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

Dear colleagues;

Please resist the ideas and stories about "backlogs" of "rape kits" - 

This is a distracting potentially dangerous idea, but at a minimum, it wastes precious resources and takes the focus off the real reason rape kits aren't tested.  It isn't that cops and prosecutors aren't doing their job (which is not to say they don't need to do a much better job) - but the ways that they are failing women have nothing to do with NOT testing rape kits.

The REAL reason so many kits are stacked up around the country is that they contain IRRELEVANT evidence that, if tested, will reveal private, constitutionally protected information about a victim's consensual sex life.  85% of victims KNOW their attacker - which is why we don't need rape kits to find the rapists - we just need to believe that a consent defense case is worth prosecuting.  In 85% of cases, the victim knows her attacker, and the attacker admits there was sexual penetration.  In a majority of rape cases, there is no ejaculation.  The only thing disputed is consent and that will NEVER be discovered in a rape kit.  So why all this energy around getting old rape kits tested?  It's so ridiculous.  At a minimum, people should ONLY be demanding tests on kits where the perp is "unknown".  It would be far cheaper and would violate fewer victims' privacy for no purpose except to generate false claims about whether the man she accused is the "real" rapist.  

This nonsense about testing old cases is coming from politically charged/biased interests --  people who stand to gain in terms of funding AND in terms of using irrelevant evidence to make false claims about what DNA evidence really means in a rape case.  Why aren't SANE program nurses up in arms about this - angry that victims who KNOW their attacker would nevertheless be subjected to a gratuitous invasion of their privacy years after the fact, for no purpose?  And why aren't advocates AT LEAST angry that the victims - whose rights are at stake - aren't even being consulted, or asked whether they AGREE to have the contents of their genitals tested?  Where's the ACLU?  They filed a lawsuit recently against prosecutors in massachusetts who retained samples of men's DNA even after the men volunteered to give a sample in order to help identify a possible murderer.  The ACLU said the prosecution is not allowed to keep the samples any longer.  But why isn't the ACLU filing suit to forbid the government to not only KEEP the contents of women's bodies but test the biological material - even without the women's consent?

The Innocence Project people and the criminal defense bar have chosen to focus on sex crimes and sex murders in the retesting of old cases - and the Innocence Project claims it has data showing that over 200 "innocent" men have been "exonerated" though new DNA tests on old evidence.

In fact, almost all of those 200 cases are "factually guilty" men whose convictions were reversed NOT because they were innocent but because the victim had someone else's DNA in her body or underwear etc.  All that proves is that she had sex with someone else.  It tells us nothing about the accused perp's guilt or innocence.

At least two articles have been published claiming that the work of the Innocence Project now provides "scientific proof" that women disproportionately lie about sexual violence.  In fact, the project targeted cases with sexually active women, prostitutes, etc - and the data have rarely been reported by the media in a manner that tells the truth.  I have been working with a few of my students for a few years and we recently gave a paper on the preliminary data where we prove that at least 80% of IP "exonerations" are guilty men who misstated the relevancy of DNA to falsely proclaim their innocence.  Ours is the first "paper' that uses hard data to disprove the claims about women making false claims.  Hopefully our talk will be heard in many venues and we can help educate victims and advocates about the harm of supporting DNA testing as a good thing in the move toward fairer justice for victims.

A much better way to achieve justice would be to screen jurors to deselect those with biases and rape myths - and to mobilize the public to elect prosecutors in part based on their willingness to pursue charges and to reveal all their data about cases that they decline.  Forced revelation of declination rates will ensure much better prosecution rates than adding resources to rape kit testing.

Advocates should be angry about all the news stories on such a silly issue - and they should be demanding a focused look at the REAL systemic issues that deny rape victims access to justice.

Wendy Murphy

-----Original Message-----
From:
To:
Sent: Sun, Oct 31, 2010 11:05 pm
Subject: sapc Digest Sun, 31 Oct 2010

sapc Digest Sun, 31 Oct 2010

Table of contents:

1. Job posting - Lori Bristow <>
2. Webinar on evidence backlog - "Kaplan, Claire (cnk2r)" <>
3. National survey of college and university men's programming - "Joseph Vess" 
<>


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

Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:14:36 -0400
From: Lori Bristow <>
Subject: Job posting

Hi all,
Please see the attached ad (or below) for a Violence Prevention Coordinator
job posting.
Many thanks,
Lori

___________________

Lori A. Bristow, M.A.

