 |
In this issue:
Promising Practices: From the Desk of the Training Director
Sexual Assault News
Opinion
Emerging Technology
Legislative News
Forensic News
Job Openings:
People on the Move:
Forensic Exams for the Sexual Assault Suspect
By Joanne Archambault, SATI Training Director and Founder of EVAW
International
One source of evidence that is critically
important but all too often overlooked in a sexual assault investigation is
the suspect examination. In my experience, I have found that most law
enforcement agencies have failed to establish appropriate policies and
procedures for obtaining comprehensive forensic examinations for sexual
assault suspects which is unfortunate, given the potential for recovering
probative evidence from the body as well as the clothing of suspects. The
purpose of this Promising Practices article is to make the case for the
importance of suspect examinations, to explore some of the reasons why they
often are not done, and to provide concrete recommendations for overcoming
these barriers and using suspect examinations effectively in your community. [read more]
Top of page
U.S. Marine Corps Settles High-Profile Cases for $200,000
The U.S. Marine Corps agreed to pay two young women $200,000 in a case where
two military recruiters were accused of rape, according to the San Francisco
Chronicle. The young women were 17 years old in 2004 when the assaults
occurred in a northern California recruiting office. In addition to the
payout, the settlement also requires that recruiting stations in northern
California post notices with confidential contact information for women who
feel they have been sexually mistreated by recruiters. It also requires that
female recruiters be available to talk with young women seeking information
about joining the Marines, and that female supervisors
be present at any Marine-sanctioned slumber parties that involve female
recruits or applicants. While the settlement did not constitute an admission
of guilt on the part of the two marines, both were court martialed and
demoted. They were later discharged from the Marines, according to the
Chronicle.
Source:
”U.S. Marine Corps settles sexual assault case,” San Francisco Chronicle,
June 7, 2007.
Top of page
Writer, Activist and Rape Survivor Receives Visionary Award
At its annual conference held in Houston earlier this year,
End Violence
Against Women (EVAW) International honored Anne Ream with its annual
Visionary award. Every year EVAW International presents this award to an
individual who has raised awareness of violence against women and proposed
innovative ideas to end it. Past award recipients include Delaware Senator
Joseph R. Biden Jr., California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and Dr. David
Lisak, director of the Boston-based Sexual Trauma Research Center.
Anne, a Chicago-based communications professional, activist, and survivor,
brings her private sector experience and passion for social justice together
in her work with The Voices and Faces Project, the national non-profit she
founded in 2003. She also delivered the keynote address at the opening
session of the conference. [read more]
Top of page
Judge Bans the Language of Rape from Courtroom
Last fall a Nebraska district judge granted a motion by defense attorneys
which effectively bars use of the words rape, sexual assault,
victim,
assailant, and sexual assault kit in the courtroom at the rape trial of Pamir Safi, according to
Slate magazine. As a result, the defense and the
prosecution have had to use the same word—sex—to refer to both forcible
sexual assault as well as consensual sex. The jurors were not advised of the
gag order.
Even the victim herself was prohibited from using the words rape or
sexual
assault when she testified for 13 hours at the trial last fall. The woman,
Tory Bowen, believes that describing what happened to her as sex is almost
an assault in itself. "This makes women sick, especially the women who have
gone through this," the victim told the Omaha World Herald. "They know the
difference between sex and rape."
Judge Jeffre Cheuvront’s ruling is based on Nebraska law which gives judges
the latitude to ban evidence or language that present the danger of "unfair
prejudice, confusion of the issues or misleading the jury," and defense
lawyers are increasingly using this tactic.
[read more]
Top of page
Virginia Man Attempts to Justify Incest
Confronted by his grown daughters about sexual abuse he committed against them
during their youth, the now 70-year old man told them that he had performed
the sex acts as a way to guide and train them and that they were wrong to
think it was inappropriate, according to the
Washington Post. The man,
James L. Bevel, was a leader of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Since
his arrest and the subsequent publicity surrounding the case, Loudoun County
prosecutors have received calls from other individuals across the country
alleging inappropriate conduct by Bevel.
