SEXUAL TRAUMA AWARENESS & RESPONSE CENTER

THE CENTER LINE

already happened, how do you provide support to help them recover? Walk a Mile in Her Shoes is an event that helps open communication about this issue in a fun and inviting way. One in four women and girls in our community have experienced the extreme violation of being raped or assaulted. Its time for us to take a stand and support these individuals, while also raising our voices as a community committed to ending sexual assault and abusefor good. Walk a Mile in Her Shoes is also a

SPRING 2012 NEWSLETTER

This April we again challenge the men in our community to Walk a Mile In Her Shoes
Sexual violence is a major public health problem. In America, 17.7 million women are living as victims of an attempted or completed rape. Over half of these women were abused or assaulted as children. On April 29th, STAR is hosting the second annual Walk a Mile In Her Shoes, an event that is intended to bring awareness to the prevalence of sexual violence in our community, and have men take a role in helping to eliminate it by literally walking one mile in womens high-heeled shoes. Walk a Mile In Her Shoes is based on the old saying, you dont know what someone has been through until you have walked a mile in their shoes. Some might think this event is a bit silly, but we know that it's critical to open up dialogue about sexual violence. While hidden away, sexual and gender-based violence is immune to cure. It's difficult to get people talking since sexual assault and abuse is often an upsetting topic of conversation. People unfamiliar with sexual violence don't even want to know it exists. It's ugly. People that have survived sexual violence, want to forget about it. How do you get people talking now, so they can prevent it from happening? And if it's Walk a Mile in Her Shoes will be held on Sunday, April 29th from 4-6 p.m. at the new North Boulevard Town Square in downtown Baton Rouge, The public is invited and encouraged to attend. fundraiser for STAR. Only with community support is STAR able to provide the multitude of services to those in need. The way we intend to meet our goal is to have community members sign-up to take the Walk a Mile Challenge, and get their friends and loved ones to sponsor them by donating to STAR. Please visit our website at www.brstar.org, and encourage your friends, family members and co-workers to take the Walk a Mile Challenge today.

Special thanks to our sponsors:

Inside this issue:

News From the Center Sexual Assault Awareness Month Activities KNOW MORE: Facts About Sexual Violence Spotlight on Prevention 2 4

5 6

We provide an empathetic support system for survivors of sexual assault and promote rape awareness and prevention education programs in the Baton Rouge community.

News From The Center

Dear Community,
As the Board President, I am an avid supporter and an active participant in the newly formed Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response Center (STAR). Over the past months in helping the center achieve its 501(c)(3) status, I have had the chance to thoroughly familiarize myself with the centers history, its staff and the clients they serve. I am excited to welcome you to STAR, an evolution of the former Rape Crisis Center, which has a distinguished history of providing quality services to the Baton Rouge community over the past 35 years. Our transition to a non-profit has been very successful, and we are now in the process of preparing a strategic plan to expand and improve our services to those in need. Survivors come to STAR because they believe there is something our center can provide to help relieve the emotional, physical and psychological effects of sexual assault and abuse. Our staff and volunteers help survivors and their loved ones explore options, and guide their path toward walking out of the trauma of sexual violence. STAR provides support and advocacy services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without exception. Looking into the future, we do not expect the need for these services in our community to abate. In fact, we expect the need for services to increase, and this increase will continue unless an investment is made in our young people to promote a culture that supports healthy relationships, holds sexual predators of all types accountable, and discourages sexist behavior. We look forward to growing hope for all survivors. We look forward to the time where we can provide not only advocacy and support services, but also the level of prevention education that our community needs. This can only happen with our communitys continued support. We hope that you will join with us in recognizing Sexual Assault Awareness Month this April. On a national level, sexual assaults are vastly under reported. According to the Bureau of Justice, approximately 60% of all rapes go unreported. There is a strong reluctance to report because our culture frames rape as the victims fault. By bringing awareness to the crime of sexual violence, our center hopes to educate the community about the prevalence of sexual assault, as well as provide a safe space for survivors to come forward and begin to heal. Here is what you can do today: 1. If you suspect that someone you know is being sexually abused, or is suffering from the consequences of a rape or assault, encourage them to contact STARs 24 hour support and resource hotline at (225) 383-7273. 2. Support STAR through donations and by volunteering your time. Call us today at (225) 389-3456, or visit our website at www.brstar.org to learn about ways you can get involved.

