Media
Sexual Assault in the News
& On the Web & in Our Lives
[stories are listed in order of most recent...]
Rep. Roger Rivard criticized for 'some girls rape easy' remark
By Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel | Oct. 10, 2012
Madison - A state representative is drawing heat for saying that his father had told him when he was young that "some girls rape easy" as a way to warn him that a woman could agree to sex but then later claim that it wasn't consensual.
Freshman Rep. Roger Rivard (R-Rice Lake) in December discussed a case with the Chetek Alert newspaper in which a 17-year-old high school senior was charged with sexual assault for having sex with an underage girl in the school's band room.
The newspaper quoted him as saying his father warned him, "Some girls rape easy" - meaning that after the fact they can change what they say about whether sex was consensual.
Read the full piece on the Journal Sentinel online…
Accused Central Park Rapist Has History of Attacking Elderly Women
By CHRISTINA NG (@ChristinaNg27) | Sept. 14, 2012
The man accused of raping and robbing a 73-year-old birdwatcher in New York's Central Park has a lengthy criminal record and a history of attacking elderly women.
David Mitchell, 42, was arrested on Thursday evening and charged early this morning with rape, criminal sex act, robbery and assault, according to court documents. Mitchell has a chilling history of attacking elderly women.
Visit ABCNews to read the full story…
Delving Into The Issue Of Sexual Assault In Native Populations
Callari-Robinson, the director of health services for the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault (WCASA), keeps an eye on all the SANE certified nurses and SART teams throughout the state.
Read the full article on News From the Margins…
Activists claim some rape victims given runaround at local hospitals
By Courtny Gerrish | created May. 16, 2012
MILWAUKEE- You go to a hospital for help, not to be told you went to the wrong location. Some activists claim rape victims are getting the runaround. While in emotional distress, they may have to get into a cab and go somewhere else for help.
Is Wisconsin failing when it comes to taking care of sexual assault victims? It turns out if you need specialized care, you might be asked to go somewhere else. One mother is speaking out, hoping to change the system.
Read the full story, and view video report, at WTMJ online…
Sheriff’s Deputy Charged with Producing Child Porn
MILWAUKEE - Authorities said a high-ranking Milwaukee County sheriff's deputy is facing child pornography charges.
For years, Sgt. Phil Wentzel has been the face of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department as its public information officer before becoming the head commander in the patrol division.
Wentzel was at work Wednesday afternoon at the sheriff's substation on Watertown Plank road when authorities said the FBI arrested him on charges he swapped homemade child pornography with collectors across the country.
According to a 24-page criminal complaint, Wentzel even advertised, "Girls I have to share range from 6-14. I work only now on 'you show me yours, I'll show you mine' basis."
"He has cooperated fully with the FBI. This is not a new allegation. This is a new charge, but the allegation takes place over a year ago," said Wentzel's attorney, Chip Burke.
Read the full story, and see video report at WISN.com…
Sex Offender Check in Sauk Co. | May 23
Sauk County, Wis. – The US Marshals along with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Sex Offender Registry Program and Sauk County Sheriff’s Department conducted a residence verification operation for registered sex offenders. On May 14th to May 16th deputies checked the addresses of 77 registered sex offenders in Sauk County.
At least 3 were found to be non-compliant.
Read the story on WMTV NBC 15 online…
Teen Dating Violence: One In Six U.S. Students Age 12 Are Victimized, Survey Shows | Published March 29
U.S. middle School students age 12 have experienced alarming rates of physical violence at the hands of a romantic partner, including being shoved, grabbed, hit or kicked, a survey showed on Thursday.
Nearly one in six of 1,430 students surveyed, most of whom were just 12 years old, said they had experienced physical dating violence in the past six months, while more than one in three had witnessed such violence among their peers.
Read the full story on the Huffington Post online…
Man given 17 years in prison for kidnapping, human trafficking
WAUSAU - A Milwaukee man accused of kidnapping a woman for nine days and forcing her to perform sex acts across Wisconsin has been sentenced Friday to 17 years in prison.
Thirty-eight-year-old Derrick Thornton was convicted last August on charges including kidnapping and human trafficking.
Read the full story at WTMJ online…
Letter to the Editor: A welcome expansion of the definition of sexual violence | Published: February 1
What is rape? Most people picture a man physically overpowering a woman and forcing her to have intercourse. While that certainly is rape, most sexual assaults don’t fit that stereotype.
