Jan
20
Danielle Ramos Can Tackle with the Best of ‘Em!
Tags: gender socialization, masculinity, youth
Filed Under Powerful Women | By Rose Luna | 8 Comments
Football season in the small rural town of Bartlett, Texas is filled with anticipation and excitement.  After all, the Bartlett High School football team was named “team of the decade†after winning three state championship titles during the ‘90s. The not-so-typical thing about the 2009 football season is 10-year-old Danielle’s decision to trade in her cheerleading skirt for a football helmet.
For two years Danielle participated in the youth football league as a cheerleader. “She was not very happy and did not particularly care to be a cheerleader,†says her mother.  But she participated because “that’s what girls did.†This year Danielle decided she would not cheer but instead follow her desire to play football. Initially her parents were hesitant and for good reason. “You tackle like a girl†is a common insult used to demean a player’s ability (not to mention the obvious correlation to femininity as a weakness).  Her parents were not only concerned with their daughter’s physical ability to play football but her emotional ability to face possible rejection. Danielle was persistent though, and with her parents’ support embarked on a journey that challenged societal expectations in her town.
Danielle (#32) is wearing the blue jersey with gray sleeves.
Her immediate reaction to dust off and adjust her clothes after her “manly†tackle is priceless.
Danielle’s decision to play was not calculated to take a stand or to rebel against conformity (although it was a consequence).  It simply was to follow her heart. Often times following your dreams comes with restrictions. Danielle’s courageous decision to defy gender role expectations is exceptional. And surprisingly both her coaches and fellow players welcomed Danielle to the team.  “It (football) helps both boys AND girls gain confidence and character while building camaraderie,†says Zachary Buchhorn, a coach for the Bartlett Youth Football League. I ran into Danielle last weekend and asked if she planned to play next year. She responded, “nah, football is not for me. I just wanted to prove I could do it.†My heart skipped a beat! Her unwillingness to allow gendered expectations to stop her is awesomely refreshing and a standard we all should follow.
Jan
12
“Geez, Everything is Abuse to You!”
Tags: burnout
Filed Under Humorless Feminist | By Wende Hilsenrod | Leave a Comment
I took a vacation. To my amazement, everywhere I looked there was a training topic or a blog theme. Finally, one of my children uttered, “geez, everything is abuse to you!†and walked away.
I bet every single one of us has a story of taking our work home with us and having it leak out without our even knowing it. This is called burnout. Â It comes from witnessing or learning about a traumatic event. Â Clients process their traumatic events with us. How many stories do you hear in one day? How do you process them?
The most important part of coping with the intensity of this work is to acknowledge its effects on us. When our job becomes the sole source of satisfaction, detaching from it can become difficult. This is the paradox of burnout: the line between fighting for a cause and fighting against people gets blurred. We can become jaded, even cynical. We start telling people what to do “for their own good” instead of empowering them.
Prevention is an inside job, too. It’s not only about changing paradigms; it’s also about changing ourselves. Proactive self-care, coping strategies and “first aid for the brain†(i.e., exercise, fluids and verbalization) are as necessary for us and the work we do as they are for our clients. When I am gentle with myself, I am also gentle with others. That is something a person cannot fake.
Jan
11
Sexual Assault Examinations Without Police Involvement: A Guide to Texas’ New Law
Tags: forensics, public policy
Filed Under News | By Torie Camp | 2 Comments
KVUE’s Noelle Newton interviewed me about no-report sexual assault exams. Here is some background information about the new law.
Sexual Assault Exams Are Now Available Without Police Involvement
If a sexual assault victim is not ready to get police involved, she or he still has the option to have a sexual assault examination conducted. No police report is required.
What is a Non-Report Sexual Assault Exam?
A sexual assault examination (also called a medical forensic exam) is a procedure conducted by a medical professional to treat and diagnose a victim of sexual assault while also collecting evidence of the crime.
“Non-report sexual assault exam†refers to the same examination, except the survivor can choose to involve police much later or not at all. There is no law requiring medical facilities to report sexual assaults of adults to law enforcement, so the decision to report is entirely the survivor’s.
Why is a Sexual Assault Exam Important if the Victim Doesn’t Report?
Privacy is of paramount importance to most sexual assault survivors. Survivors often need time to prepare themselves before reporting since criminal investigations and prosecutions are often invasive and exhausting.
However, the immediate collection of forensic evidence is extremely important in sexual assault cases. It can mean the difference between a conviction and a dismissal – or even failing to identify the perpetrator at all. Evidence a perpetrator leaves behind after a sexual assault is especially vulnerable to contamination or being washed away. An immediate sexual assault exam allows for the collection of corroborating evidence to support a victim’s allegations in the criminal justice system.
Non-report sexual assault examinations balance the needs of the victim and the criminal justice system by allowing survivors to preserve important evidence to use against their attackers and still take the time they need to decide whether to report.
Victims who are unsure about reporting their attacks to authorities may seek more information about the reporting process from their local sexual assault prevention and assistance programs. These programs provide survivors with support, confidential services, and an advocate to accompany victims to the emergency room.
Is a Non-Report Sexual Assault Exam Confidential?
Yes. Any evidence collected during a non-report exam remains confidential. To protect victim privacy, the evidence is assigned a unique identifier instead of the victim’s name.
The unique identifier is then used to identify the evidence, not the victim. Only if the victim chooses to report the sexual assault at a later time is the Department of Public Safety able to link the evidence to the victim.