EVAWI Conference Day 1- Plenary Speaker Sessions, Lunch, and Networking

Plenary Speaker I: Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse: From Teen Dating Violence to Trafficking

Speaker: Lynn Schafran, Director, National Judicial Education Program of Legal Momentum 

The first plenary speaker's session, in which everyone in the conference attended before breaking out into the breakout sessions, was about Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse. To frame the topic, she used a quote said by the Honorable Jeffrey Kremes of Milwaukee, WI:

"If a partner is controlling, abusive, and violence in the kitchen, living room, and in public, why would he stop the abuse at the bedroom door?" 

Schafran posed an important question:  Why do are we treating intimate partner violence and sexual violence as if it were separate from domestic violence? 

What is Intimate Partner Sexual Assault/ Abuse? 

• A continuum of behavior ranging from degrading behavior to torture towards an intimate partner (note: you do not have to be married or legally bound to this person!)

What kinds of forms do we see IP SA/SA?

Reproduction Health Issue

• Birth Control Sabotage- ex. purposefully putting a hole in a condom. This is a particular issue among the teen population but of course is used among all populations. Through pregnancies and children, abuser manipulate victims in their dependence and their ties to the abuser

Technology 

• Particularly among teen population
• Examples: Use of social media to spread rumors
• Sending photos and sharing photos without consent--> Notion of revenge porn- We now have three states that have legislation against this as we have noted the immense emotional and psychological trauma it entails

Extorting Sex in Exchange for Necessities 

• Demanding sex fro money or other necessities such as clothing, housing, etc.
• Refusing to provide money for other necessities such as child support or medical transportation

Trafficking 

• Often, trafffickers establish intimate partner relationships prior to the trafficking 

Marital Rape 

• The overwhelming trauma of marital rape often can lead victims to fall into a deep denial or feeling of tremendous shame
• "How could someone I love do something like this to me?"
• Quote from a survivor: "More than the battery, the rape seemed to be an attack on my womanhood which I came to think of as disgusting." 

Immigrant Issues 

• Using immigration status and threats to keep the victim at the perpetrator's will 

Assessment & Treatments- A gap- We can't keep assuming that abuse happens in only certain contexts (such as in a marriage or from a stranger)

• **Important point**: In a Study of Men by Raquel Kennedy (Men and Intimate Partner Rape), when asked questions about their particular behaviors and actions, 53% of men answered yes to questions that legally fit under the definition of rape or sexual assault in this particular program's state. However, when put under the label of "sexual assault" or "abuse" only 8% of men answered yes. 
• *Assessments often fail to assess for intimate partner sexual assault and may not even address this issue in programs and treatments of offenders--> point taken: we must broaden the dialogue of abuse to extend and move beyond physical abuse. 

Important points from her presentation:

• Collectively, with statistics from the CDC (2010)- 40 million have been victimized under intimate partner sexual abuse/ violence and yet we have this issue in our nation that has been virtually hidden. 
• Rate of abuse among teens are under researched and under reported, however, Service providers report a high prevalence of intimate sexual abuse. 
• It wasn't until 1848 that the notion of marital rape was even considered. Legally, for a while, marital rape did not exist. 
• State laws differ everywhere in terms of marital rape.
• Food for thought/ Interesting point: Arizona has created a law that can punish those who have falsely accused another of marital rape--
• On any day, 3 women are murdered in the United States by an intimate partner
• The most dangerous course of action that could be taken--> Courts allowing joint custody
• Studies have shown that among children who live in a home laced with intimate partner violence and abuse, the actual architecture of the child's brain is altered. 

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Plenary Speaker II: The Untested Rape Kit Crisis and Cold Case Sexual Assault Prosecutions  

Speaker: Kym Worthy, JD, Wayne County Prosecutor, Detroit, MI 

The second plenary speaker's session was incredibly engaging, horrifying, fascinating, and important. Kym Worthy's session was about the 11,300 untested rape kits that were found in a Detroit Police Department's property storage facility. There are estimated 400,000 untested rape kits languishing in police property storage facilities around the country. As Worthy pointed out, it is the case that most often these kits are not backlogged due to a lack of resources but rather forgotten as a result of negligence and low prioritization. Through this session Worthy discussed on the preliminary findings of the project, discussing the challenges of locating victims on older cases, and more importantly, the importance of utilizing victim-centered approaches when notifying their case has been reopened. She concluded by discussing on the investigative process and what prosecutors need to successfully charge and convict offenders in cold case sexual assaults.

Important points from her presentation:

How and Why did this happen? -- specific to the context of Detroit PD's case (but, again, this is a problem nationwide)

• Culture of victim blaming that permitted these rape kits from being untested for decades *** (This culture of victim blaming and blame is exactly what I cover in my poster and is a central theme that has arisen in nearly all of the sessions I have attended. Remember this as I will reflect on this later!) 
• Lack of formal policy and protocol for testing 
• Reduction in law enforcement staffing 
• High turnover in law enforcement leadership 
• Lack of proficient training for law enforcement

--> Under resourced and in need of training, awareness, and education. 

How are victims of sexual assault treated in the absence of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs?

1. Often up to 3 hours of long waiting at a Hospital 
2. Victims are in a public place after the incident of an attack/ trauma 
3. Often treated by untrained doctors and staff who may ask insensitive or inappropriate questions

Point taken: We need training, education, cultural sensitivity, resources, and most importantly, a prioritization of such elements in an efforts toward prevention and  creating a safer community 

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"We say all rapists are serial rapists, because we certainly don't catch em' the first time." 

-Kym Worthy  

Important: The last point on this slide states that, "The culture of victim-blaming and disbelief...discouraged victims from filing police reports and resulted in cases being closed with little or no investigation" 

Kym Worthy shows us a case study of a defendant which shows his criminal track record since the rape (that was marked in the untested rape kit). This graphic showed that if the police had convicted him at the timeframe of the rape kit, possibly 5 or 6 other crimes might have been prevented.

Post sessions:

A brilliant vegetarian lunch served today!