In December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report shedding light on how widespread sexual violence is in this country. Christina Hoff Sommers, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, objected in an op-ed [“A false portrait of U.S. sexual violence,” Sunday Opinion, Jan. 29], saying that the CDC defined sexual violence in “impossibly elastic ways.” But think: If you asked 10 friends whether they have ever been raped, you likely wouldn’t get many yeses. If you asked whether they’ve ever had sex against their will or had been coerced into sex, or had unwanted sexual contact, the number would probably be much higher.
Read the full letter online at The Washington Post...
Report: Chadima resigned over allegation of unwanted sexual contact
Deborah Ziff and Andy Baggot | Wisconsin State Journal
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 9:00 am
John Chadima made unwanted sexual advances to a University of Wisconsin Athletic Department student employee and threatened to fire him after he spurned the early-morning overture at a Rose Bowl party.
That's according to a report released by the university Tuesday night. The report was commissioned by interim UW-Madison Chancellor David Ward after Chadima, a former senior associate athletic director, resigned amid charges of misconduct earlier this month.
"What has been alleged is not only a sexual assault but also a serious breach of trust within a community that we heard described repeatedly by student employees as a tight-knit and supportive family," a four-person investigative panel wrote in the report.
Read the full story online at the Wisconsin State Journal…
SAVS Funding Cuts Coverage
• Read WCASA's original Press Release and follow up Press Release regarding Solutions to Funding Crisis
• UPDATE: read WCASA's follow-up Press Release regarding the decision by the Governor to exempt the SAVS funds from Act 32 lapses [link to Wheeler Report story]...
• UPDATE: Wisconsin Senators Taylor and Jauch have begun circulating a petition to save SAVS funding; you can sign online at either Sen. Taylor’s or Sen. Jauch’s sites; read their joint press release 
about the petition…
HAVEN in Merrill faces funding cuts as demand for shelter rises
1:50 AM, Dec. 27, 2011 | Written by Jeff Starck, Wausau Daily Herald
MERRILL -- State funding cuts are threatening a Merrill domestic abuse shelter's ability to serve victims even as the shelter's population is skyrocketing.
Household Abuse Victims Emergency Network, better known as HAVEN Inc., has sheltered 81 victims of domestic violence through the first 10 months of 2011, double the number of people who used the shelter in all of 2010, HAVEN Executive Director Judy Woller said. HAVEN also had an 8.5 percent increase in the number of people who came to the shelter and were given some form of help since last year.
The increase in the number of people staying at the shelter is the result of publicity about HAVEN's recent $625,000 fundraising campaign for a new shelter and a push by the organization to increase community awareness about domestic violence, Woller said. The organization moved into a new facility in December 2010.
Read the full story at the Wausau Daily Herald online…
Capitol Report: Despite Walker's efforts, funding woes for rape crisis centers persist
JESSICA VANEGEREN | The Capital Times | jvanegeren@madison.com | @JVanEgeren | Posted: Friday, December 23, 2011 10:15 am
Despite Gov. Scott Walker's decision Tuesday to restore roughly $294,000 to the only state grant program for services to sexual assault and rape victims, crisis centers around the state will continue to feel a substantial financial pinch, with Dane County's center poised to lose some $77,000 annually in funds and one central Wisconsin county losing its services altogether.
"This isn't the Wisconsin way," says Kelly Anderson, executive director of the Rape Crisis Center in Dane County. "You don't balance the budget on the backs of rape victims by letting them go without services."
The $2 million Sexual Assault Victims Services Grants, or SAVS program, help fund 24-hour crisis lines that offer support and information to victims and provide assistance to rape victims before they enter the often uncomfortable setting of a hospital or police station to retell their experiences. It also funds sexual assault awareness training in schools.
With SAVS grants awarded in three-year increments, the Rape Crisis Center in Dane County is looking at a funding loss of $231,000 over the next three years, beginning Jan. 1, Anderson says.
The center is one of 46 nonprofit rape crisis centers in Wisconsin. They all receive funding from a variety of sources, including SAVS.
Initially, last summer, SAVS was looking at a 10 percent budget cut, part of an across-the-board trim Walker asked all state agencies to make to help balance the 2011-2013 budget.
Another 5.2 percent reduction was added in October when the Department of Administration announced all departments needed to collectively cut spending by $174 million in what's known as a state budget "lapse," based on tax revenue projections. That amounted to a $2.76 million shave for the state Department of Justice, which oversees the SAVS program.
Read the full story at the CapTimes online…
Editorial: Restore funds for sexual assault victim services
11:00 PM, Dec. 15, 2011
A larger-than-anticipated cut in funding for assistance to victims of sexual assault has caught many groups off guard, including Safe Harbor of Sheboygan County.
