Indian Beach, NC June 20, 2008. Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted and for that reason WomenOnGuard.com donates products to a different sexual assault crisis center around the country on a monthly basis. WomenOnGuard.com is an e-commerce website that sells non-lethal, self defense products such as Mace products, pepper spray, stun guns, Taser products, personal alarms and home protection products. This website includes hotlines, safety tips, helpful links and a Blog for it’s customers.
The Healing Center, which is located in Milwaukee, WI, was founded in 2000 by a group of survivors, service providers, and community members whose goal was to create an innovative advocacy center for those affected by sexual violence. The idea of The Healing Center was born out of individual conversations, focus groups consisting of community members, professionals, and survivors, and an advisory committee. From this, The Healing Center was formed and began offering services in 2002.
One of the co-owners of WomenOnGuard.com, Martha Z. Martinez stated, “I spoke with Maryann Clesceri, the Executive Director of the Center, and she mentioned that they offer a self defense class to abused victims on a regular basis. The class is taught by a police officer from the community, who will distribute the pepper sprays donated by WomenOnGuard.com to the participants in the next class.
Susan Eaton, co-owner mentioned, “Milwaukee, like other cities in this country, has had it’s share of rapes. Just this week, on Wednesday the 11th, Rodney Washington, was convicted by a jury on seven counts of sexual assault that occurred in the ‘90s. Rodney Washington could be ordered to spend 190 years in prison when he is sentenced July 7th. His victims were two 14 year-olds, a 15 year-old and a 20 year old. He actually has been in and out of prison for the past 30 years. DNA evidence linked him to the crimes.” She goes on to mention that DNA is critical in convicting criminals and victims should keep that in mind. Susan says, “As hard as it is to live through these assaults, women and also men, must make sure they don’t tamper with evidence on their clothing or their body, if they want to have their attacker captured and convicted. Many victims feel invaded and dirty and take showers to clean themselves off. This is the worse thing a sexually assaulted person can do.” Susan also informed us of a new Federal law that will be in effect nationally, next year. This law will require all hospital emergency rooms to offer a free ANONYMOUS forensic rape exam. This exam is offered right after the assault occurs and the anonymous results are kept for a future date if the victim decides that they want to press charges.
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