Advocating Ethics: Are Domestic Violence Programs Still Meeting the Needs of Survivors?

Advocating Ethics: Are Domestic Violence Programs Still Meeting the Needs of Survivors?

Facts For Working People: Violence Against Women One More Time,

Facts For Working People: Violence Against Women One More Time,

LADIES - STOP THE MADNESS...

Some scary headlines you may have read or heard about, and if not, PLEASE DO TAKE NOTICE…

Violence Against Women in the United States

The National Organization of Women (NOW) has laid out an explanation of violence against women to include:

• Murder
• Battering
• Sexual assault

NOW says that women are 10 times more likely than men to be targeted by an intimate partner. These include:

• Young women, women who are separated, divorced or single, and low-income women.
• African-American women are disproportionately victims of assault and rape.
• Pregnant women who have been battered often have miscarriages, stillbirths and low birth weight babies.
• Abused women are disproportionately represented among the homeless and suicide victims.

According to NOW, the impact on children of these women may produce violent juvenile offenders because children who have witnessed violence at home are more likely to commit or suffer violence when they become adults.

Human Rights Watch recommends U.S. government changes that can reduce the number of abused women including a special government adviser on violence against women; restoring full funding to the Office on Violence Against Women; and Congress to increase funding for sexual and domestic violence prevention, intervention, and treatment programs.

From the reports of the National Crime Victimization Survey, Human Rights Watch and NOW, unless some actions are taken, the incidence of battering and sexual assault of women will continue to increase each year in the United States.

College Students & Sexual Violence

Rape on college campuses is a much more serious problem than many people realize. Here's what you should know about sexual assault and college campuses.

Sexual assault on college campuses is an epidemic. Sexual violence is a painful and psychologically devastating experience for victims, and many victims suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition, up to 40% of rape victims develop sexually transmitted diseases. If you're a student on a college campus, you need to know the facts about sexual violence on campus.

Statistics. According to the American Association of University Women:

• 20 to 25 percent of college women are raped during their college career.
• 65 percent of these attacks go unreported
• Alcohol is involved in 75 percent of attacks.

MORE Violence Against Women in the United States

MURDER. Every day four women die in this country as a result of domestic violence, the euphemism for murders and assaults by husbands and boyfriends.

That's approximately 1,400 women a year, according to the FBI. The number of women who have been murdered by their intimate partners is greater than the number of soldiers killed in the Vietnam War.

BATTERING. Although only 572,000 reports of assault by intimates are officially reported to federal officials each year, the most conservative estimates indicate two to four million women of all races and classes are battered each year. At least 170,000 of those violent incidents are serious enough to require hospitalization, emergency room care, or a doctor's attention.

SEXUAL ASSAULT. Every year approximately 132,000 women report that they have been victims of rape or attempted rape, and more than half of them knew their attackers. It's estimated that two to six times that many women are raped, but do not report it. Every year 1.2 million women are forcibly raped by their current or former male partners, some more than once.

THE TARGETS. Women are 10 times more likely than men to be victimized by an intimate partner. Young women, women who are separated, divorced, or single, low- income women and African-American women are disproportionately victims of assault and rape. Domestic violence rates are five times higher among families below poverty levels, and severe spouse abuse is twice as likely to be committed by unemployed men as by those working full time. Violent attacks on lesbians and gay men have become two to three times more common than they were prior to 1988.

LOOK, LISTEN, THINK, REACT – Have you ever experienced an incident where you thought you were going to be attacked or violated? Have you ever seen another girl or woman, your fellow sister, taken advantage of or attacked? Have you ever felt that fear that you were completely incapable of saving your fellow sister or even yourself from a violent attack, a violation of your person, a date rape, a spousal rape, domestic violence, incest, or even just bullying? Don’t you think, believe we women, we sisters need to take charge of our lives and help our fellow sisters? Don’t you think, believe we need to stand together and STOP THE MADNESS – take charge and protect yourself, protect your fellow sisters. YOU CAN DO IT! Don’t doubt your own capabilities. Use your inner strength and make it happen. We, at Stingergirlz.com have personally experienced and surpassed domestic violence, unwarranted attacks, and bullying. We understand what typically goes through your mind when confronted with the fear of becoming a victim, placed face-to-face with the enemy, the person who intends to do harm to us. “What course of action should I take,” that’s something that goes through our minds when faced with this dilemma? What needs to be addressed is ‘how’ you need to react to this situation. It must be instinctive. Your reaction must become a part of your everyday routine… What this means is you need to become aware of your surroundings; PAY ATTENTION to where you go, who’s nearby, who might be approaching you, if you become suspicious of someone approaching you, go with your gut instinct and be prepared to take action – KICK ASS and DON’T HOLD BACK EITHER… It does make a huge difference if you carry a personal safety device, whether it is a high-end, laser-sighted TASER or a small, inconspicuous Pepper Spray. Just make sure you USE IT and DON’T HOLD BACK. Keep in mind, your potential attacker is not thinking about your feelings or the family members who will miss you… YOU NEED TO REACT FAST, TASER THE THUG AND THEN RUN LIKE THE WIND… Guaranteed – you will live to see, experience another day and your attacker, the THUG, will be apprehended and put away… See for yourself…

Atlanta Woman Uses Stun Gun To Help Officer In Distress

Sunday, January 25, 2009 – updated: 6:23 pm EST January 26, 2009

LITHONIA, Ga. -- Tanisha Cross never thought the stun gun she received for Christmas would come in handy so soon.

Cross said she was headed to Wal-Mart in Lithonia with her mother when she noticed a DeKalb County police officer being attacked by a suspect.

This courageous woman took it upon herself to take action and protect a fellow human being… Tanisha REACTED FAST and took down a THUG to protect a Police Officer. Imagine how many women could be saved or protected from a violent crime?

Shopper stops robbery suspect with pepper spray

Suspect tried snatching the 77-year-old's purse at a Kangaroo Express.

Story updated at 4:05 AM on Thursday, Jan. 22, 200

A "one-man crime spree" was halted by a 77-year-old woman with a can of pepper spray, Jacksonville police said Wednesday.

Torre Sebastian Harris, 20, was arrested Tuesday about 5:30 p.m. shortly after a robbery at a Kangaroo Express store in the 8300 block of Baymeadows Road. Chief David Stevens of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said a man entered the store, pointed a gun in the clerk's face and demanded money.

The contents of the cash register didn't satisfy him, so he tried to snatch a customer's purse, according to a police report. The victim, Gladys Gehrig, fought back and sprayed the thief with a container of pepper spray attached to her key chain.

"She got him good in the face," Stevens said.

Police picked Harris up a short distance away.

Stevens said he was linked to six other robberies throughout January on the city's Southside by witness identifications and surveillance footage.

Harris was charged with 14 felonies and held in lieu of bail.

WOW! A 77-year old woman uses Pepper Spray to STOP a criminal dead in his tracks. Simply amazing! Ever wonder what your own life is worth? Could you put a price on your own life? Is it worth $350 or more? If you value your own life or the lives of your friends, family, and fellow sisters, you will invest in a personal protection device; such as, a TASER, or PEPPER SPRAY, or STUN GUN – something to help you stay safe.