Last week, the Wisconsin Department of Justice, which administers about $2 million in Sexual Assault Victim Services grants to local agencies like Safe Harbor, said the decrease in grant money would amount to more than 42 percent. That's because revenue from a surcharge on fines for criminal convictions collected by the state have fallen sharply, resulting in a smaller pool of money from which to draw.
Funding cuts like this have a domino effect because they force social services agencies to use money that had been earmarked for another program or service, according to Laura Roenitz, executive director for Safe Harbor.
For Safe Harbor, the cut will mean it must curtail services in other areas in order to cover victim therapy and sexual assault prevention program costs the state money previously funded.
"It's significant and it's more than the money, it's the idea that we have to stop offering services," Roenitz said in response to Sheboygan Press inquiries for comment.
Read the full editorial on Sheboygan Press online…
Vos and Mason aim to restore funding to sexual assault victim grants
STEPHANIE JONES | Posted: Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Sexual assault service agencies statewide have been facing cuts, but Racine County's two Joint Finance Committee members said Wednesday they want to find alternatives to cutting at least some of $900,000 in state funding.
"I believe that we will be able to find other areas that are not as high of a priority," said Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, co-chairman of the Joint Finance Committee.
Likewise, Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, said, "Budgets are a reflection of your values and what you think is important. It's a bad set of priorities to say the biggest place we need to cut in the Department of Justice is victims of sexual assaults."
Terri DeWalt, the program supervisor for Sexual Assault Services in Racine, a part of Lutheran Social Services, said she expected to lose approximately $21,000 this year from the state for her program that provides counseling, an assistance hotline and crisis assistance for sexual assault victims.
And statewide, the Department of Justice estimated it would allocate approximately $900,000 less in grants for sexual assistance services, said Jill Karofsky, the executive director of crime victim services for the state Department of Justice.
Read the full story at the Journal Times online…
State cuts threaten Sheboygan sexual abuse prevention programs
Dec. 14, 2011 | Written by Janet Ortegon
A steep statewide cut in funding for sexual abuse prevention and treatment programs for 2012 is creating a crisis in Sheboygan County.
Safe Harbor, the domestic violence and sexual assault prevention agency, is reeling from the cut and trying to come up with a new plan, said Executive Director Laura Roenitz.
"Without those services, it's detrimental to communities," Roenitz said. "I understand we need to balance the budget, I get it. You hope it doesn't come down to services like this. It's catastrophic in the state."
Read the full story at Sheboygan Press.com…
The Joy Cardin Show
Monday, December 12, 2011
… on this week's wake-up call, Joy Cardin's guest lawmaker says Wisconsin should restore funding to groups providing help to sexual assault victims. Guest: Sandy Pasch (rhymes with ASH), Democratic State Representative from Whitefish Bay.
Listen to the recorded show on Wisconsin Public Radio (link to page with MP3 download).
Lawmakers seek to reinstate funding for sex assault victims
By Tim Damos, News Republic | Posted: Friday, December 9, 2011
A group of lawmakers want the state Department of Justice to reconsider its proposal to slash funding for sexual assault victim services.
In a letter Thursday to Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, a group of 24 Assembly Republicans requested the DOJ use $2 million from its discretionary spending budget to fully fund the Sexual Assault Victim Services program.
"Certainly, this program should be given higher priority than some of the previous expenditures made from this account, such as $3,500 for the purchase of pens and mugs for DOJ employees," the letter stated.
The DOJ scaled back the funding for the state's only sexual assault victim services grant program because of budget cuts enacted by Republican Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled Legislature. Budget lapses and a decrease in fees collected from convicted sexual assault perpetrators also have led to the funding shortage.
Read the full article on Wiscnews.com
WISCONSIN AGENCIES THAT HELP VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT FACE BIG BUDGET CUTS
December 08, 2011 by Patty Murray
(UNDATED) About 40 agencies that provide services to victims of sexual assault are bracing for major budget cuts.
In the 2011 budget year various agencies received just over $2 million from the Wisconsin Department of Justice. In 2012, that will drop to $1.1 million.
The money goes to SAVE grants. SAVE stands for sexual assault victims' services.
Ian Henderson is the director of legal services for the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault. He says the 42 percent cuts stem from three sources. One, an overall ten percent cut to all state agencies. Two, an additional five percent "lapse" in the budget. And three, revenue from fines is down, "This all happened within the span of a few weeks. Programs were not given very much notice."
Read, or listen to the WPR story online…
Tri-County Council bracing for impact of cut in grant funding
2/8/2011 7:30:00 AM
Heather Schaefer, Associate Editor
The Tri-County Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault will need community support to make up a huge deficit caused by a cut in grant funding from the state Department of Justice.