Source:
“Civil Rights Leader Released on Bond; Man Had Been Indicted on an Incest
Charge,” Washington Post, June 17, 2007
Top of page
The Duke Lacrosse Case: Cheers can't drown out painful truths
Public brawl over rape allegations reminds us of the price women sometimes must
pay for being heard
by Anne K. Ream
Supporters of the Duke University lacrosse team are in a celebratory mood. The
team excelled in last month's NCAA tournament. And just last week, the prosecutor who filed rape charges against
three of the team's players was himself put on trial, accused of ethics
violations in pursuing a case fraught with problems.
The young men who narrowly lost to rival Johns Hopkins in the NCAA championship
game are indeed gifted and resilient athletes. But praising the players as
"outstanding" and "upstanding" young men, as the Duke Lacrosse Booster Club did
in a full-page advertisement in The New York Times, is a reminder of just how
low the bar has fallen when it comes to acceptable male behavior. Legal
vindication is not moral vindication, no matter how hard a PR campaign works to
make it so.
We may never know everything that occurred on the night of March 13, 2006, when
the Duke lacrosse players threw a team party at an off-campus house. But what we
do know is troubling enough.
Photos taken at the party show two young women, hired to perform by the players,
dancing at the center of a group of largely drunken and leering men. The North
Carolina attorney general's report details how one of the lacrosse players held
up a broomstick during the night's events, suggesting that the women use it as a
"sex toy." Another player sent a chilling group e-mail just hours after the
party, musing about bringing in more "strippers" and cutting off their skin
while ejaculating. Witnesses reported hearing racial slurs lobbed by partygoers.
[read more]
Top of page
Agencies Find Bulk Purchase of On-Line Training is an Effective Tool
Rape crisis centers, law enforcement agencies and other institutions are
encouraged to take advantage of the bulk purchase discount now available for
the
On-Line Training Institute (OLTI). Introduced in January of this year by
End Violence Against Women (EVAW) International, the OLTI is designed to
provide comprehensive training for professionals in a variety of disciplines
on the criminal justice and community response to sexual assault. The OLTI is
currently accredited for law enforcement professionals in 7 states, with more
states to be added soon. EVAW International will also pursue accreditation for
professionals in other disciplines such as social work and nursing.
The standard cost for individuals to register for the OLTI is $50 per module,
or $200 for those who sign up for all six modules. This already represents a
$100 savings compared to the purchase of six individual modules. The group
discount then offers an additional $25 savings per registrant for agencies or
Sexual Assault Response and Resource Teams who register 30 or more
participants for all six modules. This totals $175 per trainee for
registration in six OLTI modules. Because each training module generally takes
from 4 to 10 hours of work to complete, this price represents an extremely
cost-effective way to provide comprehensive training to a large number of
staff or volunteers. As a special offer, the first five agencies who register
for this bulk discount as a result of receiving this e-newsletter will receive
an additional $25 per trainee savings, for a total cost of $150 per trainee.
The experience of one rape crisis center in a small New York community shows
how the bulk discount can be beneficial. In the past, the rape crisis center
found it difficult to provide cost-effective training for the small numbers of
volunteers who sign-up sporadically. So the agency submitted a grant which
would allow them to purchase a bulk OLTI package for 30 trainees, which is the
number of volunteers they usually recruit in the course of a single year. The
OLTI is seen as an effective way to bring new volunteers quickly up-to-speed.
The crisis center can then schedule periodic one-day training sessions on
agency-specific issues, in order to round out the training program for their
new volunteers.
EVAW International issues a personalized certificate upon the successful
completion of each training module. To find out more about the On-Line
Training Institute or to register for training modules – including the free,
introductory module on Effective Report Writing,
click here.
