U.S. Department Of Justice, Launches Website To Advise Colleges On Sexual Assault

Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates

Tyler Kingkade
Senior Editor/Reporter, The Huffington Post
Posted: 08/06/2015 11:47 AM EDT

The U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women unveiled a new website Wednesday aiming to help guide colleges on how to address sexual violence on campus.

The website, changingourcampus.org, is billed as a one-stop-shop for administrators, faculty and staff at colleges and universities. It includes round ups of research and resources specific to dating and domestic violence and stalking, both issues that colleges are obligated to address in addition to sexual assault due to the gender equity law Title IX.

Schools can also engage in a compliance check with the campus safety law the Clery Act, and watch webinars and listen to podcasts about how to respond to reports of sexual assault from students. The website includes information on groups students can go to, like End Rape On Campus, if they are interested in filing a complaint against their school. There are plans to add resources specific to historically black universities, faith-based schools and tribal colleges.

The DOJ pledged in a news release to "seek guidance and input from campus-based experts, campus communities, and grassroots groups" committed to ending sexual and intimate-partner violence.

This Month Is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Thousands of women in our country seek shelter because of domestic violence each year. Many of them have children and unfortunately some don't survive and become victims of their abuser.

Just so that you can get an idea of the magnitude of domestic violence in our country, we found information on a survey that reflects figures for ONE DAY. This survey was done on September 17, 2013. It involved 1,649 shelters around our country, again, for just one day!

A total of 66,581 domestic violence victims were counted for that day alone. 36,348 Of those victims found emergency shelters or temporary housing. It included 16,917 adults and 19,431 children. Another 30,233 adults and children sought counseling, legal assistance, support services in non-residential assistance and services.

The Hotline calls for that particular day, regarding household violence in a 24-hour survey was 20,267!

Many Americans look abroad and try to help women in the Middle East and other territories, where they are also abused. But we have issues here in our own country, with battered women and their kids, as well. Many shelters in the USA, need funds to support and help improve these battered women and their children's lives. Make a difference in your own community and donate funds or materials to shelters near you!

Source: National Network To End Domestic Violence (NNEDV)

WomenOnGuard.com Added Quick Escape To All It's Pages

We are proud to announce that we have implemented a "Quick Escape" button on each page of our website. This allows anyone browsing our site to quickly escape from any page and be directed to the Google search engine.

The main reason for this addition, is to help women and men that are victims of domestic violence abuse. Giving these victims the opportunity to look through our website for self defense products while allowing them to quickly escape, if their abuser starts looking over their shoulder. It is a great safety feature! Many women and men suffer from domestic violence in our country. Clicking on any of the "Quick Escape" tabs that are throughout our WomenOnGuard.com website, will redirect the person viewing the site to the "Google" search engine. This prevents the abuser from knowing that their victim has been searching for self defense products, such as pepper spray, stun guns, batons, etc.

Of course domestic violence victims will be able to browse throughout all our self defense products. Including our product detail pages and static information pages, such as: Hotlines, How Products Work, FAQ's, Shipping Policy… and still be able to leave the website with one click!

In addition to utilizing the "Quick Escape" tabs, on our WomenOnGuard.com site, customers have the option during the checkout process, to request that we use "WOG" as the return address on their package. This, instead of us placing our website's name on the package's return address. Therefore, anyone that may see the package label, will not know where the package is from. This information should be added to the "Special Instructions" section, during checkout.

As always, at WomenOnGuard.com, we take your personal safety very seriously. If you have any other suggestions on how we can improve our site, to better serve women, please let us know by contacting us!

Revised Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Passed

Finally this important act was passed and signed yesterday by President Obama. It went through rough waters, late last year, when Congress would not agree with certain issues.

Photo: National Center on
Domestic and Sexual Violence

This Act was supposed to have been passed last year by Congress. The new, expanded VAWA law, will cover women involved in domestic violence, as it has in the past. But it will also cover domestic violence to gay, lesbian and transgender victims, as well. Native Americans and undocumented immigrants will also be added.

The initial VAWA was the work of Joe Biden, back in 1994 and it also helps fund rape crisis centers around the country. The much needed expansion of the Act, will also cover related crimes, such as dating violence and stalking crimes.

The signing ceremony of the new act yesterday, included President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Congress members, organizations for women, Native American leaders, law enforcement groups and of course, some survivors of domestic violence.

Update of Violence Against Women Act

Sad news today about the Violence Against Women Act. It has not been been extended to help more Native American women, among other women, that desperately need help or assistance. 