Shellie Homes, executive director of the nonprofit organization, said she recently learned the Department of Justice will be reducing her agency's grant allocation for sexual assault services by 42.5 percent in 2012, which translates to a loss of about $17,257.
"That is a huge, huge hit for us," she said, adding the grant money is used to employ a full-time sexual assault services advocate and provide services to sexual assault victims. Holmes said the agency sends someone to be with victims during hospital exams and staffers also give presentations at local schools. She said a lot of the work in the sexual assault services arena is geared toward prevention as well as providing medical and legal support to victims.
"More than ever we need community support to make up this huge deficit," she added.
Read the full story at the Northwoods River News…
State cuts sexual assault service funding
Sexual assault captures headlines, but Wisconsin’s only grant program devoted to serving victims of the crime is facing cuts of more than 40 percent in 2012.
By: Shelley Nelson, Superior Telegram
Sexual assault captures headlines, but Wisconsin’s only grant program devoted to serving victims of the crime is facing cuts of more than 40 percent in 2012.
The Sexual Assault Victim Services program grants are the sole state source of money for sexual assault service providers’ ability to provide direct services to victims and their families, including 24-hour crisis response, victim advocacy, and legal and medical advocacy.
“It’s definitely going to impact the 46 sexual assault service providers throughout the state, including CASDA,” said Kelly Burger, executive director of the Center Against Sexual and Domestic Abuse. She said they knew there was going to be another reduction, but the 42.5 percent highlighted in a letter received Friday was “a little devastating to read.”
Read the full story at Superior Telegram online.
Aid cuts catch sexual assault centers off guard
1:27 PM, Dec. 6, 2011 | Written by Michael Louis Vinson
Post-Crescent staff writer
[sidebar:] Affected Agencies
» APPLETON: Sexual Assault Crisis Center-Fox Cities. This agency services Outagamie and Calumet counties. 17 Park Place, Suite 400. Hotline: 1-800-722-7797. Office: 920-733-8119. www.sacc-foxcities.org or www.facebook.com/sacc.foxcities
» GREEN BAY: Sexual Assault Center of Family Services. This agency services Door, Brown, Marinette and Oconto counties. 300 Crooks St. Hotline: 920-436-8899. Office: 920-436-4360. www.familyservicesnew.org/sac
» NEENAH: Reach Counseling Services. This agency services Winnebago County. 1370 S. Commercial St. Hotline and office: 920-722-8150. www.reachcounseling.com
Surprised by larger-than- expected cuts in a state-funded grant to agencies that help sexual assault victims next year, nonprofit leaders across the Fox Valley are sprinting to fill the funding hole before Jan 1.
"We really are scrambling right now," Lyn Beyer, executive director of Reach Counseling Services in Neenah, said Monday. "We had been told up until a couple weeks ago that we would be anticipating a 10 percent cut in funding. Last week, we received a letter from the Department of Justice that in fact it would be a 42.5 percent cut."
The Justice Department said the cuts to the state's Sexual Assault Victim Services program were needed to offset dwindling revenue from criminal surcharges, which has tumbled 21 percent this year compared with 2008 figures.
Read the full story online…
State Cutting Back Funds to Sexual Assault Centers
Sexual assault centers across Wisconsin are assessing the potential damage after learning money from the state will no longer be there.
The Department of Justice awards grants to more than 40 different sexual assault agencies statewide, and they have recently been warned to expect far less money than first thought.
While both Justice Department officials and crisis workers are describing the cuts as drastic, the Justice Department is citing a number of reason in proposing cutting these grant budgets nearly in half.
First, a legislative mandate to cut from every state agency. Also, the funding source to support these sexual assault grants is producing less money than before.
"I was shocked, just shocked," Sue Lockwood, director of the Brown County Sexual Assault Center, said. "I think everyone who opened their letters were shocked."
Cut 42-and-a-half percent from next year's grant budget, funding used for crisis counselors and prevention at a time of growing demand.
"We're a crisis center. We need to respond immediately. A waiting list is just not an option for us," Helen Kobussen of the Fox Cities Sexual Assault Crisis Center said, "and so when that letter came and we were looking at a 42.5 percent cut in that funding, we thought, is this something we're going to have to consider?"
Even Justice Department officials call the proposed cuts devastating, but they say the program's revenue coming from criminal surcharges is somehow decreasing, which they're looking into.
Read the full story or watch video at WBAY.com…
Editorial: Cuts Put Kids At Risk
GOP is cutting help to assault victims now?
