But how can we stop IT …. if we won’t even talk about IT ?

Sexual Assault… talk about IT .

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In 2004 the Office on Violence Against Women (VAWA), the U.S. Department of Justice, The Stalking Resource Center and the The National Center for Victims of Crime launched Stalking Awareness Month.  Every January communities all over the country promote stalking awareness by holding events and sharing information about this crime.

Read President Obama’s Proclamation

Please visit The Center’s stalking web page or The Office of Violence Against Women website for more information.

National Survey Reveals Sexual Violence Continues to be a Public Health Issue;

Rape Crisis Centers Need Support

Placerville, Calif. Dec. 15, 2011 — On December 14, 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), which revealed an increased need for rape crisis centers and rape prevention programs. NISVS is an ongoing, national representative survey that assesses experiences of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence among adult women and men in the United States.

The study shows that nearly 1 in 2 women (44.6%) and 1 in 5 men (22.2%) experience sexual violence other than rape throughout their lifetime. Approximately 1.3 million women reported being raped in the 12 months prior to taking the survey, which makes this a crucial time for The Center for Violence-Free Relationships to reach out to members of the community. The survey points out that the percentage of women who were raped as children or adolescents and also raped as adults was more than two times higher than the percentage among women without an early rape history. Thus, there is great need for The Center’s early prevention efforts that promote healthy, respectful relationships in families by fostering healthy parent-child relation­ships and developing positive family dynamics and emotionally supportive environments.

In 2010-2011, about 30,000 people accessed crisis intervention services from one of California’s 63 rape crisis centers. A majority of funding dedicated to rape crisis centers is delivered from the federal budget, not the state budget. The state of California only dedicated $45,000 to sexual violence programs in 2010-2011, which means that California allotted $1.50 for each individual who accessed services. The NISVIS survey shows that there are more than 2 million people in the California who are survivors of rape. Due to the small amount of funding provided by the state and cuts from federal funding streams, rape crisis centers struggle to reach all survivors. In order to increase the volume of services available, decrease the number of sexual assaults, and to help foster healthier communities, California needs to develop a funding initiative for rape crisis centers.

“The evidence is clear.  Rape prevention education programs work.  However, year after year prevention education funding continues to get reduced.  According to our local law enforcement, sexual assault of children continues to be one of the most reported crimes in our community,” stated The Center’s Executive Director Matt Huckabay.  “The short and long term impact experienced by sexual assault victims and their family members is devastating, pervasive and can last for decades and often times results in a whole host of mental, physical and emotional problems which are more costly and more difficult to treat than the cost of prevention.”

The social norms that contribute to violence can be changed, and rape crisis centers, such as The Center, need financial support to meet such a goal. It is important to continue addressing the beliefs, attitudes and messages that are deeply embedded in social structures that create a climate to condone sexual violence, stalking and intimate partner violence. For example, this can be done through programs such as My Strength which is a program for high school boys. MyStrength is a unique initiative focused on preventing first-time perpetration of sexual violence. The campaign works with young men and centers on the theme, “My Strength is Not for Hurting,” which emphasizes positive masculinity and enables men to utilize their strength to stand up and speak out against sexual violence.

As advocates, The Center believes that violence can be prevented and its impact can be reduced. The data contained within NISVS shows that sexual violence is not going away and that it continues to be a public health issue. The prevention and intervention of rape must be a priority in California and throughout the nation. This data can help inform the creation of a proactive paradigm in which communities can identify how to nurture future generations to be healthier and less violent.

View the complete report and toolkit online at www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/nisvs, and additional supporting resources at www.calcasa.org/nisvs.

The Grinch is nowhere to be seen… and The Center’s Holiday Adopt-a-Family Program is already in full swing again this year.  Last year The Center served 93 clients and 173 children who would have otherwise had a very unmerry holiday.  Many of our clients, especially those that are in our shelter have no family or friends nearby and so the Adopt-a-Family program is that much more important.

“I took my son and we left our home with the clothes on our backs.  I had no job, no family in the state, and we were in a shelter.  Talk about the makings for a dismal holiday.  The Center’s Adopt-a-Family program came to the rescue and saved the holiday season for me and my son.  He was blessed with toys and jammies and the donors were so great that I cried when I received gifts too.  Thank you all so much for giving us a wonderful Christmas blessing.”  ~ A Grateful Client

The Center for Violence-Free Relationships announces its 28th Annual Season for Change Gala on Saturday, November 5th, 2011 at Mercedes Benz of El Dorado Hills.

The Season for Change Gala is the premier food and wine event showcasing the best of El Dorado County and proceeds from this event are a major source of funds needed to provide services to families affected by domestic violence, sexual assault and will help us meet the increased demand for violence prevention education programs in our schools.

Come and take part in the Silent and Live Auctions!  We’ll be doing a bidding frenzy this year and have changed the format of our program to make it ever more exciting!  This year we will have many wonderful auction items including sign-up parties like “Flip Flops N’ Lemon Drops” and “Cigars N’ Something Dead BBQ” (see below.)  The fun doesn’t stop there we have “Queen for a Year” and “King for a Year”, golf packages, exiting dinner and travel packages all waiting for you!  Come out to Mercedes Benz in El Dorado Hill for a night of fine food, fine wine and fun all for a good cause!   Click here to purchase tickets to the event! 