This just emphasizes the lacking interest to help women by the House of Representatives branch of our government. The Senate passed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, back in April of last year. We were hoping that the House of Representatives would have it up for a vote, before the end of last year… but it didn't. Instead, they let it die, without bothering to vote for it.

To read more about the Violence Against Women Act, read our previous blog post.

Seems like women are still considered 2nd class citizens in this country.

October is Also Domestic Violence Month

Breast Cancer sometimes overshadows the fact that this month is also dedicated to the domestic violence problem we have in our country. 

Photo by -mrsraggle-

Just like rape or sexual assault is an epidemic in our nation, so is domestic violence. There are very few people in our country that have not been exposed to this problem, either through their parents, relatives or neighbors. It's a family problem, because if children are present, it's their problem as well. Many times, economic issues drive up the amount of cases, and just worsens the outcome of these situations. Children do poorly in school and most of the time, the wife is the focus of abuse. Plus, lets not forget that in a few cases, the husbands are the ones being abused...

Fortunately, there are many shelters in our nation for violent abuse episodes and women can escape before it's too late. We found a website that actually helps women and offers tips on how to prepare for themselves and their children's escape, from these domestic violence situations. It's called, "THE HOTLINE" and while a woman reads through the site, it actually has a link constantly on the website, that a woman can select, if their abuser peeks over their shoulder, to find out what she is reading about… It's call the "QUICK ESCAPE". She can just click on it and the "Google Search" website shows up instead! Plus, there really is a phone hotline on the site; 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). It too, is present at all times while searching through THE HOTLINE website.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic violence, please let them know about THE HOTLINE website, for planning her escape to safety.

Violence Against Women Act Manipulation

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), was started back when President Clinton was in office, in September of 1994. It was drafted by Senator Biden's office and was designed to help women in domestic violence and rape situations. The Department of justice, included this new act and opened the Office on Violence Against Women.

It seems that VAWA is presently being manipulated by Congress. They are trying to pass a reconfigured Act which is different from the original Senate version. The new VAWA version that Congress wants to pass will benefit rapists and domestic violent husbands, plus minimize other services that women victims need. As it stands, the original Act is currently expired and Congress seems determined to drastically change it and drag it out until 2013, instead of passing it immediately.

The following is what VAWA helps with:

• Community violence prevention programs
• Protection for victims who are evicted from their homes because of events related to domestic violence or stalking
• Funding for victim assistance services, like rape crisis centers & hotlines
• Programs to meet the needs of immigrant women and women of different races or ethnicities
• Programs and services for victims with disabilities
• Legal aid for survivors of violence

We encourage you to contact your member of Congress, as we did, by calling or emailing them. Let them know that you want the original Senate version, of VAWA, drafted by Biden, to continue and to be immediately signed by President Obama!

For more information and how you can help go to NOW
For the history of VAWA go to Wikipedia

Women Targeted Instead of Embraced in our Society

Is it just our imagination or are women in our society, being targeted and blamed for all our nation's problems?

Be it direct attacks like physical crimes against women such as rape or accusations that women should just stop having sex because they might get pregnant. A Woman is accused of being a whore or a prostitute because she wants to be fulfilled sexually... men excluded, of course. All of a sudden they are baby killers, bad mothers or the reason their sons become mass murderers. Plus let's not forget about domestic violence victims, who's only crime, was to marry the wrong man! Domestic violence is usually a hush, hush situation. These violent cases are rampant, yet you rarely hear about them in the news, unless of course it's about a movie star involved in a domestic violence situation...

Photograpy by hjl

There literally IS an attack against women in our American society. Most of these attacks are unfortunately coming from high profile individuals lately, and even from elected officials that us women actually voted for! Laws are presently being passed that restrict women from fulfilling their professional as well as their personal lives.

It's disconcerting, to read so many articles about women being abused abroad, while here in our own country, women are also treated disrespectfully and yes, as second class citizens too. Most Americans don't know that there's an average of 207,754 victims of rape, annually in our country (as per the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). That is an average of 1 rape, occurring every 2 minutes! This figure doesn't include sexual assaults that are not reported to the police by it's victims. These are for the most part, hate crimes. To make it worse, we have to hear about elected officials, almost trying to put us back in caves and dragging us by our hair... If they had their way, they would not allow women to work outside of their homes, let alone vote!

Fortunately in our society, women are the majority of voters and social media, such as FaceBook exists. We can change this trend. Our hope is that women will choose to vote for issues or candidates that help women and not hurt them. Because in the end, all societies are judged by how people treat their women and children. We have a long ways to go and we need to stand by each other and not allow this trend against women, to continue!