By Neil Heinen, Editorial Director
12/05/11
The Associated Press story in Monday morning's Wisconsin State Journal on a 42-percent cut in State Justice Department Sexual Assault Victim Services grants is absolutely stunning. At a time when national stories about sexual predators are drawing unprecedented public attention to the crime of sexual assault, the timing of such cuts could hardly be worse. And these aren't just budget reductions in tough times. These will gut some agencies offering vital services to families and victims and kids.
It appears as if Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, who has made cracking down on sexual predators a priority, was blindsided by the size of the cuts. And his request to Republican legislators to exempt the programs from the cuts was ignored. Not the first time Republicans in the legislature have ignored a smart request from their own Attorney General. So if Van Hollen can't talk some sense to these folks who can? The priorities of the majority party are becoming increasingly clear, and increasingly worrisome. And now, downright dangerous.
Proof & Hearsay
Crime, courts and legal issues in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin
Sex assault victim service funding cut 42%
By Bruce Vielmetti of the Journal Sentinel
Dec. 5, 2011 |
Grants to programs that assist and advocate for the victims of sexual assault will suffer a 42.5% cut by the state Department of Justice, the Associated Press reports.
Service providers were reeling from the news.
"These are disastrous cuts," Pennie Meyers, interim executive director of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said in a statement to the AP. "(The cuts) will seriously imperil our members' ability to meet the needs of sexual assault survivors."
Department officials say they're under the same mandate to reduce budgets 10% as other arms of government, and that charges assessed on criminals that finance the grants have shrunk by about $400,000 over the past three years.
"It doesn't serve victims if we lay off people who investigate crimes and prosecute crimes. We really don't have much choice here," DOJ Executive Assistant Steve Means told the AP.
Read online at the JournalSentinel blog…
State cuts affect sex assault victims
By Tim Damos | Posted: Monday, December 5, 2011 3:30 am |
Advocates for sexual assault victims say support programs will see a 42.5 percent decrease in funding next year because of state budget cuts.
"Nonprofits are used to trying to do more with less," said Ellen Allen, executive director of the Baraboo-based sexual assault services organization Hope House of South Central Wisconsin. "But honestly, at some point we're going to have to do less with less."
Hope House - which serves victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in a five-county area - received about $175,000 from the state's Sexual Assault Victim Services program this year and is expecting about a $75,000 reduction next year.
Read the full story at Baraboo News Republic online…
Sex assault victim aid to be cut in Wisconsin
The AP | Posted: Monday, December 5, 2011 12:00 am |
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Wisconsin Justice Department has warned organizations that help sexual assault victims to expect drastic reductions in state aid next year, a surprise move by an agency that has prided itself on capturing sexual predators.
Justice Department officials informed service providers around the state this month it plans to cut grants from its Sexual Assault Victim Services program by 42.5 percent this year. The announcement blindsided service providers who rely on the grants to pay for therapy, crisis intervention and education. They expected cuts, they said, but never thought they would be so dramatic.
"These are disastrous cuts," Pennie Meyers, interim executive director of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said in a statement. "(The cuts) will serious imperil our members' ability to meet the needs of sexual assault survivors."
The cuts pose a potential public relations black eye for the Justice Department as well. Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has made cracking down on sexual predators who prey on children via the Internet his signature issue. Now his agency plans to cut back on dollars that could help those predators' victims.
Read the full story online at the LaCrosse Tribune
WI State Cuts Hurt CASDA Slightly
Posted at: 12/05/2011 4:57 PM | Updated at: 12/05/2011 11:05 PM
By: Katey Rusch
The Wisconsin Department of Justice announced last week they would drastically cut funding to Sexual Assault Victim Services. Locally however an organization said the cuts aren't as bad as they sound.
The Center Against Sexual and Domestic Abuse or CASDA provides help for victims of sexual and domestic violence in northern Wisconsin and Duluth. This proposed cut would take $18,000 from the non-profits $650,000 budget. The Director of CASDA said this cut will hurt but it won't be devastating nor will they have to terminate services.
"Sexual assault is a huge part of our mission so we need to be here to provide those services to women and children and men who need that support and that advocacy, said Kelly Burger, Executive Director of CASDA.
Burger said they plan to handle the cut by cutting back full-time employee hours.
Video available online at wdio.com
State DOJ plans to reduce sex assault victim grants by 42.5 percent
TODD RICHMOND | Associated Press | Posted: Sunday, December 4, 2011 11:39 am
The Wisconsin Justice Department has warned organizations that help sexual assault victims to expect drastic reductions in state aid next year, a surprise move for an agency that has prided itself on capturing sexual predators.
