May 8, 2009

In This Issue:

• An Emerging Issue
• Preventing Violence Can Reduce Health Care Costs
• Nearly Half of States Fail to Protect Teen Dating Violence Victims
• Give RESPECT! On Mother’s Day
• Growing Up in Poverty Can Affect a Child’s Brain
• Nike Foundation Supports Social Norm Change
• New Resource
• In The News
• In Their Own Words
• Save The Date

AN EMERGING ISSUE

In Vermont and Nebraska, lawmakers are considering measures that would disallow felony prosecutions. In Pennsylvania, a federal judge issued a restraining order to stop a zealous prosecutor from filing criminal charges. But in jurisdictions around the country, teens are being prosecuted for child pornography. It’s all because of sexting – a relatively new phenomenon made possible by ubiquitous new technologies that allow teenagers to send nude or semi-nude photos, usually of themselves, to someone else’s cell phone. Read more...

PREVENTING VIOLENCE CAN REDUCE HEALTH CARE COSTS

The American Medical Association’s National Advisory Council on Violence and Abuse convened violence prevention and health experts on April 16 to brief congressional staff about how victims exposed to violence and abuse access health care more frequently and at a greater cost than those without that history. Experts said that physical, sexual and psychological violence can have a significant impact on victims’ long-term health, and that effective intervention and prevention strategies can decrease the health care costs associated with the short- and long-term consequences of abuse paid by private and public insurers. Read more...

NEARLY HALF OF STATES FAIL TO PROTECT TEEN DATING VIOLENCE VICTIMS

For the second year in a row, Break the Cycle graded each state on its ability to protect victims of teen dating violence who seek protection orders against their abusers. This year, Break the Cycle gave only five states grades of “A” and 14 states grades of “B.” The five “A” states are: California, Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Oklahoma. Read more...

GIVE RESPECT ON MOTHER’S DAY

Send a special e-card and Give RESPECT! this Mother’s Day in honor of all the women in your life. You can also make a donation or give the $5 RESPECT! bracelet at www.GiveRespect.org to show your support. The bracelet is sold at Macy’s and macys.com and half the proceeds benefit the Family Violence Prevention Fund. Read more...

GROWING UP IN POVERTY CAN AFFECT A CHILD’S BRAIN

A new study, one of the first to look at cognitive responses to physiological stress, finds that chronic stress from growing up in poverty can affect a child’s brain and diminish a child’s ability to develop language, reading and problem-solving skills. Read more...

NIKE FOUNDATION SUPPORTS SOCIAL NORMS CHANGE

On March 30, the Nike Foundation joined more than 450 leaders at a symposium in Brazil to explore research and best practices by international programs that challenge gender norms, engage men and boys in reducing violence against women and girls, promote sexual and reproductive health, prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, and support fatherhood and caregiving. At the first-ever symposium, the Nike Foundation announced that, with the support and collaboration of the NoVo Foundation, it has made grants to programs directed at men and boys that help shift harmful gender norms that impede progress in educational achievement, sexual and reproductive health, and economic prospects. Read more...

NEW RESOURCE

The Family Violence Prevention Fund, National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Greater Hartford Legal Aid have just released a new guide to improve outreach and responses to domestic violence victims who are in contact with their partners or children’s fathers. Read more...

IN THE NEWS

MILITARY – Reports of sexual assault in the military rose nine percent over last year, but only a small number of cases went to military courts or were referred for non-judicial punishment. In about 20 percent of cases (643 of the 2,923 reported), the victim sought care or made a report but refused to provide all the information necessary to pursue an investigation. Read more...

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

“Afghan President Hamid Karzai has just signed a law that forces women to obey their husbands’ sexual demands, keeps women from leaving the house – even for work or school – without a husband’s permission, automatically grants child custody rights to fathers and grandfathers before mothers, and favors men in inheritance disputes and other legal matters. In short, the law again consigns Afghan women to lives of brutal repression. Read more...

SAVE THE DATE

May 12-15, 2009, Minneapolis, MN
Bridging Perspectives Conference 2009
The Domestic Abuse Project in Minneapolis will host the Bridging Perspectives Conference 2009. Building on the successful Michigan conference of 2005, the Bridging Perspectives Conference 2009 will bring together nearly 600 people interested in working with men who use violence in their familial relationships with women and children. It will offer a chance to simultaneously explore multiple issues in the field of batterers’ intervention, such as accountability, culturally specific approaches, new and emerging research, fathering and battering, interdisciplinary cooperation, chemical dependency, mental health issues and more. Read more...