30 Nov NYSCASA Monthly Digest – December 2020
Support NYSCASA on Giving Tuesday
Tuesday, December 1, is #GivingTuesday! We hope you will consider NYSCASA as your plan for your end-of-year giving.
- Make a tax-deductible donation.
- Become a member. (Did you know that you can join as an individual, student, or ally organization member?)
- Join our team as a volunteer/intern or on our Board of Directors.
- Shop online using Good Shop or .Amazon Smile.
NYSCASA Seeking Volunteers/Interns
NYSCASA is currently seeking remote volunteers/interns to support our work, including our Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) project.
Please note that we are not a direct service organization. However, if you are seeking direct service volunteer/internship experience, we can provide resources for you.
Read more and learn how to apply on our website: www.nyscasa.org/volunteers-2020
NYSCASA Board of Directors’ VP Tamika Payne Joins New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault
We are excited to share that Tamika Payne, NYSCASA’s Board of Directors’ Vice President, is now the Executive Director of the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, a member program of NYSCASA. Tamika joins the Alliance and brings a wealth of experience with more than 20 years in gender-based violence (GBV), gender equality, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), domestically and internationally.
Please join us in congratulating Tamika on this wonderful next step in her journey. We look forward to collaborating with Tamika and the Alliance in new and exciting ways!
All New Yorkers Encouraged to Support Survivors During COVID-19 Crisis
We are still experiencing a pandemic. During this time of crisis, sexual violence, domestic violence, and child abuse will continue to occur – most likely at increased rates than ever before. The New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Seven Dancers Coalition, and Prevent Child Abuse New York encourage New Yorkers to support their friends, family members, or colleagues whenever they seek help.
Read our joint statement and learn about available resources here.
Ending Violence Without Violence 2020-2021 Virtual Training Series
NYSCASA, Seven Dancers Coalition, and Interrupting Criminalization: Research in Action are pleased to launch our 2020-2021 virtual training series, Ending Violence Without Violence. Participants will develop a shared analysis of interpersonal violence—specifically sexual violence—and a shared understanding of the importance of community-based approaches to sexual violence prevention and intervention. The webinar series will underscore the importance of building communities that can prevent sexual violence, respond to harm, and heal trauma. Click here to read more about the series and access resources.
Opening Ceremony with Seven Dancers Coalition
Monday, November 30, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM ET
Click here to register.
To launch the Ending Violence Without Violence virtual series, Seven Dancers Coalition will lead an opening ceremony, including the Edge of the Woods Welcoming of Visitors and Bringing People into One Mind. The ceremony will welcome attendees and prepare them to participate in the virtual community. This event will be streamed live via Zoom meetings.
Seven Dancers Coalition (www.sevendancerscoalition.com) works to uplift the families of Indigenous communities by educating and restoring traditional values. Seven Dancers Coalition promotes awareness and prevention of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Teen Dating Violence, Stalking, Sex Trafficking, and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG).
Vidas Negra Importan: Black Latinx Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse (BIPOC-only space)
Thursday, December 10, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM ET
Click here to register.
This webinar will focus on effective approaches at the intersections of child sexual abuse, gender and race. As a Black Latinx adult survivor of child sexual abuse, incest and rape; Luz Marquez Benbow will share her findings from her Just Beginnings Project – Black Latinidad: Building in Siblinghood to End Child Sexual Abuse. Over the course of 1.5 years, Luz held listening sessions with over 45 Black Latinx adult survivors of child sexual abuse. This session will discuss findings from the listening sessions with adult survivors and healing strategies for Black Latinx survivors.
**Please note: this webinar is a BIPOC-only space.**
Creating a Healing Retreat for Survivors
Tuesday, January 5, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM ET
Click here to register.
This program, facilitated by JoLynn Backes (Planned Parenthood of Greater New York), will be an interactive virtual workshop on the importance of healing retreats. Attendees will learn why a holistic approach to healing works best for survivors. Tips will be given on managing the retreat on a limited budget, sample activities will be shown, and attendees will leave with a plan for creating their own retreat.
The Missing Story of #MeToo: Sexual Violence by Law Enforcement Agents
Thursday, April 15 and Friday, April 16, 10:00 AM – 1:30 PM ET
Click here to register.
In the midst of a national conversation on sexual harassment and assault sparked by #MeToo and the me too movement, one form of sexual violence remains shrouded in silence: when police officers and other law enforcement agents are the perpetrators. Although studies show that sexual violence is the second most frequently reported form of police misconduct after excessive force, it is not the second most frequently talked about, despite the fact that an officer is caught in the act every 5 days.