Justice Department officials informed service providers around the state this month it plans to cut grants from its Sexual Assault Victim Services program by 42.5 percent this year. The announcement blindsided service providers who rely on the grants to pay for therapy, crisis intervention and education. They expected cuts, they said, but never thought they would be so dramatic.
"These are disastrous cuts," Pennie Meyers, interim executive director of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said in a statement. "(The cuts) will serious imperil our members' ability to meet the needs of sexual assault survivors."
The cuts pose a potential public relations black eye for the Justice Department as well. Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has made cracking down on sexual predators who prey on children via the Internet his signature issue. Now his agency plans to cut back on dollars that could help those predators' victims.
Read the full article at Wisc. State Journal online.
Wis. DOJ plans to reduce sex assault victim grants
By ASSOCIATED PRESS Sunday, December 4, 2011 - 1:25 p.m.
Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Justice Department has warned organizations that help sexual assault victims to expect drastic reductions in state aid next year, a surprise move for an agency that has prided itself on capturing sexual predators.
Justice Department officials informed service providers around the state this month it plans to cut grants from its Sexual Assault Victim Services program by 42.5 percent this year. The announcement blindsided service providers who rely on the grants to pay for therapy, crisis intervention and education. They expected cuts, they said, but never thought they would be so dramatic.
“These are disastrous cuts,” Pennie Meyers, interim executive director of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said in a statement. “(The cuts) will serious imperil our members’ ability to meet the needs of sexual assault survivors.”
The cuts pose a potential public relations black eye for the Justice Department as well. Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has made cracking down on sexual predators who prey on children via the Internet his signature issue. Now his agency plans to cut back on dollars that could help those predators’ victims.
Read the full article online at Janesville Gazette.com
Wis. DOJ Plans to Reduce Sex Assault Victim Grants
Posted Sunday, December 4, 2011
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Wisconsin Justice Department plans to dramatically cut funding for organizations that help sexual assault victims.
DOJ provides grants to victim service providers through its Sexual Assault Victim Services program. Agency officials warned providers in November that they plan to cut the grants by 42.5 percent.
DOJ officials say they had to make the cuts because the state budget has imposed a 10 percent cut to all state agencies and another $174.3 million in cuts on top of that.
The Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault is calling the cuts disastrous. DOJ officials say they are aware of the challenges the cuts present but they have little choice.
Read and or view video at NBC15.com
Sexual Assault Programs Encounter Shortfall
ARTICLE | DECEMBER 3, 2011 - 7:04PM | ASHLAND CURRENT
At a time when events around the country have focused attention on sexual assault, Wisconsin’s only grant program devoted to direct services for sexual assault victims is slated to be cut more than 40 percent in 2012, says a state coalition.
Sexual Assault Victim Services program grants are the sole state source of funds for projects and organizations across the state, says the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault. The group says the funds are vital to sexual assault service providers being able to provide support for victims and their families including: 24-hour crisis response, victim advocacy, and criminal justice, legal and medical advocacy.
The New Day Shelter in Ashland is a recipient of this funding.
Read the full story online in the Ashland Current…
Sexual assault programs face steep funding cut
By Trent Artus | Posted: Dec 02, 2011
Eau Claire (WQOW) - An important program for victims of sexual assault is facing a significant cut in funding.
Sexual Assault Victims Service or SAVS is the only source of funding for sexual assault programs in Wisconsin. Recently dozens of agencies across the state were told their funding was being cut by more than 40 percent in 2012.
Among those agencies are the Bolton Refuge House in Eau Claire, which faces a cut of nearly $7,000, Bridge to Hope in Menomonie with a reduction of $13,000 and a loss of nearly $23,000 for the Family Support Center in Chippewa Falls.
In 2012, the Bolton Refuge House was expecting just under $17,000 from the SAVS program.
"Primarily for the victim advocates position, the hours, the time you sit with the victim to help them through that criminal justice process," says Jerry Wilkie, Bolton Refuge House Executive Director. "Part of it is the time by the victim advocate of trying to heal."
Read the full article on WQOW.com
Funding for sexual assault programs decreases
By Ally Boutelle
Thursday, December 1, 2011 6:10 p.m.
Updated Friday, December 2, 2011 2:12:02 a.m.
A public grant program which provides funding and help to victims of sexual assault in Wisconsin is scheduled for a significant cut in 2012, posing a threat to its available services.
According to a statement from the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the funding for the Sexual Assault Victim Services program will be reduced by 42.5 percent from current levels.
The cuts will create a drastic deficit in the state of Wisconsin, Pennie Meyers, WCASA interim executive director, said in a statement.
