Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

["Thompson, Stephen M." <>]

Hello

We have a 24/7 peer advocate program that has been in existence since 1997.  
It is made up of 45 student volunteers that have received over 40 hours of 
training.  Advocates carry a cell phone and directly respond to callers.  In 
1997 our advocates had twelve contacts.  This semester alone they have 
received approximately 200.  For more information please go to 
www.sapa.cmich.edu..

Steve

Stephen M. Thompson
Sexual Aggression Services Coordinator
Central Michigan University
SAC 195
Mt. Pleasant, MI. 48859
Phone: 989-774-6677
Web:  www.stephenmthompson.com
Web:  www.sapa.cmich.edu


-----Original Message-----
From: 

 
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 On Behalf Of 

Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 12:04 PM
To: 

Subject: SAPC Digest, Vol 1103, Issue 1

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Today's Topics:

   1. Seuxal Assault Advocate Programs Questions (Linder,Chris)
   2. Re: Seuxal Assault Advocate Programs Questions (Angela Seguin)
   3. FW: Sororities say they were duped by man posing as
      self-defense      instructor (Chad Sniffen)
   4. David Portnoy - Self-Defense Cons Around the Country
      (Chad Sniffen)
   5. Support Operation Freefall
      (Ben Atherton-Zeman - Feminist,   Actor and Husband)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:22:57 -0700
From: "Linder,Chris" 
<>
Subject: Seuxal Assault Advocate Programs Questions
To: 
""
 
<>,
        
""
 
<>
Message-ID:
        
<>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi all - At Colorado State University we have a 24-hour on-call system for 
sexual assault survivors to speak with a peer advocate (called the Victim 
Assistance Team). Currently, survivors call CSUPD dispatch and give a name 
and number, and the advocate calls back. Even though this is a separate 
process from reporting to the police, we have become concerned that simply 
having the police answer the calls creates a barrier to services (since many 
survivors may not want to have any contact with the police at all).

We would appreciate if those if you who have 24-hour on-call advocacy 
programs would be willing to share how you handle this on your campus. Do the 
calls go to the advocate directly? Do you use pagers? Cell phones? Some type 
of answering service?

Also, for anyone who has a peer advocacy service, what do you call your 
group? We are also considering a name change because we have been getting 
calls unrelated to sexual assault.

We'd appreciate any feedback  you can provide.

Thanks!

Chris

Chris Linder
Director, Women's Programs & Studies
Instructor, Department of Ethnic Studies
112  Student Services
Fort Collins, CO 80523-8200
Phone: (970) 491-6384
Fax: (970) 491-4922

wps.colostate.edu



------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:46:32 -0500
From: "Angela Seguin" 
<>
Subject: Re: Seuxal Assault Advocate Programs Questions
To: "Linder, Chris" 
<>,
        
<>
Message-ID: 
<>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
        reply-type=original

At the University of Delaware, our organization is called Sexual Offense 
Support (S.O.S.).  Most students know the group by the acronym, but we have 
talked about changing the formal name because our victim advocates assist 
survivors of both sexual assault and intimate partner violence.  We also 
sometimes get "other" calls that we end up referring to the psychologist on 
call or another relevant resource.

Our system sounds very similar to yours, except that students wishing to 
reach us call the Student Health Service to access our advocates.  The 
office staff or night nurse on duty answer the phone, and when a caller asks 
to access SOS, the office staff/nurse takes down a first name and phone 
number.   Then they page the victim advocate, who calls in to retrieve the 
name and number.  The advocate phones the caller back directly.

The local rape crisis service in Delaware functions in a similar way - 
callers phone into the rape crisis number and a name & number are taken 
down.  The call center then contacts the advocate on duty via their personal 
cell phone number.  (They used to provide beepers but find it less expensive 
and more effective to call the advocate's cell phone instead.)

We have had similar thoughts about removing the "middle man" and taking 
Student Health out of the loop in hopes of making the service more 
approachable for students who do not wish to involve another agency.  But we 
have not found an affordable alternative.  Also students who need our 
service often show up at Student Health for medical services, so it has been 
useful to continue functioning this way.  I hope others reply to the whole 
list with their info because we are always open to newer, more effective 
approaches!