Yours in hope,

Mary Erlingson, Board President

Your support makes a difference.

The Center Line

News From The Center The Vagina Monologues Combines Performance Art and Activism for a Good
The Vagina Monologues is made up of a varying number of monologues read by a cast of local women. The play, written by Eve Ensler, is meant to bring awareness to violence against women and girls internationally. Every monologue relates the spectrum of women's experiences, be it love, intimacy, and birth or sexual and intimate partner violence. A recurring theme throughout the piece is the vagina as a tool of female empowerment, and the ultimate embodiment of individuality. STAR is hosting a benefit performance of The Vagina Monologues on Thursday, March 22nd at the Lyceum Dean Ballroom, located at 124 N. 3rd Street in downtown Baton Rouge. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and will feature a silent auction. The performance begins at 7:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.brstar.org for $12, or at the door the night of the event for $15. Proceeds will benefit STAR and the international V-Day campaign. For more information, please contact (225) 389-3456. Special thanks to our sponsors: Drs. Todd and Deborah Taylor, Dr. Ashley Cowart, and Capital Area Medical Society.

Board of Directors
Mary Erlingson
President

Stephanie Jacque
Vice-President

Racheal Hebert
Secretary & Treasurer

Mark Dumaine Kathi Gill Ann Guedry Sid Newman Tommy Naquin

Our Staff

Graphic design students at LSU help develop STARs new brand

In December 2011, STAR was fortunate enough to have a group of talented graphic design students from LSU design a brand for our new center. These five amazing women took on our new center as a senior project for their capstone design class, and STAR is reaping the benefits of their hard work. The students worked diligently throughout the fall 2011 semester, conducting research on our target populations, finding the best ways to market our services, and designing a social norms messaging campaign to help end sexual violence. You will see elements of their designs in The Center Line our new website, Facebook and Twitter pages, and all of our new marketing materials. These students have a great career in design ahead of them. We thank them for their passion and commitment to the project.

Jane Wood
Executive Director

Racheal Hebert
Program Director

Nicole Gillum, LMSW

Sexual Trauma Specialist

Krystal Sugulleh, MPA

Volunteer Coordinator

Kristi Tatum, MA, NCC

Prevention Educator

Amy Wright
Social Work Intern

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

ITS TIME TO TALK ABOUT IT!

CONNECT. RESPECT. PREVENT SEXUAL VIOLENCE.

April is designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). The purpose of SAAM is to bring awareness to the prevalence of sexual violence in our communities and across the country. STAR is hosting several SAAM activities this April intended
Tuesday, April 3rd Sexual Assault Day of Action!
Take a day to contribute to sexual violence awareness. Host a denim day at your work by asking your employer to allow employees to wear denim in exchange for a contribution to STAR.

to educate the community and individuals on how to help prevent sexual assault and abuse. This year STAR has collaborated with organizations in the community to bring you a month full of events and activities to help bring

awareness to sexual violence, connect those in our community who have survived rape and assault, and help end gender violence in our community. Join us for these exciting and empowering events.

Friday, April 13th Preventing Gender Violence 101

8:30am4:30pm Baton Rouge Area Foundation This workshop trains participants on the dynamics of gender violence, prevention and intervention efforts, and how to deal with disclosures. CEUs are available.

Saturday, April 14th Survivor Retreat Day

10am4pm The Red Shoes This day-long event intended to bring together survivors of gender violence. This event was made possible by the Junior League of Greater Baton Rouge.

Wednesday, April 18th Stewards of Children Workshop

9:30am12:30pm Carver Library Learn new skills to protect, recognize and react to child sexual abuse. CEUs are available.

Friday, April 20th Clothesline Project

10am2pm LSU Free Speech Alley The LSU Women's and Gender Studies Graduate Organization (WGSGO) is sponsoring The Clothesline Project on Friday, April 20th at LSU Free Speech Alley.

Tuesday, April 24th Flowers on the Lake

6:308:30pm Chapel at LSU Bring flowers and help commemorate those in our community who have been the victim of a crime. Sponsored by EBR Sheriffs Office.