Staff Clinician

Dickinson College

P.O. Box 1773

Carlisle, PA 17013-2896

Office: 717.245.1485

Fax: 717.245.1910



*Use of e-mail is not a secure form of communication.  Therefore,
confidentiality cannot be assured.*

*P **Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this
e-mail & any documents.***



*Violence Prevention Coordinator*

* The Women�s Center*

*Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA)*



Title:  Violence Prevention Coordinator                 Salary
Grade: $45,000 per annum

Job Status:  Full-time, grant-funded (three years)         Schedule: 40
hours per week

Reports to:  Susannah Bartlow
POSN:   Violence Prevention Coordinator



Starts:  January 3, 2011



*General Summary of Responsibilities*

Dickinson College seeks an experienced relationship and sexual violence
prevention professional to expand and enhance its response to sexual
assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking on campus.  Through
a grant from the Department of Justice�s Office of Violence Against Women,
the Coordinator will be charged with creating a comprehensive and lasting
violence prevention program on Dickinson�s campus that extends the
existing coordinated
community response; develops and delivers training and resources for the
college�s Department of Public Safety and conduct board members; and
develops, enhances, and institutionalizes college-wide education and
prevention activities.



A competitive candidate will have experience with budget management and
program assessment and reporting; and familiarity with campus violence
prevention, underserved populations (for example, LGBTQ individuals, women
of color, men), and/or work on masculinity. Applicants who advance
Dickinson�s strategic commitment to diversity and/or those experienced
working in private, residential college environments, are encouraged to
apply.



*About Dickinson and the Women�s Center*
Dickinson College prepares young people, by means of a useful and
progressive education in the liberal arts and sciences, for engaged lives of
citizenship and leadership in the service of society.  Dickinson is an
independent, highly selective, residential liberal-arts college with 2,340
full-time students representing 44 states and territories and 41 foreign
countries; 14 percent students of color and 6 percent international.  Chartered
in 1783 in Carlisle, PA, Dickinson focuses its strategic commitments on
academic excellence, sustainability, and diversity.  Dickinson�s violence
prevention position will include liaisons with national violence prevention
leadership organizations the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and the
Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence.


The Women�s Center is a Student Development resource center that offers
education and services in three key areas:  gender and sexuality, including
gender fluidity, sex-positive violence prevention education, and
relationship and sexual violence victim support and advocacy; supportive
community for women-identified and LGBTQ students, faculty and staff; and
student development and leadership opportunities.



*Education and Experience Required:*

   - Master�s Degree or equivalent experience and a Bachelor�s Degree
   emphasizing relationship violence prevention or related field (Social Work,
   Psychology, Counseling, Higher Education/Student Affairs, Women�s Studies,
   Sociology, etc.)
   - Demonstrated experience with at least one of these research-proven
   areas:
      - campus sexual/relationship violence prevention
      - prevention with underserved communities (LGBTQ, women of color, men)
      - outreach and work on masculinity
   - Familiarity with victim intake processes and coordinated prevention and
   response partnerships
   - Willingness to work in collaboration with student schedules, including
   events or meetings on evenings and weekends as appropriate
   - Familiarity with federal grant processes a plus



*Essential Functions*:

Expand, enhance and institutionalize a Violence Prevention Program based on
these mandates:

�     Developing internal and external partnerships for effective
coordinated community response, including service contracts with local
victim service agencies and support and guidance for college partners.

�     Coordinating trainings to ensure that the Department of Public
Safety, Student Development staff, conduct board members, and community team
members are equipped to respond in ways that support victim safety and
confidentiality, offender accountability, and long-term reduction and
cessation of violence.

�     Expanding, conducting, and creating college-wide education and
prevention activities so that the institution establishes effective and
supportive leadership while empowering students to take responsibility for
their campus and community.

�     Managing program tracking and assessment, quarterly financial
reports, semi-annual program reports, and other administrative
responsibilities in liaison with the Department of Justice�s Office of
Violence against Women.



*Marginal Functions*:

   - Attending Student Development division meetings monthly and other
   pertinent professional meetings as needed/directed.
   - Working in a cooperative office environment with the Office of
   Diversity Initiatives and the Conflict Resolution Resource Center.



*Software Programs Used*:

   - Microsoft Office
   - Publisher
   - Banner
   - GMS (federal grant management system)



Completed by:  Susannah Bartlow, Director, Women�s Center & faculty member,
Women�s and Gender Studies



*To apply, please visit
https://jobs.dickinson.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/frameset/Frameset.jsp?time=128
8192486822
*

[An attachment of type application/msword was included here]


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

Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:42:19 -0400
From: "Kaplan, Claire (cnk2r)" <>
Subject: Webinar on evidence backlog

A colleague sent this message to me and I thought I'd share it in case you were
interested.
Best,
Claire

____________________
Claire N Kaplan, Ph.D.
Manager, SAPC Listserv
Director, Sexual & Domestic Violence Services
UVA Women's Center
PO Box 800588
Charlottesville, VA 22908-0588
434-982-2774 Voice
434-982-2901 Fax
http://womenscenter.virginia.edu/sdvs
________________________________
From: Government Innovators Network []
Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2010 11:59 AM
To: 
Subject: Harvard Webinar: "Untested Evidence in Sex Assault Cases"

Untested Evidence in Sex Assault Cases: Information Session for NIJ Research
Solicitation

November 17, 2010:  2-4 pm (EST)

~This is a Webinar and will be hosted online. Registration required.~

Join us to learn more about this solicitation to identify solutions to the
nationwide problem of untested evidence in sexual assault cases. Ample time
will be allocated for audience Q&A.

