February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

Teen dating violence and abuse is a pattern of destructive behaviors used to exert power and control over a dating partner. While dating violence is defined as a pattern, that doesn't mean the first instance of abuse is not dating violence. It just recognizes that dating violence usually involves a series of abusive behaviors over a course of time.

Ten Warning Signs of Abuse

While there are many warning signs of abuse, here are ten of the most common abusive behaviors:

• Checking your cell phone or email without permission
• Constantly putting you down
• Extreme jealousy or insecurity
• Explosive temper
• Isolating you from family or friends
• Making false accusations
• Mood swings
• Physically hurting you in any way
• Possessiveness
• Telling you what to do

For more information, visit the Teen Dating Violence Month website.

January is Stalking Awareness Month

January is National Stalking Awareness Month, a time to focus on a crime that affects 3.4 million victims a year. 1


This year’s theme—“Stalking: Know It. Name It. Stop It.”—challenges the nation to fight this dangerous crime by learning more about it. Stalking is a crime in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, yet many victims and criminal justice professionals underestimate its seriousness and impact.  In one of five cases, stalkers use weapons to harm or threaten victims,2 and stalking is one of the significant risk factors for femicide (homicide of women) in abusive relationships.3


Victims suffer anxiety, social dysfunction, and severe depression at much higher rates than the general population, and many lose time from work or have to move as a result of their victimization.4


Stalking is difficult to recognize, investigate, and prosecute. Unlike other crimes, stalking is not a single, easily identifiable crime but a series of acts, a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause that person fear.  Stalking may take many forms, such as assaults, threats, vandalism, burglary, or animal abuse, as well as unwanted cards, calls, gifts, or visits. One in four victims reports that the stalker uses technology, such as computers, global positioning system devices, or hidden cameras, to track the victim’s daily activities.5


Stalkers fit no standard psychological profile, and many stalkers follow their victims from one jurisdiction to another, making it difficult for authorities to investigate and prosecute their crimes. 
  
For additional resources to help promote National Stalking Awareness Month, please visit 
http://stalkingawarenessmonth.org and www.ovw.usdoj.gov. 

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1 Baum et al., Stalking Victimization in the United States, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/svus.pdf  (accessed September 29, 2009).
2 Ibid.
3 Jacquelyn C. Campbell et al., “Risk Factors for Femicide in Abusive Relationships: Results from a Multi-site Case Control Study,” American Journal of Public Health 93 (2003): 7.
4 Ibid.
5 Baum, Stalking Victimization in the United States

Cut It Out: Fighting Domestic Violence

"Cut it Out" is a program developed by the Salons against Domestic Violence fund. Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray is re-launching the "Cut It Out" program in Ohio. For more information, please read the NBC4 story or go directly to the "Cut It Out" website.

Conference-- Innovation through collaboration: Building a community response to family violence

This conference will bring participants together from across five different professional sectors, as well as from around the nation. The conference, entitled "Innovation Through Collaboration: Building a Community Response to Family Violence" strives through both its structure and its content to realize the vision embodied by its title.

In addition to general sessions, participants can select from more than 55 presentations and master classes. Five programming tracks – Business, Health Care, Legal, Victim Services, and Faith -- each offer sessions that highlight promising practices, emerging issues, and collaborative efforts in addressing family violence in our communities. (Cross registration across the tracks is not only allowed but encouraged!) For more information, please visit their website at this link.

Did You Know? April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), with the assistance of several bureaus and offices within the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), has compiled several resources and publications related to sexual assault. Please visit these sites and download these resources to help raise awareness about sexual violence in your community or workplace. Working together, we can raise awareness, change attitudes, and help prevent sexual assault.

• National Sexual Violence Resource Center
• A National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations
• National Training Standards for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examiners
• Sexual Assault Forensic Exam (SAFE) Virtual Practicum
• National Institute of Justice Rape and Sexual Violence Web page
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sexual Violence Prevention Web page
• Tribal Justice and Safety in Indian Country Web page
• U.S. Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Web page
• www.enditnow.gov, OVW's Public Awareness Campaign Web site on domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and dating violence
• For more information, referrals, or funding opportunities related to sexual assault, visit OVW's Web site

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please call 800-656-HOPE (800-656-4673) to be connected to the rape crisis center nearest to you, or visit www.rainn.org for assistance and more information.