Angela

Angela DiNunzio Seguin
Program Coordinator
S.O.S. (Sexual Offense Support)
Wellspring: Student Wellness Program
University of Delaware
(302) 831-3457
http://www.udel.edu/wellspring



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Linder,Chris" 
<>
To: 
<>;
 
<>
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 2:22 PM
Subject: Seuxal Assault Advocate Programs Questions


> Hi all - At Colorado State University we have a 24-hour on-call system for 
> sexual assault survivors to speak with a peer advocate (called the Victim 
> Assistance Team). Currently, survivors call CSUPD dispatch and give a name 
> and number, and the advocate calls back. Even though this is a separate 
> process from reporting to the police, we have become concerned that simply 
> having the police answer the calls creates a barrier to services (since 
> many survivors may not want to have any contact with the police at all).
>
> We would appreciate if those if you who have 24-hour on-call advocacy 
> programs would be willing to share how you handle this on your campus. Do 
> the calls go to the advocate directly? Do you use pagers? Cell phones? 
> Some type of answering service?
>
> Also, for anyone who has a peer advocacy service, what do you call your 
> group? We are also considering a name change because we have been getting 
> calls unrelated to sexual assault.
>
> We'd appreciate any feedback  you can provide.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Chris
>
> Chris Linder
> Director, Women's Programs & Studies
> Instructor, Department of Ethnic Studies
> 112  Student Services
> Fort Collins, CO 80523-8200
> Phone: (970) 491-6384
> Fax: (970) 491-4922
> 
> wps.colostate.edu
>
> _______________________________________________
> SAPC mailing list
> 
> https://list.mail.virginia.edu/mailman/listinfo/sapc
> 



------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:02:41 -0800
From: "Chad Sniffen" 
<>
Subject: FW: Sororities say they were duped by man posing as
        self-defense    instructor
To: 
<>
Message-ID:
        
<>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

From: http://tinyurl.com/5mejle

Sororities say they were duped by man posing as self-defense instructor
By: Mary Harrington - The Daily Iowan
Posted: 12/15/08

Hundreds of sorority members showed up to presentations this year
expecting to learn self-defense from an accredited instructor.

But the man - who called himself David Portnoy to some and David Parker
to others - was a fraud.

Search results for the man in Missouri, where he claimed to be from,
yielded no results.

"I kind of smelled a rat when he came," Delta Gamma member Rachel Kodner
said. "I thought it was strange he showed up without any pamphlets,
business cards, or contact information."

The man was known to have last been at the Pi Beta Phi house on Dec. 7,
presenting self-defense moves to roughly 60 sorority members, and he has
visited at least three other houses on campus this year.

He claimed he was affiliated with the Women's Safety Education Group, a
Washington-based organization offering women's safety seminars.

But that organization posted a disclaimer on its website, saying
officials there had received complaints regarding the man and that he
has never been affiliated with the group.

In his presentations to the sorority members, he talked at length about
the history of the organization and his involvement with it.

The presentations were offered for free, but the man urged the members
to purchase containers of pepper spray he brought to sell. He set up
deals, selling one bottle for $18, or three for $30, said Treacy Weldon,
the president of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Almost everyone in the house bought
at least one bottle, she said. The same was true in the Pi Beta Phi
house and the Delta Gamma house, members said. Weldon said the man
contacted her to pitch his services.

The sorority members wrote checks out to a man named Lawrence Portnoy,
who the instructor claimed was the father of a rape victim.

The man devoted nearly a third of his hour-long presentation to pushing
his pepper-spray product, urging the members to buy for their sisters,
mothers, and grandmothers, said Pi Beta Phi member Stephanie DiGiorgio.

"He gave a lot of startling statistics that were freaking us out," she
said.

The man told groups about teaching 7-year-old Girl Scouts his
martial-arts moves and then teaching adult football players the moves.

"He had good stories, and I felt like he knew when and how to deliver
the stories, listening to the women's reactions," Kodner said. "He
claimed to be a third-degree black belt," she said about the man, who
was described as overweight and slightly balding.

