Attorney General's Sexual Assault Task Force

Connections                                              November  2011

In This Issue
Hawaii 2011
Baker City and Pendleton 2011
Goodbye Patti!
Committee Spotlight - Victim Response Subcommittee
Task Force Committee Reports

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Task Force Office Phone 
503-990-6541 (Salem)

Christine Herrman
Executive Director

Ashley Maier
Prevention Program Coordinator
[email protected]

Jennifer Ditter
SANE Program Coordinator


Jenna Harper 

Training Coordinator

[email protected]

 

Annika Baldwin

Training Specialist
 
Judy Hays
Membership Specialist
[email protected]rg

Denise Schott

Bookkeeper

 

Welcome to the ORSATF's Fall Newsletter  

Christine Herrman, ORSATF Executive Director  

 

ORSATF Members, Supporters and Friends,

 

This newsletter is late getting out to you because the ORSATF staff has been so busy with many exciting activities these past few months! 

 

In late September, we were notified that we were awarded two federal grants that allow us to expand our training program. 

 

  • With the assistance of a grant from the National Institutes for Justice and in partnership with the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, we are going to be offering SANE and SART training to the 43 Indian tribes in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. We are excited to get this project started and about the opportunity to work with such a fantastic partner. 
  • Thanks to a grant from the Office on Violence Against Women, we are once again going to be doing national training and technical assistance. The Law Enforcement Training and Capacity Building Project will bring the SATI law enforcement training team, and the successful training model, to up to 14 states over the next three years. 
 
Because of these two new projects, we wereAnnika able to hire a new Program Specialist. Annika Baldwin started with the ORSATF on October 31. Annika, a graduate of Western Oregon University, is devoted to providing effective education, prevention and response to sexual violence, using survivor-center strategies. She spent a year with Marion County Victim Assistance as a Sexual Assault Advocate, providing resources, emotional support, crisis counseling, and assistance in navigating the criminal justice system for survivors. Annika responded to calls, meeting victims of sexual assault at the hospital to offer support during the forensic examination and law enforcement interviews. She will be working on the two new projects, as well as any other training and conference activities that the ORSATF is involved in.
 
Speaking of conferences ... the Roots of Change Conference was held in early November in Portland, and it was a resounding success! Nearly 200 attendees from around the country participated in 3 days of workshops addressing the importance of media in social justice movements. Keynote speakers Jessica Valenti, Jaclyn Friedman, Rachel Griffin, Pat McGann, and Josh Phillips energized us all with their passion and commitment. Look for more about the conference in our next newsletter!
 
And, just last week, we completed a fantastic Prosecutor Training. Held at the Salem Conference Center, the training taught 21 deputy district attorneys from across the state about ways to successfully prosecute non-stranger sexual assault cases. Many thanks to SATI instructors Stephanie Tuttle (DOJ) and Jodie Bureta (Marion County) for their amazing work, and to the participants who made this one of the best prosecutor trainings we've ever had.
 
As we approach the winter holidays, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your ongoing support of, and involvement with, the Oregon Sexual Assault Task Force. It is an honor to work with all of you, and I wish you all the happiest of holidays. 

Prevention LOGO   

 

Hawaii 2011               

 

 

Ashley Maier, ORSATF Prevention Coordinator

 

Ashley - Hawaii - with SATF sign

This September, I was fortunate to be invited to

Hawaii to present two workshops at Hawaii's Sexual Violence Primary Prevention Community Action Seminar. My sessions were entitled Utilizing Media, Technology, and Social Networking in Sexual Violence Primary Prevention. The conference took place in Honolulu on the island of Oahu and lasted two days. Individuals from across the state/islands traveled to the city in groups called community action teams, or CATs. The CATs each consisted of a team leader who gathered the members together to form the team. Team members included individuals from various professions (MDs, nurses, clergy, non-profit practitioners,business owners, etc.) as well community members.

 

On the second day, I was able to work with the team from the island of Moloka'i (http://www.molokai.com/). I was told that Moloka'i is an island located within Maui County and inhabited by a rural community of approximately 7,500 individuals, many native Hawaiians. My time with them, and at the conference as a whole, was precious; from it I took home many lessons:

  • Community-based, community-driven, community-led solutions are the way to go!
  • Traditional cultural norms can be positive tools for change.
  • It's all about relationships!