“SAVS and the local sexual assault service providers it funds are directly responsible for helping victims and are instrumental in efforts to hold perpetrators accountable,” she said. “There is no substitute for SAVS in Wisconsin.”
According to the statement, SAVS is the only provider of funding for services that include advocacy and counseling services, 24/7 crisis telephone services, intervention and prevention education and services for at-risk or hard-to-reach victims statewide.
Read the whole article at BadgerHerald online
Pentagon works on new plan to curb sex assaults
Assoc. Press | PAULINE JELINEK and ROBERT BURNS | Published: Jan 18, 2012
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon is preparing a series of new initiatives to try to curb sexual assaults in the military, the defense chief said Wednesday, calling the problem a stain on the honor of the armed forces.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said there were 3,191 sexual assaults reported in the military last year, which would be a slight increase from the 3,158 reported in 2010. But he said that because so few victims report the crime, the real number is closer to 19,000 assaults.
"It is an affront to the basic American values we defend and it is a stain on the good honor of the great majority of our troops and our families," Panetta told a Pentagon press conference.
For more, read the full story at the AP online…
Support the Child Victims Act
Cap Times editorial | Posted: Monday, November 28, 2011 5:26 am
Some issues go beyond ideology, party and politics.
Child abuse tops the list.
And we hope that members of the Wisconsin Legislature will recognize and respect this basic premise.
State Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point, and state Rep. Sandy Pasch, D-Whitefish Bay, have introduced landmark legislation aimed at protecting victims of sexual abuse by removing the civil statute of limitations in sex assault and rape cases involving children.
The legislation, for which Lassa and Pasch are now seeking co-sponsors, is the Child Victims Act. To our view, it addresses a serious flaw in existing statutes.
Read the full story on Cap TImes.com
Sexual assault victim advocates want specialized nurses staffing hospitals 24/7
3,000 have signed an online petition demanding hospitals stop "turning away" victims
Tami Hughes
FOX6 Reporter
5:26 p.m. CST, November 23, 2011
WITI-TV, MILWAUKEE— Only two Milwaukee area hospitals are staffed with nurses specializing in sexual assault treatment 24 hours a day, and victims say every hospital should have these nurses available all the time. Over 3,000 people have signed an online petition demanding Milwaukee area hospitals stop turning away victims of sexual assault, but hospitals say they are prepared to treat victims of sexual assault, while acknowledging that not all of them specialize in this kind of care.
The two hospitals staffed with these nurses specializing in sexual assault care all the time are Aurora Sinai in Milwaukee, and Aurora West Allis. These nurses are knows as SANE nurses, or sexual assault nurse examiners, and people like Michelle Stander-Reimer are making it their mission to get these nurses into all area hospitals, all the time.
Stander-Reimer was the organizer of Slut Walk Milwaukee, an event held over the summer to raise awareness on "victim-blaming," and now, they're turning their attention to the online petition focusing on making more SANE nurses available to victims. "If you are raped, they can administer a rape kit, but also, work with you in terms of your physical needs and your emotional needs," Stander-Reimer said.
Read the full story or watch video on Fox6 News online…
National Study Finds Widespread Sexual Harassment of Students in Grades 7 to 12
By JENNY ANDERSON
Published: November 7, 2011
Nearly half of 7th to 12th graders experienced sexual harassment in the last school year, according to a study scheduled for release on Monday, with 87 percent of those who have been harassed reporting negative effects such as absenteeism, poor sleep and stomachaches.
On its survey of a nationally representative group of 1,965 students, the American Association of University Women, a nonprofit research organization, defined harassment as “unwelcome sexual behavior that takes place in person or electronically.” Over all, girls reported being harassed more than boys — 56 percent compared with 40 percent — though it was evenly divided during middle school. Boys were more likely to be the harassers, according to the study, and children from lower-income families reported more severe effects.
“It’s pervasive, and almost a normal part of the school day,” said Catherine Hill, the director of research at the association and one of the authors of the report.
Over all, 48 percent of students surveyed said they were harassed during the 2010-11 school year. Forty-four percent of students said they were harassed “in person” — being subjected to unwelcome comments or jokes, inappropriate touching or sexual intimidation — and 30 percent reported online harassment, like receiving unwelcome comments, jokes or pictures through texts, e-mail, Facebook and other tools, or having sexual rumors, information or pictures spread about them.
Read the full story on NYT.com…
Rape Definition Too Narrow in Federal Statistics, Critics Say
By ERICA GOODE | Published: September 28, 2011
WASHINGTON — Thousands of sexual assaults that occur in the United States every year are not reflected in the federal government’s yearly crime report because the report uses an archaic definition of rape that is far narrower than the definitions used by most police departments.
