sexual assault.... Read More
4
Apr
2017
What You Need to Know About What Rape Victims Need from You
Authored by: Amy Oestreicher, survivor, PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, actress. amyoes.com I grew up believing that my entire life would be dedicated to the performing arts. Now, I’m a survivor and “thriver” of sexual abuse, 27 surgeries, coma, organ failure, and the PTSD that comes from ten years of trauma – or what I now call my “beautiful... Read More
13
Mar
2017
The Fundamentals of SART and MDT Success
Authored By Sgt. Jim Markey (Retired), Phoenix Police Department Sex Crimes Unit The Fundamentals of SART and MDT Success For many years, I have had the opportunity to be a part of the sexual assault response teams (SARTs) and multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) that work to improve community response to sexual violence. The SART and... Read More
21
Nov
2016
Meeting the Challenges of SANE Nursing in a Prison System
Authored By Masonda Wheatley, RN, CCHP, SANE Nurse Coordinator, Corizon Health Prison rape Rape in prison is a reality that too often goes unreported. In Missouri’s prison system, our SANE nurse program is making victims more willing to report the crime, receive the forensic exam they are entitled to under the Prison Rape Elimination Act... Read More
13
Oct
2016
Tell Your Story; it’s Important
Authored By Sara Grossman, Communications Manager, The Matthew Shepard Foundation (https://www.matthewshepard.org) Before joining the team at the Matthew Shepard Foundation, I was working for a start-up that had created a device to help victims of sexual assault feel safer. It’s a simple product: a button that connects to an app on your phone via... Read More
19
Sep
2016
The Value of Persistence
Authored By Khnuma Simmonds-Esannason, Executive Director, U.S. Virgin Islands Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Council (DVSAC). As I began to think about the challenges and successes of establishing a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) in the U.S. Virgin Islands, I searched for quotes that could clearly express the importance of persistence as it pertained... Read More
19
Jul
2016
Rosebud Sioux SART a model of success for Indian Country
Recently, I had the pleasure of working on-site with sexual assault nurse examiner and advocate SART participants at the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation, in South Dakota. After the 40-hour event, each candidate was awarded didactic CEUs for their respective disciplines and will take their place in the Rosebud Sioux Tribe SART, which is sponsored by the... Read More
6
Jun
2016
How Sexual Assault Impacts LGBTQ+ Lives
Authored By: The Matthew Shepard Foundation (https://www.matthewshepard.org) In 1998, then 21-year-old University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was beaten, tortured, tied to a fence and left to die in a field outside Laramie, Wyoming. His death shocked the nation, the media and ultimately the world. Judy and Dennis Shepard, Matt’s parents, established the Matthew Shepard... Read More
26
Apr
2016
Protecting Our Nation’s Youngest Victims
Authored By: Kori Stephens, Project Director, Midwest Regional Children’s Advoacy Center (MRCAC) April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month — 30 days that recognize the need to protect the most vulnerable children in our community. It is our collective responsibility to prevent abuse from occurring and to assist children and families who have suffered abuse... Read More
24
Mar
2016
Prostituted and Sexually Trafficked Persons are Rape Victims, Too
What everyone — SANE and SART professionals especially — should know Authored By: Lisa Thompson, Vice President and Director of Education and Outreach, National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) As former Manhattan sex crimes prosecutor Linda Fairstein observed in her book Sexual Violence: Our War against Rape, it is unlikely that any “lifestyle exposes a woman to the... Read More