Thursday, April 26th Lobby Day

Louisiana State Capitol Join us for a lobby day at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge to help inform our legislators about sexual violence prevention in our state.

Thursday, April 26th Crime Victims Ceremony

12pm 19th J.D. Courthouse This ceremony will honor those who have survived a violent crime in EBR Parish. Sponsored by EBR District Attorneys Office.

Sunday, April 29th Walk a Mile in Her Shoes

46pm North Blvd. Town Square Put on your best pair of heels and join us for our 2nd Annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. Challenge the men in your life to take a stand against gender violence by taking the Walk a Mile Challenge!

For more information on these events, or to learn how you can get involved, visit our website at www.brstar.org, or call us at (225) 389-3456.

The Center Line

Educate Yourself

KNOW MORE: Facts About Sexual Violence

Sexual assault continues to represent the most rapidly growing violent crime in America, claiming a victim every 45 seconds. Because many of these attacks occurring daily go unreported and unrecognized, sexual assault can be considered a silent-violent epidemic in the United States today.
The American Medical Association

Myths and Facts...

MYTH: When a woman says no, she really means yes. FACT: No means NO! Without her consent, it is sexual assault. Everyone has the right to control what happens to one's body. MYTH: Sexual assault happens to careless people who are "asking for it" by the way they dress or act. FACT: No one asks to be assaulted. The idea that victims provoke assault by what they wear, or how they act, assumes that they have no right to be as free as you. This myth shifts the blame from the perpetrator to the victim of this crime. MYTH: Women often lie about being raped. FACT: Police statistics show that the number of falsely reported rapes is no greater than that of other crimes - about 2%. MYTH: Sexual assault is impossible without some cooperation from the victim. FACT: Offenders are willing to use all the force necessary to accomplish penetration, even when it is physically injurious to the victim. Even a struggling victim can be penetrated if she is pinned under the assailant. In cases where the victim does not resist because she fears for her life, her submission is not the same as cooperation. If she chooses to cooperate because of the perpetrator's threats against her or others, her cooperation is not the same as consent. MYTH: If a woman agrees to some degree of sexual intimacy, she wants to have sexual intercourse. FACT: Any person has the right to agree to any degree of sexual intimacy they feel comfortable with at that moment, and to not go any further if they do not wish to. A person may feel comfortable with one kind of sexual activity but not with another - or she may decide she's not really ready for further intimacy.

By the Numbers
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),

1 in 5 women and 1 in 33 men will experience an attempted

or completed rape in their lifetime.

Studies Show...
Among juvenile girls identified by the courts as delinquent, more than 75% have been sexually abused. One study found that students living in sorority houses (3 times at risk) and on-campus dormitories (1.4 times at risk) were more likely to be raped than students living off -campus. One study found that 61% of homeless girls and 16% of homeless boys reported sexual abuse as the reason for leaving home. 50% of sexual assault victims lost their jobs or were forced to quit after being raped. Sexual abuse and physical abuse have been identified as significant childhood risk factors for the development of addiction in adulthood.

The Center Line

Spotlight on Prevention STAR Steps Up Prevention Efforts

Passionately continuing its mission to end sexual violence in Baton Rouge, STAR staff and volunteers have facilitated manifold discussions in recent months in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms. These ongoing discussions include bullying, emotional literacy, conflict resolution, internet safety, and teen dating violence that help support the healthy emotional and psychological development of the children and youth of our community. Feedback from students has been overwhelmingly positive, indicating a desire on their part to continue this structured discussion with adults who can provide guidance on how to navigate the potentially difficult terrain of interpersonal relationships. In an effort to reach more community members through prevention activities, and to teach people the skills necessary to live peacefully as a collective, STAR will Each individual within our community has the ability to contribute to our goal of a violence-free existence for all, although it may be hard to know where to start with such a formidable problem. Beginning Wednesday April 18th, 2012, STAR will offer monthly Stewards of Children workshops to all concerned adults wanting to acquire skills to prevent, recognize, For information on how to join us in our prevention efforts, please visit the website at www.brstar.org or call us at (225) 389-3456. begin providing training this Spring for current hotline and hospital advocacy volunteers interested in becoming Prevention Specialists. This twenty-hour training will empower community activists to join STAR staff in presenting workshops to children and adults throughout the area. By increasing prevention efforts, we hope to strengthen and expand the support base for those vulnerable to violence and stop it before it starts. Finally, looking ahead to summer prevention activities, STAR is organizing a week long, artsbased program for the population most vulnerable to sexual violence: teenage girls. Through experiential and didactic activities focused on self-esteem, healthy relationships, sexuality education, dating violence, sexual assault, and sources of support for survivors, participants will leave the workshop with a relationship toolbox they can refer to as they begin forming romantic unions. and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. Working together, we can make a difference in the lives of those who count on us for safety and protection.