Many law enforcement officials and advocates for women say that this underreporting misleads the public about the prevalence of rape and results in fewer federal, state and local resources being devoted to catching rapists and helping rape victims. Rape crisis centers are among groups that cite the federal figures in applying for private and public financing.
“The public has the right to know about the prevalence of crime and violent crime in our communities, and we know that data drives practices, resources, policies and programs,” said Carol Tracy, executive director of the Women’s Law Project in Philadelphia, whose office has campaigned to get the F.B.I. to change its definition of sexual assault. “It’s critical that we strive to have accurate information about this.”
Read the full article on NYT.com… 
Bringing the Message to Prime Time…
Last month, our allies in A CALL TO MEN joined the Joyful Heart Foundation, NBC, Wolf Films and 1in6 to promote a powerful and important episode of Law & Order SVU, which shone a light on the often-untold stories of male survivors of unwanted or abusive sexual experiences.
"Personal Fouls" focuses on the sexual abuse of young male basketball players. The show also has guest appearances by basketball stars Carmelo Anthony (NY Knicks) and Chris Bosh (Miami Heat).
The episode aired Sept. 28th, but it is available to view online. Visit the Joyful Heart Foundation Engaging Men page for info on the episode.
70 Percent of Anti-LGBT Murder Victims Are People of Color
by MIchael Lavers
Monday, July 18 2011, 9:29 AM EST
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs released its annual report on hate violence motivated by sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and HIV status last week. The report documents 27 anti-LGBT murders in 2010, which is the second highest annual total recorded since 1996. A whopping 70 percent of these 27 victims were people of color; 44 percent of them were transgender women.
The study also found that transgender people and people of color are each twice as likely to experience violence or discrimination as non-transgender white people. Transgender people of color are also almost 2.5 times as likely to experience discrimination as their white peers.
Read the full article online at ColorLines…
Hate crimes against gay, transgender people rise, report says
July 13, 2011
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs report says violent crimes against people in the LGBT community rose 13% in 2010, and that minorities and transgender women were more likely to be targeted.
The report, released Tuesday, showed a 13% increase over 2009 in violent crimes committed against people because of their perceived or actual sexual orientation, gender identity or status as HIV positive, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.
Read the full report at the L.A. Times online…
Cases shed light on lapses in sexual assault reporting at Marquette
June 21, 2011|By Ryan Haggerty and Stacy St. Clair, Tribune reporters
MILWAUKEE — On a chilly Sunday morning, a 19-year-old Marquette University student walked into the campus security office and tearfully reported being raped by an athlete just hours earlier.
She says two of the officers on duty that February day dismissed her claim, telling her they didn't know whether it was a crime because she alleged the encounter began as consensual sex and ended as an assault.
Read the full article online at the Chicago Tribune
SlutWalks and the future of feminism
By Jessica Valenti, Published: June 3 • The Washington Post
More than 40 years after feminists tossed their bras and high heels into a trash can at the 1968 Miss America pageant — kicking off the bra-burning myth that will never die — some young women are taking to the streets to protest sexual assault, wearing not much more than what their foremothers once dubbed “objects of female oppression” in marches called SlutWalks.
It’s a controversial name, which is in part why the organizers picked it.
Read the full article online at the Washington Post…
She’s 10 and May Be Sold to a Brothel • 
<nyt_headline version="1.0" type=" ">By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF – Published: June 1, 2011
These days, Unicef estimates that 1.8 million children a year enter the commercial sex trade. Multiply M. by 1.8 million, and you understand the need for a new abolitionist movement.
Read the full article on the New York Times online...
Defense Attorneys Seek Alleged Victim's Facebook Postings
by R. Robin McDonald
From Law Technology News
Shortly after an Alpharetta, Ga., man was charged with sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman as she slept in the adjoining seat on a Delta Air Lines flight from Dallas to Atlanta last fall, a friend of the man's son "friended" the victim on Facebook.
The son's friend then passed the information he had gleaned to defense attorneys who began contacting the victim's network of friends and family, according to federal prosecutors in Atlanta. That access to the victim's Facebook page also prompted attorneys for Alpharetta resident Ranchhodbhai Lakha, 61, to seek a court order forcing Facebook to surrender all of the victim's public and private Facebook posts, including comments on her wall, chats with friends, messages, photos, notes, and relationship status updates.
Read the full article on Law Tech News …
Hotel Maid’s Accusations of Sexual Assault by IMF Director Highlight Dangers Faced by Immigrant Women
By <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/who-we-are/staff/monic