Top of page
Clinical Drug Trial Offers Hope for PTSD Victims
A drug called propranolol, currently used for high blood pressure, is now in
clinical trials to determine its effectiveness in treating those suffering
from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a condition common among sexual
assault survivors. According to Leslie Stahl of CBS News, if the research
bears out, the results could fundamentally change the way accident victims,
rape victims and even soldiers are treated after they experience trauma.
[read more]
Top of page
Online Sex Crimes Mapping
The daily national crime news web site
crimeradius.com offers an interactive map
of sex crimes as well as articles about sexual assaults from over 800 sources
published within the last 24 hours. For more information, visit their
website or click on the image below:
Top of page
SASP Moves Closer to Funding
The Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) won two significant victories in
Congress this month. The Senate Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS)
Appropriations Subcommittee included $10 million in funding for SASP when it
marked up its Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 appropriations bill earlier this week,
according to the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC). “Considering
that SASP was not in the president’s budget for 2008, this is a remarkable
achievement,” said Ilse Knecht, Deputy Director of Public Policy at the NCVC.
Earlier in the month, the U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee voted to
fund SASP at the same level as the Senate bill in its own FY 2008
appropriations bill, according to RAINN (the Rape, Abuse and Incest National
Network). If both the Senate and House provisions hold up throughout the
rest of the appropriations process, it would represent the first time SASP
has been funded since it was first authorized in the Violence Against Women
Act in January 2006 to support direct services to victims of sexual assault. [read more]
Top of page
House Bill Increases FVPSA Funding
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), the
Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and
Education (LHHS) in the House of Representatives voted earlier this month to
increase funding for the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA)
by $10 million, from $124.7 to $134.7 million. A percentage of the proposed
increase would be dedicated for direct services to children exposed to
violence. The LHHS appropriations bill will go to the full House
Appropriations Committee and then to the floor for debate and vote. The
Senate will go through the same process, then the two bills must be
reconciled in conference and passed in both chambers before going to the
White House for the President’s signature.
NCADV is also tracking four promising domestic violence bills related to
enhanced services for victims of domestic violence and their children which
are currently pending in the 110th Congress. The legislation focuses on
services for victims in the areas of economic security and sufficiency,
legal representation, and violence against children. Visit
NCADV for more
details about the legislation.
Top of page
New York Law
Allows State to Keep Sex Offenders Jailed Longer
Last month New York became the 19th state to enact a civil commitment law,
allowing the state to keep the most dangerous sex offenders incarcerated
after they complete their sentence. The law provides that mental health
experts must evaluate sex offenders before their scheduled release from
prison to assess their risk of committing more sex offenses. A jury also
will assess the risk of future crimes and a judge will then rule on
continued confinement or intensive supervision after release.
An estimated 1,500 prisoners could be subject to civil confinement, but
Governor Elliott Spitzer told the Albany Times Union that it is likely that
approximately 100 of them would be confined in secure mental health
facilities with another 250 who would be closely monitored. The law is
already facing an appeal from a convicted rapist whose case is the first one
to be argued.
Roger Canaff, Senior Attorney with the Bronx County District Attorney’s
office and President of End Violence Against Women International will be joining the new unit in the New York Attorney
General’s office which was created to handle the civil commitment cases.
Based in Manhattan, Canaff will be handling the “Downstate” cases.
Sources:
“1st civil confinement case heard: Convicted sex offender could be held
longer after sentence expires under a new state law,” Albany Times Union,
April 26, 2007
“Spitzer signs confinement measure: Law allows state to keep sex offenders
judged to be most dangerous behind bars, “Associated Press , March 15, 2007
Top of page
Guns and the DNA Left Behind
by Todd W. Bille,
DNA Technical Leader
ATF National Laboratory Center
Reprinted with permission from Swift & Certain, a
publication of the American Prosecutors Research Institute’s Gun Violence
Prosecution Program.