Cigars N’ Something Dead BBQ

Gentlemen, get ready for an evening of smoking n’ eatin’ at the home of Board Member Doug Hoisington. Sign up for this fun event with some friends – Doug will provide fine cigars, beer, wine and he’ll BBQ up something dead! Simple and a bit rowdy, this evening promises to be a great time to hang with great friends.

Date: Saturday, May 12, 2012 from 6 – 9 pm. 

Hurry, there are only 40 spots available.  Click here to register!

Flip Flops N’ Lemon Drops

Ladies! Sign up for this exciting poolside party hosted by The Center’s Board Vice President, Barbara Bossung in her lovely home in El Dorado Hills. Spend the afternoon relaxing by the pool with your friends and enjoying delicious lemon drop libations and savory nibbles. You will also be pampered by 3 certified massage therapists!

Date: Friday, May 18, 2012 from 4:00 – 6:30 pm.

Sign up early, only 40 spaces available!  Click here to register!

I had no idea what to expect but found myself blown away by the experience. There were approximately 50 people from all over the world participating in this training. Within a couple of days we formed a community that would bond in a powerful way. Many are still keeping in touch via email. I established friendships that I intend to continue and shared tears with many as they held my needs in their hearts.

I learned many things including how to befriend my jackals. Jackal is the term used to describe the language that we use that does not serve life. They are the voices in our head that judge, criticize or blame others.

My highlight of the training was being able to express my gratitude to Marshall and Valentina Rosenberg for all they have done to further nonviolent communication in the world. I will never forget the excitement I saw in Marshall and Valentina’s eyes as I shared how NVC has impacted my personal life, and how we are now integrating the nonviolent communication process into all that we do at The Center and how that is impacting the lives of our clients.  I also shared the recidivism stats that our batterer’s program has recorded. We recently found out that clients who graduated in 2007 and 2008 from our batterer’s intervention program have not reoffended. This is a 100% success rate in clients who we served that belong to El Dorado County!

I told Marshall that he contributed to these results because it is his process that we have been integrating into the curriculum. I also shared that I am so grateful for him teaching me things that my parents were not able to teach me that I can now teach to my children.

Dr. Moalli brings a wealth of knowledge to The Center’s Board of Directors.  As an officer of a publically traded company, his expertise in running a large organization will directly benefit The Center in the areas of corporate responsibility, contract and employee law, and personnel policies and procedures.

With fundraising being one of his primary goals, Dr. Moalli and his wife got a running start and will be hosting a benefit dinner for The Center in the near future.  He is excited to be able to help The Center with fundraising activities with larger corporations.  “I have a lot to add there and can help them understand what The Center is all about and have them write some checks!!”

Dr. Moalli is looking forward to his service on the Board.  “So far, I’m excited about a number of things.  The composition of the Board is very good and I’m excited to work with the other Board members.  Also… any minute, any hour of effort we put in really benefits people who could use that help.”

We are excited to have such a tremendous community leader join our ranks and we look forward to serving our clients together.  Welcome Dr. Moalli!

In 2001, April officially became Sexual Assault Awareness Month, but since the early 1970’s men and women alike have taken to the streets to march against sexual assault.

Every April, The Center sponsors an annual “Community March To Stop Sexual Assault.”  There is an old saying: “You can’t really understand another person’s experience until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.”  During the March, The Center asks men to literally walk one mile in women’s high-heeled shoes. It’s not easy walking in these shoes, but it can be fun and it gets the community to talk about something that’s really difficult to talk about: gender relations and sexual violence.

The March is a fun event that brings about prevention education and community involvement.  Together we can be a powerful force for good, changing the way we look at sexual assault in our community and how we treat the victims of this very serious crime.

This year’s event will be held at Town Hall in Placerville on Saturday April 30th. The national theme for this year is “It’s Time… To Get !nvolved – Engaging Bystanders in Sexual Violence Prevention.” Our Education Director, Judy Knapp is putting together a program on how bystanders can get more involved when they witness sexual violence either in the form of a harassing comment or an actual act of rape.

The morning will begin with breakfast and registration at 8:30 and the program will begin at 9:30 am. The March down Main Street will begin at 10:00. We’ll be holding a special auction to see which local public figure will wear the Golden Slippers down main street!!

So, gather your family, friends, co-workers or your basketball team and join us! There will be prizes for the most pledges collected and the biggest teams! Click here for a Pledge Form 2011. $25.00 team registration includes team photo! Become a Team Captain, recruit your team, collect pledges and come March to Stop Sexual Assault!

If you or your business would like to sponsor the event, you’ll receive event and media recognition. This is a great way to show your support of our community. Click here for a Sponsor form 2011.

The Center is the sole agency dealing with sexual assault in El Dorado County. Last year 133 victims of sexual assault sought help through our agency. Last fiscal year we gave 209 prevention education presentations to 3,692 people in our county. If you can’t become a sponsor or form a team you can still get involved and support The Center’s prevention educational programs.  Click the button below to make your tax deductible contribution.

We need to come together as a community and learn how to be more effective at Speaking UP and Speaking OUT against sexual violence. We are looking forward to seeing you on Saturday, April 30th.