Preventing Gender Violence 101

A TRAINING FOR PROFESSIONALS
Friday, April 13th, 2012 8:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. Baton Rouge Area Foundation This training will educate participants about the dynamics of violence, expand the knowledge and responsibility of individuals to recognize potential warning signs of gender violence, and provide information to help implement gender violence policies into organizational practices. CEUs for social workers and counselors provided. Registration is $40.00. Space is limited. Register today at www.brstar.org.
Sponsored by the Sexual Trauma Awareness & Response Center and the Capital Area Family Violence Intervention Center

The Center Line

Volunteer Corner In Their Own Words

Janeane Gorcyca and Aimee Kaloyares have been phone and hospital advocates as well as law students for the past year. As law students at Southern University, the experience of volunteering to assist victims of sexual violence has been invaluable to them both. Through hearing how the victims lives are shattered by crime, Kaloyares intends to become a sex crimes prosecutor. On the phone line I can hear the long term effects and the devastation in their voices. At the hospital I can see it in their faces. It was easy to decide to focus my life on doing something to alleviate some of their pain and focus my career on trying to stop crimes of sexual violence.
Janeane Gorcyca (left) and Aimee Kaloyares (right) 2011 recipients of Best New Advocate Award

are facing is a rewarding experience. The hospital calls Gorcyca has been on have posed challenges as an advocate in knowing available services for victims, how to work with police investigators and how to navigate problems that arise for victims such as custody issues, vicarious familiar trauma and domestic violence concerns. Gorcyca intends to practice family law in Louisiana and knows that her experiences will directly apply to assisting her future clients. It is the case that sexual assault effects all persons in all walks of life. This fact is reaffirmed for Gorcyca and Kaloyares every time they pick up their phones. One call at a time, these two advocates hope to further the goal of STAR in ending the crimes of sexual violence by listening, believing and supporting every caller.

As hospital advocates Kaloyares and Gorcyca witness firsthand how the criminal justice system and victims services go hand in hand. Gorcyca explains, We hear in class the elements of a crime and how to prove it, but being in a hospital puts sexual assault into perspective. It becomes more than XXX. Helping a person to understand their rights and the legal process they

BECOME A STAR MEMBER TODAY!

Our center relies heavily on community supporters like yourself. Become a STAR member today by contributing any amount you can, and enjoy the many benefits of membership. Your paid membership to STAR includes: Email updates on new and exciting events and resources available at STAR Quarterly newsletters highlighting STARs progress Use of STAR resources, including lending of books, videos, and much more Updates on public policy initiatives and other issues affecting sexual assault survivors Reduced registration rates at STAR trainings and workshops And, of course, the comfort of knowing you are contributing to an organization that serves the community, and uses 100% of its donations to provide direct services to sexual assault survivors and their loved ones

How to become a member: 1. Mail a check to: Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response Center, 233 St. Ferdinand Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802 2. Make a secure online donation through PayPal on our website at www.brstar.org.

The Center Line

SEXUAL TRAUMA AWARENESS & RESPONSE 233 ST. FERDINAND STREET BATON ROUGE, LA 70802 PHONE: (225) 389-3456 FAX: (225) 389-5685

PROGRAMS & SERVICES

24hour confidential hotline Hospital advocacy Individual counseling Sexual assault evidence collection Support groups Criminal justice advocacy Training and prevention education programs

24-HOUR HOTLINE: (225) 383-7273 V I SI T US ON THE WEB A T WWW. BRSTAR. ORG