Community-based Solutions

The essence of the community action team model is valuing and utilizing the expertise and power of the community to solve its problems. This was my first experience using this model for sexual violence prevention. Working with the team from Moloka'i, I saw first-hand that no one can know a community as well as its members. The Moloka'i team members discussed efforts that had come from outside of their community and how they were often not a fit, did not involve the community members, and usually ended abruptly. In this setting, however, the team was able to define the problem of sexual violence as it happens on Moloka'i, determine their own solutions, and plan to sustainably put those in place.  

 

Traditional Cultural Norms

We in this work frequently talk about negative cultural norms - the bad standards for behavior that cause the problems we want to eradicate. But what about positive cultural norms? What about the norms we can build from - norms we can promote? When I work with indigenous communities, I'm always struck by the very positive social norms that were core to the communities...before colonization. In Hawaii, the spirit of aloha continues today and has been largely embraced and also appropriated by the many corporations that profit off of the islands. Several attendees referred to "aloha culture" and negative behaviors being "very un-aloha." This is a positive cultural norm that defines Hawaii and can be used to promote healthy behaviors. Many indigenous communities throughout the world are working to get back to those core, positive, pre-colonization norms.  

 

Relationships

Each CAT was formed by a strong leader who keeps the team's momentum going. All members of these teams are doing this work on their own time-they are volunteers. Because the statewide project organizer had built strong relationships throughout Hawaii's communities, she was able to identify the heavily engaged individuals within each community and to ask them to be team leaders. Once those individuals were on board, they used their relationships and networks to recruit the full team. In fact, Moloka'i's team leader pulled together the team by talking to folks she ran into one day at the feed store!

 

Ashley in Hawaii

 

When I agreed to present at this conference, I thought I'd be going to Hawaii for work. What I found was that I also went to learn. After this trip, I feel energized, invigorated, motivated, and excited to see what is to come from Hawaii's CATs. Thank you to the Hawaii Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the Hawaii Department of Health, and the Hawaii Attorney General's Office for allowing me this opportunity.

       

 

Baker City and Pendleton 2011

 

Jenna Harper, ORSATF Training Coordinator 

 Jenna & sign

This past August, I was lucky enough to travel to a beautiful part of our state for training. As a new Oregonian, I was very excited to see a new area off of the I-5 corridor. I had been told of Oregon's beauty, but

eit was entirely different to experience it for myself. As I drove along I-84 through the Colombia Gorge, I watched the greenery disappear into rolling desert. My first stop was in Historic Baker City.

 

I met with the Baker County Sexual Assault Response Team, a group of dedicated, multidisciplinary folks who make up a great, victim-centered community response. The following days I was able to meet with advocates from La Grande, Baker City, and Ontario to train on core advocate topics. It was a fantastic group of advocates, and I was energized after spending spend two full days with them!

 

Jenna climbing!
All work and no play makes Jenna want to climb a wall. She was excited to climb some of the beautiful rock in Eastern Oregon on this trip.

Next stop on my journey was Pendleton and the Umatilla Reservation for the Tribal, State, and Federal Summit on Family Violence, sponsored by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indians. The Summit was a great opportunity to meet folks from around the state and learn about the issues they all face in responding to sexual assault. 

  

I am honored to be part of a state where people are so dedicated to stopping sexual assault, and one that has such beauty. Thank you for welcoming me, Oregon!         

 

 

  

 

 SANE Logo      

 

                               Goodbye from Patti! 

                Patti Kenyon, SANE Program Coordinator

 

 

  

Patti Kenyon

The SANE program has been very busy this year. We have held trainings in Roseburg and Salem, and have trained nearly 40 nurses. We're grateful to the hospitals in these two communities for hosting the trainings. Both institutions worked very hard to find the space needed to accommodate the large gatherings. A special thank you to Kris Karcher for teaching each day with us. Kris is a very strong proponent of the ORSATF and has worked tirelessly since the ORSATF started to lend her expertise and support. There are several others that also presented for both trainings: from the Crime Lab Kori Barnum and Odesssa Wozniak were great in teaching how the lab works and how to prepare the evidence. The information given by the two scientists helps guide the nurses in learning what potential evidence may be and how to package that evidence. Law enforcement instructors Steve Bellshaw and Pat Moore were both on hand to develop the nurses understand law enforcement's role in processing a case. Attorneys Paul Frasier of Coos County and Stephanie Tuttle of DOJ taught us how to work with the criminal justice system and gave hints about testifying. And Dr. Carol Chervenak continues to support the program with training about child cases and why children are not cared for in the same manner as adults.   