Gun violence has become a major problem in many cities. An increase in the
nation’s gang activity has been one of the primary sources feeding this
pandemic. According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, the rate of
firearm violence increased between 2004 and 2005, from 1.4 to 2.0 victimizations
per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.1
Identifying the persons holding these
weapons and using them in the commission of violent crime has been challenging.
The guns are trafficked into the country and sold on the street, and it has been
very difficult to tie these weapons to the end user. As the forensic community
continues to gain momentum with the development of new and expanded techniques
for DNA identification, this task may begin to get easier.
It is widely known that deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the substance found in
virtually every cell in an individual’s body and has been called the “genetic
blueprint.” Each person’s DNA is unique (except for an identical twin) and is
constant throughout the body. DNA can be transferred through many routes. Blood
can be left behind after a stabbing or saliva containing sloughed off epithelial
cells from the mouth can be transferred to a cigarette butt. Recently, results
have been obtained from DNA analysis of handled objects containing minute
quantities of cellular material containing DNA. [read
more]
1
Catalano, Shannan, Criminal Victimization, 2005, Bureau of Justice
Statistics Bulletin, (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs),
September 2006, NCJ 214644.
Top of page
|
|
|
Special bulk purchase offer!
On-Line Training Institute for Sexual Assault Investigations
Click here for more information
Upcoming Conferences/Training
International Conference on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence and Stalking
Presented by End Violence Against Women International
March 31 – April 2, 2008
New Orleans, Louisiana
Learn more
More Upcoming Conferences/Training
Jeanne Cleary Act Compliance
Security on Campus will be holding several regional trainings on Jeanne Cleary
Act compliance this Summer.
Learn more
International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) 15th Annual Scientific
Assembly
"Imagine A World Without Violence"
October 17th - 21st 2007
Salt Lake City, UT
Learn more
Establishing Expertise as an Ethical Expert Witness: Experts and Lawyers
Collaborating to Help Victims
Presented by the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence
August 2-3, 2007
Austin, Texas
Learn more
National Sexual Assault Conference
Presented by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and the Pennsylvania
Coalition Against Rape
September 12-14, 2007, Renaissance Harborplace Hotel, Baltimore Maryland
Learn More
People on the Move
Roger Canaff, Senior Attorney with the Bronx
County District Attorney’s office and President of the Board of Directors for End Violence Against Women
International will be joining the new unit in the office of the New York
Attorney General which was created to handle civil commitment cases. Based
in Manhattan, Canaff will be handling the “Downstate” cases.
Erin Gaddy, formerly a senior attorney at the National Center for the
Prosecution of Violence Against Women has accepted a position as Assistant
Director of the Elder/Disability Program at the National College of District
Attorneys. Erin can still be reached at erin.gaddy@ndaa.org.
Featured Resources
VictimLaw Offers Unprecedented Access to Victims’
Rights Statutes
The National Center for Victims of Crime recently launched VictimLaw, a
comprehensive, on-line database of state, federal, and tribal victims' rights
laws and protections, developed with funding from the Office for Victims of
Crime, U.S. Department of Justice.
[read more]
Resources for Prosecutors
The
National Center for the Prosecution of Violence Against Women has recently
published two excellent articles:
“Understanding the Non-Stranger Rapist,” The Voice, Volume 1, No. 11
“Victims and Witnesses with Developmental Disabilities and the Prosecution of
Sexual Assault,” The Voice, Volume 1, No. 12.
Job Openings
Sex Crimes Prosecutor, Guam
The Office of the Attorney General of Guam is recruiting for an experienced
sex crimes prosecutor for immediate hire. [read more]
Executive Director
The Network Against Sexual and Domestic Violence
Bozeman, Montana
Call 406.994.5682 to learn more
Meeting and Events Coordinator
California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Sacramento, CA
Learn more
Have a job opening, conference or an announcement of a personnel change for SATI e-news? Tell us about it at deblandrew@aol.com
|
|