Kansas City will Not Protect Domestic Violence Victims

Photo by jimmywayne

This is unbelievable! Why doesn't Kansas City just get rid of their police force, while they are at it. Here we are nationally trying to get rid of violence in our streets and Kansas City decides to promote violence by not protecting women that are victims of domestic violence. Now every wife abuser and rapist has a free ticket to commit violence toward women and no one will be there to protect these victims. Domestic violence is most likely to increase because of the unemployment issue. This decision to not protect domestic violence victims is inexcusable. SHAME on Kansas City!

Read source article here.

Domestic Violence Victim Freed from Prison

AP Photo/The Tennessean, Shelley Mays

It's a shame that this woman was in prison for 26 years, simply because she was defending herself from her abusive husband! This it why so many women feel trapped in cases of domestic violence. They call authorities for help and all they get in response from authorities is "We can't interfear with domestic affairs, between a man and his wife".

Please read: BY TRAVIS LOLLER, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tennessee prison frees former death row inmate
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A woman who spent 26 years on death row and came within two months of being executed was freed Friday from a Tennessee prison.

In a Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011 file photo, Gaile Owens reacts after hearing one member of the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole voting 'Yes' to release her, during her first parol hearing at the Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville, Tenn.

Gaile Owens, 58, of Memphis was released Friday and greeted by a small group of supporters outside Tennessee's Prison for Women.

She was sentenced to die for hiring a stranger to kill her husband in 1985, but her death sentence was commuted to life in prison last year and she won parole last week.

Supporters had urged her release, claiming she was a battered wife who didn't use that defense because she didn't want her young sons to know about the physical and sexual abuse.

The first thing she did on leaving the prison was to hug one of those sons, Stephen Owens, who is now grown and has children of his own.

Owens issued a written statement and then immediately left the prison.

"I'm looking forward to leading a quiet, private but productive life," the statement said. She said she wanted to get to know her son and the grandchildren born while she was in prison.

Her son said he was looking forward to spending the rest of the day with his mother.

Owens' sentence was commuted to life in prison in July 2010 by former Gov. Phil Bredesen. He acknowledged the abuse claims of her supporters but gave a different reason for his decision to spare her life. Bredesen said prosecutors had agreed not to seek the death penalty if Owens pleaded guilty but then put her on trial when her co-defendant wouldn't accept the plea bargain.

At the time she was imprisoned, a life sentence meant serving 30 years and she was eligible to be released now because of good conduct.

Survivors of Domestic Violence, Rape or Similar Abuse

Photo by bioxid

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and when we read of these horrific domestic violence or abuse cases in the news, we normally think it can't happen to me or any of my close friends. What we don't realize is that there is so much stigma related to this topic that it usually is not mentioned in our social circles and therefore we rarely find out of someone we know that is or was sexually assaulted or abused in the past. This is why we posted the names below. Even though the list is probably not someone you know personally, we feel the women included here, might be someone you can relate to...

Survivors of Domestic Violence or Sexual Abuse

Alice Walker (author/activist) abuse
Angie Dickenson (actress) emotional abuse
Anne Heche (actress) incest
Billie Holliday (singer) childhood rape
Christina Aguilera (singer) unspecified child abuse/secondary domestic violence
Connie Francis (singer) rape
Eleanor Roosevelt (former First Lady) unspecified child abuse
Ella Fitzgerald (singer) abuse
Farrah Faucett (actress) domestic violence
Halle Berry (actress, model) domestic violence
Marilyn Monroe (actress) child physical & sexual abuse/childhood attempted rape (according to IMDB.com)/domestic violence
Maya Angelou (author, poet) childhood rape
Nicole Brown Simpson - domestic violence (very likely murdered by OJ)
Oprah Winfrey (talk show host) child sexual abuse
Pamela Anderson (actress) rape/domestic violence
Queen Latifah (rapper/actress/model) child sexual abuse
Rita Hayworth (actress) incest
Rosanne Arnold (actress) child sexual abuse
Rosie Perez (actress) child sexual abuse
Sandra Dee (actress) incest
Tina Turner (singer) domestic violence
Tori Amos (musician) rape
Virginia Woolf (author) incest

Try to volunteer or donate to a women's crisis center near you and spread the word about this violence that can only be resolved if we take action.

Source:
As Waters Passing By

Parents, Stop Buying Boys Toy Guns.

