The article reports, “Two days after ending the war in Iraq, President Obama on Monday issued a ‘national action plan’ aimed at giving women a bigger role in resolving conflicts around the world.
‘Deadly conflicts can be more effectively avoided, and peace can be best forged and sustained when women become equal partners in all aspects of peace-building and conflict prevention,’ the White House said in a 26-page document.”

Read the full article at: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/dec/19/obama-women-can-make-world-more-peaceful/

The article reports, “On average, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States, according to findings released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over the course of a year, that equals more than 12 million women and men. Those numbers only tell part of the story – more than 1 million women reported being raped in a year and over 6 million women and men were victims of stalking in a year, the report says.”

Read the full article at: http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2011/p1214_sexual_violence.html?source=govdelivery

The article reports, ” ‘When you have a veil of secrecy, you have the potential for abusive behavior whether it’s in the Catholic church, a school or whatever, and that applies to all of us, not just the NCAA,’ NCAA President Mark Emmert told reporters Monday in Indianapolis.
As I’ve been watching the child rape headlines on TV over the last few weeks, I’ve become increasingly discouraged. The events are horrible, but at the very least, they have made public and visible the need for change in the norms of community institutions.”

Read the full article at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry/why-are-we-surprised-stop_b_1130690.html

FOCUS ON GENDER-BASED HARASSMENT AND BULLYING

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination and is illegal under federal law Title IX, which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1972. However, sexual harassment is often downplayed by the general public. This form of sexual violence can include inappropriate statements, lewd gestures, leering behavior, and sexually explicit jokes, emails, or texts. People commit these acts everyday in many different public places. Sexual harassment happens in the workplace, in schools, and on the street. We know that these actions are harmful, contributing the continuum of sexual violence. These behaviors reflect a culture of disrespect and promote gender inequality.

The key link between sexual harassment and bullying seems to be homophobic language and harassment (Stein & Mennemeier, 2011).

Bullying is aggressive behavior that involves a pattern of repeated unwanted, negative actions, involving an imbalance of power or strength between the aggressor and the victim/target. According to the CDC (2011), nearly 30% of American adolescents reported at least moderate bullying experiences as the bully, the victim, or both. Research suggests that family violence is associated with bullying (CDC, 2011), and may be a risk factor for bullying perpetration or victimization. Recent findings indicate that bullying peers in school as a child is associated with increased risk for men’s perpetration of domestic violence (Falb, et. al., 2011).

A new Critical Issue Brief, jointly produced by the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, provides an in-depth discussion of gender-based harassment and bullying and presents recommendations for collaboration between domestic and sexual violence advocates and school personnel:

Addressing the Gendered Dimensions of Harassment and Bullying: What domestic and sexual violence advocates need to know by Nan D. Stein & Kelly A. Mennemeier (October 2011)

For more information on these topics, see these highlighted resources available in the VAWnet library:

• Talking Points: Sexual Harassment by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape & the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (2011)
• Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment at School by Catherine Hill and Holly Kearl for the American Association of University Women (November 2011)
• End Street Harassment by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence
• Hollaback! Legal Analysis by Hollaback! (2011)
• Understanding Bullying by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (2011)
• School Bullying & Homophobic Harassment by TrueChild (2011)
• Bullying Among Middle School and High School Student – Massachusetts, 2009 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (April 2011)
• School Bullying Perpetration and Other Childhood Risk Factors as Predictors of Adult Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration by Kathryn L. Falb, Heather L. McCauley, Michele R. Decker, Jhumka Gupta, Anita Raj, & Jay G. Silverman for the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (June 2011)
• Children Who Bully by StopBullying.gov
• Measuring Bullying Victimization, Perpetration, and Bystander Experiences: A Compendium of Assessment Tools by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (2011)

Check out Hollaback!, Stop Street Harassment, StopBullying.gov, and Workplaces Respond to Domestic and Sexual Violence for tips, tools, and resources on addressing and preventing sexual harassment and bullying in your community.
Read more…

The article reports, “As someone who has followed sport and social issues for more than four decades, I know the power of sport to heal communities, effect positive social change and bring people together. I know, too, that sport has been a powerful way to expose the general public to problems rarely discussed openly in our society.”
Read the full article at: http://espn.go.com/espn/commentary/story/_/page/lapchick-111130/the-public-underwhelming-reaction-athletes-assault-women

The article reports, “The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) are combining their expertise and resources to work with Penn State University to focus on preventing sexual violence. As part of this three-year partnership, Penn State has pledged $1.5 million to facilitate these efforts.”

Read the full article at: http://www.nsvrc.org/news/8867