Although Kodner observed no "blatant inappropriate touching" during the
presentations, she said she thought some of the moves he demonstrated
were "borderline," such as grabbing women from behind and locking his
arms around the upper body.

DiGiorgio said the man made one of the women pinch his inner thigh as
part of the demonstration.

"It can be a valid move to make," said Karla Miller, the executive
director of the Rape-Victim Advocacy Program. "However, I would consider
it inappropriate for the women to actually participate in the
demonstration of it."

Situations such as these may be more easily avoided if a known group,
like UI police, is called for instructions instead. A thorough
background check is also helpful, she said.

"In general, there are oftentimes individuals who will take advantage of
others' legitimate concerns about safety," Miller said. "Unfortunately,
their instructions may be unscrupulous or inappropriate as well."

Iowa City police Sgt. Troy Kelsay said no formal complaints have been
made to authorities and that other than posing as a member of an
organization and lying about his identity, there was likely not much
criminal activity involved.


------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:27:43 -0800
From: "Chad Sniffen" 
<>
Subject: David Portnoy - Self-Defense Cons Around the Country
To: 
<>
Message-ID:
        
<>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

I don't mean to spam the SAPC list with news about this person, but I
was somewhat shocked to find that the questionable self-defense
instructor (David Portnoy) I just emailed the list about has recently
been giving classes to sororities around the country, including DePauw
and UC Davis (which is in the city I live in, and where I volunteer...
as a women's self-defense instructor).

There are a few recent news stories about David Portnoy at the blog
linked here:
http://safetyinseattlenews.blogspot.com/2008/11/portrait-of-con-artist-a
s-self-defense.html

Also, if any of you remember the 'Pony Tail Email' (e.g. "The #1 thing
men look for in a potential victim is hairstyle. They are most likely to
go after a woman with a ponytail, bun, braid, or other hairstyle that
can easily be grabbed.") - the source of that information is attributed
to David Portnoy as well. See:
http://www.snopes.com/crime/prevent/rape.asp


----- ----- -----
Chad Keoni Sniffen 
Prevention Services Coordinator 
California Coalition Against Sexual Assault 


 
(916) 446-2520 : Extension 315 
(916) 446-8166 : FAX 
(916) 446-8802 : TTY 

www.CALCASA.org / www.PreventConnect.org
www.MyStrength.org  /  www.MiFuerza.org



------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:57:51 -0500
From: "Ben Atherton-Zeman - Feminist,   Actor and Husband"
        
<>
Subject: Support Operation Freefall
To: 
<>,
 
<>,
        
<>
Cc: Marilyn Bray 
<>
Message-ID: 
<>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="iso-8859-1"

Hello, friends and colleagues in sexual assault prevention!

My friend Marilyn Bray is jumping out of an airplane this April 25!  Will you 
dare to join her?  

If (like me) you are too scared or busy to jump out of a plane, you can help 
by contributing to her or others' fundraising for this event: 
http://www.firstgiving.com/marilynbray2.  I am so proud of her and the other ;
jumpers who are reclaiming their power by participating in Operation Freefall 
- I just contributed myself. 

Marilyn Bray is raising money for SOAR - Speaking Out Against Rape.  I hope 
you will help, jump, or just continue to do your wonderful work to prevent 
and end sexual violence.  

Until the violence stops, Ben.  

Ben Atherton-Zeman, Maynard, MA USA
Actor, Comedian, Feminist and Husband
Presenting a One-Man Play: "Voices of Men," 
http://www.voicesofmen.org/CanIseevideoclips.htm ;(website under construction, 
but video clips are available)
Booking information: 978-897-3619

Quote of the Month: December, 2008:
"In this season of gift-giving, YOU are the gift." 
- Angela Shelton: filmmaker, activist and survivor of sexual abuse.  
http://www.angelashelton.com.   ;
See Angela Shelton, myself and many others at the Battered Mother's Custody 
Conference in Albany, NY this January 9-11: 
http://www.batteredmotherscustodyconference.org/. ;


------------------------------

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End of SAPC Digest, Vol 1103, Issue 1
*************************************