Photo by ganesha.isis

Have you ever noticed that the boy's toy section in retail stores, always have fake guns, rifles, machine guns and other types of firearm toys? They even have missile launchers, grenades, fighter jets, tanks... the list goes on and on. All toys that encourage violence! Children, specifically boys, are encouraged from age 3 to play with toy firearms. We know they are fake, but should a society like ours, encourage this type of violence and unrealistic games about killing each other? Won't this in a way desensitize boys and actually teach them how to act out violent situations with guns?

We are always complaining about violence in our society and blame television and movies for exposing children to it. Yet, we ourselves are encouraging violence for boys and girls at a very young age. Learning starts in the home and playing with toy guns should be discouraged!

Next time you go to a birthday party or a holiday gathering with friends and relatives, make sure that the gifts you take AREN'T GUNS!

Flash Mob, The New Threat Of Violence

Photo by looking4poetry

What is a Flash Mob, you ask? It's when young people organize thru the internet or cell phones, to meet at a certain place and cause destruction or injury. There seems to be a growing trend for this in the United States and in other countries. Young people rioting or going into retail stores and destroying or stealing everything in site! This is all done just for the fun of it or to get some attention.

We believe that this new Flash Mob phenomena started by observing how the Egyptians took control of their country by connecting thru social media or internet and cell phones. But what actually helped a country out of a Dictatorship is now becoming a trend to do the opposite; cause harm and vandalize legit establishments. You could see examples of this violence when London was the stage for these criminal young hoodlums, last week. Earlier this week there was violence in 4 San Francisco subway stations and recently the 7-Eleven store in Maryland, where 28 teenage members of a Flash Mob, came in and pushed items off the shelves and also robbed products. All of this violence by Flash Mobs was planned thru cell phone contact and internet social media communication.

This is a very worrisome situation that can easily escalate. Some cities in the United States have been forced to place curfews against teenagers being out and about after a certain time of the night. The problem though, is that these Flash Mobs can happen at any time of the day. It seems like we are going to need more police officers to patrol our streets and include some hefty fines for those teenagers who decide to gather and commit these violent crimes.

Domestic Violence Shelter Receives Pepper Spray from Women On Guard™

Women On Guard™ donated pepper spray to the Crisis Center of Northern New Mexico, in Espanola, New Mexico.

Pompano Beach, FL, August 2, 2010. Women On Guard™ is an e-commerce website that sells self defense products such as pepper spray, mace, tasers, stun guns and personal alarms. The owners of WomenOnGuard.com, Susan Eaton and Martha Z. Martinez, regularly make pepper spray donations to women’s crisis centers or similar causes around the country. The website which was started in 2006, also offers Hotlines and Safety Tips, among other information regarding self defense.

The mission of the Crisis Center of Northern New Mexico is to impact the cycle of domestic violence by providing crisis intervention with short and long-term programs in the service areas of Rio Arriba, Los Alamos and Northern Santa Fe counties of New Mexico. They provide a safe haven (shelter) for persons who have sustained physical, sexual, psychological violence or a combination thereof without prejudice to age, race, creed, gender, color or sexual preference. The Crisis Center also provides counseling, advocacy, education and other services as needed to accomplish the mission. It also provides public education and information relating to the nature of physical, sexual and psychological domestic violence.

Susan Eaton, one of the owners of Women On Guard, expressed her concerns about violence during the summer months. She mentioned, “The rate of sexual assaults unfortunately increases when many people take time off from work or school. This is mostly due to more social interaction, be it at parties, walking down city streets while enjoying the weather or just at a barbecue in a park. Many times there is alcohol involved that result in people making silly decisions, like leaving a party with a complete stranger or accepting a drink that contains a date rape drug.”

Women On Guard also wanted to make sure that people, especially women, take precautions during this summer. Below is a short list of some of their safety tips:

• Always be aware of your surroundings.
• Never walk alone at night, no matter how safe it may seem. Ask someone to go w/you.
• Exercise routines such as walking or running outdoors, should have a variable schedule, don’t be too predictable for a potential attacker.
• Always get your own drink at parties or bars. Watch it being poured, keep an eye on it and never leave your drink unattended. Don’t drink out of a punch bowl. When ordering beer, it’s best to get it in a sealed bottle. 
• Never accept to leave a nightclub or party with a stranger. If you are intoxicated, have the barkeeper or host of the party, call for a taxi.
• Keep in mind that intoxicated individuals are potential victims for attackers. Criminals take advantage of people who have their guard down.