May

24

Bob Marley, where are you?

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Filed Under Uncategorized | By Wende Hilsenrod | Leave a Comment

“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery; none but ourselves can free   our mind.”                                          

                                                                    “from Redemption Song”

One of my friends has a theory that a person’s view of the world is “tinted” by the colors of their eyes. And I think “What, they don’t see the same things I do?”

My children roll their eyes and say with disappointment and a touch of anger, “You are so un-American!” And I wonder where it is written that being “unAmerican” is a bad thing?

A friend’s child is marrying a person of a different ethnicity, race, and religion. She tells me she has to “have a talk” with her child. And I wonder, “What she will say?”

To make a fuss over someone’s point of view, nationality, ethnicity, race, religion or sexuality, is, to me, unproductive – the deeper questions, the potential to learn and explore the deeper issues are lost. Ḗ uma pena porque pode ser uma coisa de grande importancia o algo em nosso melho interesse que vamos peder.

And I wonder – why are we so threatened by diversity of thought?

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May

21

Her name was Lurline.

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Filed Under Uncategorized | By Linda Hunter | 1 Comment

Picture a short, slightly rotund 82-year-old lady who kept her short hair somewhat haphazardly dyed various shades of red, auburn, orange. She lived in Houston most of her life and was definitely the “city aunt” when she visited family in our small town.

Then she moved back home to live in the senior citizens’ apartments. That’s when I first met her, and we hit it off right away. With that audacious red hair instead of the requisite slightly blue-gray most women her age chose, she reminded me of my mother. Aunt Lurline seemed to enjoy her new opportunity to have close friends nearby. Senior Citizens’ Center activities kept her engaged with others, and the close-knit community of residents felt safe compared to living in Houston.

So the early morning call from my sister-in-law whispering, “Aunt Lurline said she was raped. Can you come talk to her?” felt like a bad dream. Not my family. Not in my small home town. Working in a sexual assault program for years was little preparation for hearing those words. Though part of me certainly knew that anyone, anywhere can become a victim of sexual assault, another part of me couldn’t take in what I heard.

I saw her the next day while she was still in the local hospital. She didn’t want to talk. Her face was mostly a tired stare interrupted by a few moments of forced attempts at connection. During one of those moments she told me she was scared. She thanked me for coming to see her. I told her I’d come back any time she asked and to let me know if she wanted my support in talking with the police or anyone else. I left her room feeling helpless. And angry and sad and I still don’t know how many other feelings.

I heard from family that she knew who raped her. It was another resident who also worked there as part-time handyman, someone she knew well and trusted. Our whole family knew the man. The whole community knew the man.

She told the police what happened to her. I heard they asked some questions—of Aunt Lurline and the man.

Then I heard from a couple of family members that Aunt Lurline wasn’t telling the truth, that she was just confused, imagining things, and telling this story to get attention. I was dumbfounded. For the second time I thought my work should have prepared me for this possibility. How many times had I seen family and friends not believe the person who’d been sexually assaulted?

Aunt Lurline went back to her apartment. But she never seemed like the same feisty woman I’d first met. There was a dullness, a hesitation about her. I never saw that boldly dyed hair again.

 May is Elder Abuse Prevention Month.   Abuse – neglect – exploitation.  See how far you have to search the sites included here to find information about sexual abuse. 

Or see Elderly Victims of Sexual Abuse and Their Offenders, a 2006 report from the National Institute of Justice.

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May

14

The Penalty Shouldn’t Include Sexual Violence!

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Filed Under Announcement, News | By Torie Camp | Leave a Comment

Every year, more than 100,000 men, women and children are victimized while behind bars, usually by corrections officials whose very job it is to keep them safe. The U.S. Attorney General is currently reviewing national standards aimed at preventing and addressing this type of abuse.

On Monday, TAASA, along with thirty rape crisis centers, submitted comments in support of the standards.  If fully implemented, the national standards will spare countless Americans the horror of sexual abuse.

We are pleased to submit these comments and firmly believe that everyone – regardless of custody status – should be free of sexual violence.

To read TAASA’s comments letter, please click here.

Find out more about efforts to end sexual abuse in all forms of detention at Just Detention International.

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