Articles

March 1, 2005: [1] The Buck Stops Here : [2] Institutional Response to Rape

The institutional response to sexual assault can be likened to any public response to rape: it has the potential to heal as well as to harm. When an institution shrouds the abuse in secrecy, survivors and their families are disempowered and discarded, an experience some survivors describe as revictimization. While news about institutions tolerating and condoning sexual assault is distressing, many survivors and allies are bravely facing powerful foes who would have them remain silent. [[3] more]

October 1, 2004: [4] Same Old Story : [5] The Case Against Kobe Bryant

About a year ago, a young woman reported that Kobe Bryant raped her. In the months since she came forward, she has suffered the harsh spotlight of the public gaze. She was called a liar in the national press, her privacy was invaded by both prosecutors and the media, and like so many rape victims, her criminal case will not go forth to trial. While this case played itself out on a bigger stage than most, it also tells the same old story about sexual assault, its perpetrators, and its victims in America. In the wake of this status quo case turned celebrity scandal, are we missing a teachable moment? [[6] more]

January 13, 2004: [7] Are You Being Served? : [8] The City Must Stand Up to the Assault on Services

New York City’s poor alone would be America’s fifth largest city. And forty-two percent of women receiving public assistance were sexually abused as children. The connections between sexual assault and poverty are impossible to ignore. The anti-poverty and anti-rape movements must work together – for everyone’s sake. [[9] more]

January 13, 2004: [10] Ask the Alliance

I recently received an e-mail warning me that rapists are combining common date rape drugs like "roofies" with a drug called Progesterex that permanently sterilizes a female victim. The e-mail described the drug as a sterilization pill used for horses. Is this true? [[11] more]

October 15, 2003: [12] Prevention is the Best Cure : [13] Ending Child Sexual Abuse

Advocates and activists have long known how to distinguish risk reduction from true prevention when working to end sexual assault. Risk reduction provides potential victims with information and skills to understand the reality of sexual violence, identify situations in which stranger and acquaintance rape occur, and avoid and survive potential rape situations. Prevention involves affecting the behavior of perpetrators or potential perpetrators. Risk reduction is an effective tool that may prevent some rapes, but anti-sexual assault advocates have always been clear about one thing: prevention is key, because it is the perpetrators who need to change, not their victims. The same principles apply to child sexual abuse. [[14] more]

July 25, 2003: [15] New and Improved : [16] Innovations in the Fight Against Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault

Drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) is a notoriously difficult crime to prosecute. But a number of innovative tools and methods could soon change that, thanks to the collaborative efforts of service providers, state agencies and private companies. [[17] more]

July 25, 2003: [18] Sexual Violence is a Crisis, Too

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March 15, 2003: [20] City Council Will Hear Testimony on Sexual Assault

Preventing sexual violence requires public awareness and involvement. The Alliance is working with the City Council to create a forum on sexual violence for Council Members to encourage leadership and action to end sexual assault in NYC. The event will take place on April 9th in the Chambers at City Hall, from 5:00 to 7:30 pm. [[21] more]

March 15, 2003: [22] Be Seen and Heard : [23] On Legislative Awareness Day, a Face is Worth a Hundred Letters

Throughout the year, the Alliance provides legislative alerts asking you to write, phone, fax or e-mail your representatives and add your voice as an advocate for prevention, awareness and treatment of sexual assault and its victims. On April 29th, the Alliance will bring you face to face with New York State decision makers. [[24] more]

January 8, 2003: [25] Stopping Traffic : [26] New Initiatives to Gridlock the Human Trafficking Industry in NYC

The United Nations Development Programme estimates that trafficking in women and girls for sexual purposes is a $7 billion a year business. As a major American port and an international city by all standards, New York is no stranger to the industry of human trafficking. The US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement has funded two new efforts to fight human trafficking in New York City. [[27] more]

January 8, 2003: [28] Ask the Alliance!

I would like to volunteer as an advocate, to help others... How do I find an organization near me to work with? Can men be rape crisis advocates? [[29] more]

September 17, 2002: [30] A Closer Look at Minors' Rights : [31] Quarterly Meeting Review

At the Alliance's latest quarterly meeting Anna Schissel, an Attorney at the NYCLU, explained some of the legal issues regarding providers who treat minors following a sexual assault. [[32] more]

June 21, 2002: [33] Take Back The Night : [34] NYC Students March Against Violence

Since the 1970’s, Take Back The Night (TBTN) marches have been organized across the United States, and around the world. Some marches have narrowed their focus to rape and sexual assault, while others have expanded their focus to include other forms of interpersonal violence. The TBTN tradition seems to be strongest on college campuses. This April, at least three universities in NYC carried on the tradition. [[35] more]

June 21, 2002: [36] Talking to Teens: Rape Crisis Programs’ Successes and Challenges

The topic of the Alliance’s last quarterly meeting, held March 26th, was providing outreach and prevention education to teens in high schools. [[37] more]

April 15, 2002: [38] Spotlight On: Denise Briales

Denise Briales is a Child and Family Advocate and Counselor at the Brooklyn Child Advocacy Center (BAC), a program of Safe Horizon and the only DOH funded child advocacy center. She works with a multidisciplinary team of prosecutors, medical specialists, Child Protection Services and the Brooklyn Child Abuse Squad. [[39] more]