“Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper today issued new guidance to support victims of sexual assault who hold or wish to hold a government security clearance, but may be reluctant to seek mental health counseling for fear they may have to disclose the counseling on their application.”

Read more at: http://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/191-press-releases-2013/828-director-of-national-intelligence-issues-new-security-clearance-guidance

“Mayors Against Illegal Guns continues its push for commonsense gun law reforms today with a new ad and research highlighting the disturbing link between violence against women and guns.  The ad features Elvin Daniel , a gun owner and NRA member whose sister Zina Daniel was murdered in the Brookfield, Wisconsin, spa shooting in October 2012.  Several days after she obtained a restraining order against her violent estranged husband – which made him a prohibited purchaser – he bought a semiautomatic handgun from a private online seller without a background check, which he used the next day to murder her and two other people.”

Read more at: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/women-and-guns-new-ad-and-research-show-how-weak-gun-laws-turn-domestic-abuse-into-murder-201315351.html

“Conflict-related sexual violence is one of the most urgent challenges facing the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a senior United Nations official says, stressing that leadership and responsibility on the part of the Government is critical to tackling this issue.”

Read more at: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44514&Cr=sexual+violence&Cr1=

The article reports, “‘Today, Vice President Biden, Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett and White House Advisor on Violence Against Women Lynn Rosenthal hosted an event to launch a new Public Service Announcement (PSA) about dating violence as part of the Vice President’s 1 is 2 Many campaign,’ a White House press release reads. ‘Due to the fact that young women today ages 16 to 24 experience the highest rates of violence at the hands of someone they know, the PSA’s target audience is men of this same age group. The PSA, which was produced by the White House, features professional athletes and other male role models who deliver the message that dating violence is unacceptable.’ Joining the President and Vice President in the PSA, which will air this summer on the ESPN Networks, the Fox Sports Networks, MLB Network, and NFL Network, are Joe Torre, Major League Baseball Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations, and Manager of four World Series championship teams, David Beckham of the LA Galaxy, Eli Manning of the New York Giants, Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks, Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays, Jimmy Rollins of the Philadelphia Phillies, and ESPN correspondent Andy Katz. Joining the Vice President and other Senior Administration officials today for the rollout of the PSA were Jimmy Rollins, David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays, who was there on behalf of his teammate Evan Longoria, and Andy Katz.”

Read the full article at: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/biden-white-house-take-dating-violence_647702.html

View the video at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/1is2many

The article reports, “Father’s Day is an opportunity for us dads to think about our role in ending sexual and domestic violence against women. We have not recognized our potential and our power in stopping these horrific crimes. We have been told, and we have told ourselves, that this is a women’s issue and we have been content to let them solve it. Women alone cannot solve this problem since most violence in our society is committed by men. Not all men, for sure, but too many of us.”
Read the full article at: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/op-ed/opinion/6796145/story.html

The article reports, “The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights presented today the report ‘Access to Justice for Women Victims of Violence in Mesoamerica’ at a regional activity, which analyzes the multiple dimensions of the problem of sexual violence and its treatment by the justice systems of the Mesoamerican region, with a special emphasis on Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua.”

Read the full article at: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/media_center/PReleases/2012/057.asp