This two-day virtual workshop, facilitated by Andrea J. Ritchie (Interrupting Criminalization: Research in Action), will explore the following questions: What does sexual violence by police look like? Who do officers target? Most importantly, how can we put a stop to this systemic problem? How can sexual assault and anti-criminalization advocates join forces to create a comprehensive approach to this problem which places survivors at the center?
Healing Wounded Healers
Thursday, April 15, 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM ET
Click here to register.
Many of the advocates, social workers, activists, and healers who support underserved victims of violence are also survivors of violence and trauma. Oftentimes these frontline service providers’ own self-care and continued healing process is secondary to their commitment for caring and healing others. In some cases, their personal healing is completely forgotten while their experiences of interpersonal trauma are exacerbated by their work with victims. This webinar, facilitated by Richard Smith, will explore these issues and offer strategies for frontline service providers to support their own healing journeys.
Additional events will be listed on endviolence2020.com/schedule as they are confirmed.
Stay tuned for announcements about upcoming webinars and virtual learning opportunities! Click here to sign up for our Ending Violence Without Violence mailing list.
Activist Tarana Burke on #MeToo’s Future: ‘It’s More Than Just a Hashtag to Take Down Powerful White Men
In this Elle profile, #MeToo founder Tarana Burke reflects on her journey to become one of the country’s leading voices on sexual assault, and the more inclusive future she envisions for #MeToo. Click here to read more.
Executing Lisa Montgomery Would Be One of Trump’s Final Cruelties
From a young age, Lisa Marie Montgomery endured brutal physical and sexual assaults at the hands of her mother and stepfather, leading to severe mental illness. Now 52, she is set to be the first woman executed by the federal government in 67 years. Click here to read more.
Project to Respond to Missing and Murdered Native People Launched in Oklahoma
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Cherokee Nation recently announced a pilot project to implement a Tribal Community Response Plan with U.S. Attorneys Trent Shores of the Northern District of Oklahoma and Brian Kuester of the Eastern District of Oklahoma. Click here to read more.
Sex-Abuse Claims Against Boy Scouts Now Surpass 82,000
More than 82,000 people have come forward with sex-abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America, describing a decades-long accumulation of assaults at the hands of scout leaders across the nation who had been trusted as role models. Click here to read more.
‘Sexual Citizens’ Advocates for Sexual Assault Reduction Through Campus Redesign, Better Sex Education
Jennifer S. Hirsch and Shamus Khan, authors of Sexual Citizens: A Landmark Study of Sex, Power, and Assault on Campus, advocate that comprehensive sex education is an essential pillar in sexual violence prevention efforts. Click here to read more.
What Comes Next? Title IX Under a Biden Presidency
As a Presidential candidate, Joe Biden promised that, if elected, he would put a “quick end” to the Trump administration’s 2020 Title IX rule on sexual harassment. Now, Biden is the projected winner of the 2020 Presidential election. What does that mean for Title IX and, most importantly, for the schools, colleges, and universities that must comply with it? Click here to read more.
“Enough Is Enough” Onboarding Training Series
The ‘Enough is Enough’ Onboarding Webinars project was initiated by the Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) teams at the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault. We felt that it would be helpful to create a series of trainings that provide an overview of ‘Enough Is Enough’ (EIE) programming. When a staff member joins a new EIE program, the TTA Coordinators provide trainings to help orient them to the landscape of the EIE grant and supervisors often ask for refreshers, so we felt it was important to host the EIE: Onboarding Training series here where providers can access the content as needed. Access the series here: www.svfreenyc.org/eie-onboarding-training-series
3 Tips for Watching Triggering Media, Movies, or Documentaries
When stories of abuse and violence come to light through movies, documentaries or other media, many of us are compelled to want to see them and yet are often not prepared for the strong reactions we may experience while viewing them. In addition, many of these reactions may linger with us even after the movie ends. If you are a survivor of violence or abuse, it is very common to feel like you are actually “re-experiencing” your own trauma. Here are some tips you can use to take care of yourself. Click here to read more: www.safehorizon.org/programs/tips-watching-triggering-media-movies-documentaries
Creative Interventions Toolkit: A Practical Guide to Stop Interpersonal Violence
How do we turn back to our communities and strengthen community-based systems to resist violence in all of its forms? Creative Interventions created a toolkit to guide us. The toolkit promotes an approach called “community-based interventions” to violence that some call community accountability or transformative justice as a way to break isolation and to create solutions to violence from those who are most affected by violence—survivors and victims of violence, friends, family, and community. Click here to access the toolkit: www.creative-interventions.org/tools/toolkit
Your support helps NYSCASA improve response to sexual assault survivors and strengthen prevention efforts across New York State. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation.