News: Week of 6/10/2011

06/10/2011

In the Headlines

Rihanna's new music video brings controversy about media portrayal of violence. Stephanie Nilva, Executive Director of Day One, New York's leading teen relationship abuse-focused organization said, "I respect the fact that Rihanna is trying to draw attention to these issues, but I don't think viewers are necessarily getting healthy messages from it."

United Nations report criticizes United States on women's rights. The United Nations Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, has issued a very critical report of the U.S. on its policies on women's rights. The report is based on a trip of the Special Rapporteur to the US from 24 January to 7 February 2011.

National Football League program works to teach teens how to have healthy relationships.  The National Football Players Association, working with the national men's organization, A Call to Men, an organization devoted to addressing domestic and sexual violence prevention, launched Training Camps for Life. Training Camps for Life puts NFL football players to work, along with A Call to Men representatives, in discussing topics such as overcoming adversity, the impact of decisions and consequences, and healthy teen relationships.

Virginia's Fairfax County works to tackle teen dating abuse. Fairfax County launched a new campaign and public service announcement geared toward raising awareness about teen dating abuse. Approximately one in four teens who responded to the Fairfax County youth survey two years ago said they had a girlfriend or boyfriend who always wanted to know where they were, called them names or put them down verbally.

Staten Island's 'sisterhood' battles domestic violence. Staten Island's women are forming a united front in the campaign against domestic violence, one of the borough's most under-reported crimes. "Sisterhood" was born early this year and has tapped into the resources of a wide range of service organizations. Everything from creating age-appropriate domestic violence programs, educational videos, mentoring and pushing positive legislation for women is part of their projects.

Sexual violence survivor and Colombian journalist speaks out. Nine years passed before Colombian journalist Jineth Bedoya spoke publicly about the brutal rape she endured while reporting on right-wing paramilitaries in May 2000.

International experts share experiences about preventing intimate partner and sexual violence. Despite the growing efforts of public and social health to decrease violence against women, it remains a major public health issue in Latin America and the Caribbean.

LGBT domestic violence is addressed in Tennessee survivor's memoir.  With her memoir A Beautiful Mess: Confessions From the Second Closet, Truman hopes to not only share her personal story but also to open a dialogue within the LGBT community about a real issue that needs to be addressed. The book was written between June-December 2008, six months after her abusive relationship had ended, and Truman used past blog entries that detailed the relationship from the beginning to help form the final draft of the book.

Legal Matters

Rhode Island Senator holds hearing on teen violence. The Rhode Island Democrat visited William E. Tolman Senior High School in Pawtucket on Friday to chair a hearing on strategies for protecting teenagers from dating violence and bullying. The hearing included testimony from state advocates on programs designed to reduce abuse.

Arizona school district approves a dating abuse curriculum for grades 7 to 12. As a result of statewide recognition that teen dating violence is a prevalent issue, Sierra Vista students will soon be learning about the potential pitfalls of abusive relationships in a new class.

Research

New study from Harvard School of Public Health finds adult partner violence linked to childhood bullying. Males who bullied other children during their childhood are much more likely to be violent towards their intimate partners later on in life, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, reported in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine today.

New study finds domestic violence common among farmworkers. Although there are over one million farmworkers in the United States, little is known about intimate partner violence (IPV) among this population. Given the particular demands of agricultural labor, however, farmworkers and their partners are highly susceptible to a host of occupation-specific stressors that may result in relationship conflict, and thereafter IPV.

Events

In Philadelphia, forum participants discuss ways to screen for intimate partner violence. Karin Rhodes, assistant professor and director of the University of Pennsylvania's Division of Emergency Care Policy Research, discussed ways to screen and intervene in instances of intimate partner violence.

Opinions

CNN Op-Ed piece defends Rihanna's 'Man Down' video.  "Like most people reacting to the controversy involving 23-year-old Grammy-winning superstar Rihanna and her new music video, "Man Down," I'm shocked. Not by the video but by the knee-jerk reaction of supposed experts on violence against women, such as the Parents Television Council, which has denounced it for its portrayal of rape and street murder."

Categories: News