Kristina Rose (moderator) - Deputy Director of NIJ
Katharine Browning, PhD - Senior Social Science Analyst, NIJ Crime Control
Prevention Division
Mike Sheppo - Director, NIJ Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences
For more information and to register for this Webinar, please visit:

http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/spotlight.html?id=2476


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

Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:20:18 -0400
From: "Joseph Vess" <>
Subject: National survey of college and university men's programming

Dear colleagues,

 

Every year there are more and more men and men's groups and programs at
institutions of higher learning across the country doing great work
dedicated to addressing and preventing violence against women,
supporting survivors, and encouraging healthy masculinity. However, many
of the groups do not know about each other, even if they are in the same
city, which hinders cooperation and learning. It also prevents men from
building alliances, sharing their successes and lessons learned, and
connecting on deeper levels with other men doing this work.

 

Men Can Stop Rape is seeking to help remedy this situation by conducting
a nationwide survey of men's groups and men's programming on college and
university campuses, which we plan to share the results of as a
directory to all of the groups who participate in the survey. I believe
this will be a great service to everyone conducting or wishing to
conduct men's programming on campus by informing us all of colleagues we
might reach out to for advice and support and by helping the men we work
with realize that their contributions are not isolated but are part of a
much larger national and international movement of men who support
gender equity and work to prevent violence against women. I believe it
will also help build bridges between women and men doing this work on
different campuses, with different communities, and across different
academic disciplines; and I believe it will help us better celebrate the
great work that is being done and appreciate the multitude of ways that
men are engaged. To quote Audre Lorde, an amazing feminist and writer
whose work many of us value: "In our work and in our living, we must
recognize that difference is a reason for celebration and growth, rather
than a reason for destruction."

 

 

You will find a link to the survey below. It is being compiled by Men
Can Stop Rape, a national non-profit organization dedicated to helping
communities engage men and boys in the primary prevention of violence
against women, in preparation for the upcoming 2011 National Conference
of Campus Men's Anti-Violence and Gender Equity Groups to help mobilize
college and university men to participate in the conference. None of the
data collected will be used for any commercial purpose.

 

We would greatly appreciate you or the appropriate person from your
school or organization taking the time to complete this brief survey.
Please be as thorough as possible; it should take no more than 4-5
minutes. If multiple people from the same school complete the survey, we
will aggregate the data and include as much of it as possible.

 

Men Can Stop Rape will compile the results to share with all
participants and others in the field. If you have any questions or
comments about this survey please contact: Joe Vess at
 or Joe Samalin at 

 

You will find the survey at:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/campusmensprogramssurvey

 

Or if you would prefer, you can copy and paste the questions from below
into a new email and send it to .

 

1 - Contact Information

 

-Name:


-Title/Position:

-College/University:

-Department/Office/Major:

-Email address: 

-Phone number:                          

 

2 - Men's Group/Organization/Program Information

 

-Name of men's group/program:

 

-Is your group affiliated with any other group, office, or department on
campus?   ____yes   ____no

 

*If yes, name of
group/organization________________________________________________

 

* Please include if your group is affiliated with any national
organization, i.e. Men Can Stop Rape, MVP



 or 1 in 4 )______________________________________

 

-Briefly describe work being done (Please include URL if available):

 

 

-Type of programming: (check all that apply)

 

____activism  ____discussion  ____peer education    ____training
____counseling   ____other: 

 

________________________________________________________________________
____________

 

________________________________________________________________________
_____________

 

-Membership:             ____men only
__ __co-ed/mixed gender

 

 

Thank you, and thank you for the great work you do on campus!

 

In strength,

Joe

 

-- 
Joseph Vess
Director of Training and Technical Assistance
202.265.6530 ext. 36 | Direct: 202-534-1836| 

________________________________

MEN CAN STOP RAPE (MCSR) | creating cultures free from violence |
www.mencanstoprape.org <http://www.mencanstoprape.org/> 

Follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mcsrape
<http://www.facebook.com/mcsrape>   |  Twitter:
http://twitter.com/mencanstoprape <http://twitter.com/mencanstoprape> 


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


End of sapc Digest Sun, 31 Oct 2010
*********************************************