 

In 2011, there have been 22 SANEs certified bringing the total of certified nurses in the state to 191. The Commission not only certifies the nurse, but also provides feedback to help teach the nurses how to provide better care for the patients they see. As the nurses can attest, the Commission holds a very high standard for certification and sees that anyone that is certified will be able to provide quality and informed services to the client.

 

Jennifer Ditter
Jennifer Ditter

Lastly, I would like to thank all of the Task Force members and staff for the support given to me over the past three years in the position of SANE Coordinator. You have been patient with me and provided training in what I needed to know for my position. I know you will provide that same support to my successor, Jennifer Ditter. She will do an excellent job in the role of SANE Program Coordinator. I will remain active on the Medical Forensic Subcommittee and will see some of you at the Task Force meetings in the future. By stepping down I will be able to spend more time with family and other endeavors.        

 


Trophy                       

     Victim Response Subcommittee (VRC)

 

       Judy Hays, Task Force Membership Specialist   

Judy2

 

The Victim Response Subcommittee is co-chaired by KIM LARSON, Director, Marion County Victims Assistance Program, and Letitia Wilson, Operations Director, Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence. The Committee currently has 15 members and their staff liaison is JENNA HARPER, the Task Force's Training Coordinator.

 

The purpose of the Victim Response Subcommittee is to work to ensure that the victims' choices define a successful response to sexual assault. Currently, it has been dedicating its time and effort on the SART (Sexual Assault Response Team) protocol guidelines for the state.  They have brought these guidelines to a point where they are passing it to the CJC and MFC for review.  They will return to editing their confidentiality paper, developing suggested guidelines for our serving underserved survivors paper, and exploring ways to edit and expand the current set of Oregon Voices vignettes. If anyone knows a film editor who wants some fulfilling volunteer work, please contact Jessica or Jenna! The VRC is looking forward to potential collaboration with other committees on future work plan ideas. 

  1. Kim Larson, Co-Chair, Marion Co Victims Assistance
  2. Rachael Goodman-Williams, SARC
  3. Trisha Martin, YWCA Yolanda House
  4. Letetia Wilson, Co-Chair, Center Against Rape & DV
  5. Darilyn Parry Brown, Shelter From the Storm
  6. Debra Bridges, Yamhill Co Victims Assistance
  7. Allison McKenzie, DHS Seniors & People with Disabilities
  8. Tressi Albee, WCST
  9. Zaidali Botello-Landa, My Sisters' Place
  10. Mavel Morales, Oregon Law Center
  11. Tanya Nevarez, Women's Crisis Support Team
  12. Lezley Sanders, Jackson Co. SART
  13. Cheryl O'Neill, DHS
  14. Maggie Crawford, SASS
  15. Diane Stecher, Deschutes Co Victims Assistance

VRC Open Slots:  Mental Health and At Large

 

If you know of any possible membership candidates to fill the vacant slots, please contact Kim, Letitia, or Jenna. 

 

Subcommittee Reports
 
Campus Subcommittee (CC)

The Campus subcommittee continues to work towards the creation of a SART Handbook and discussion around the "Dear Colleague Letter" from the Department of Education.  We have also began discussion around the creation of a position paper on balancing the responsibility of universities to be accountable for safety on campus while being victim-centered.

  

Criminal Justice Subcommittee (CJC) 

The CJC has been working on a number of position papers and is soon to begin work on the subcommittee's web page.
   

Legislative and Public Policy Subcommittee (LPPC)

LPPC is gearing up for the next Legislative session, just around the corner! We expect the SAPO to be reintroduced, and we are also excited to hear that there is support building to suggest changing "deviate sexual intercourse" to "oral or anal intercourse,"  which would clean up language around sexual assault laws. We will continue to monitor these issues and report progress!

   

Medical Forensics Subcommittee (MFC)

The Medical Forensic subcommittee has finished work on the genital photography position paper and sent it to the Steering Committee for review. After making final changes, the paper should be ready for distribution following the next Task Force Meeting. Additionally, the MFC has worked on the medical portions of the SART protocol guidelines initiated by the Victim Response Committee. Future work will include continued work on patient consents, and a policy on unconscious victims.

 

Men's Engagement Subcommittee (MEC)

The Men's Engagement subcommittee has identified its areas of focus for the next year as collaboration, train the trainer, media, and best practices. We are now setting 6- and 12-month objectives for each area, as well as working on a men's engagement handbook.  MEC members will be presenting on Working with Men of Color at the Roots of Change conference in November.

 

Offender Management Subcommittee (OMC)

At our last meeting we reviewed our Purpose Statement and considered some questions for our specialized portion of the committee application.  We are waiting for feedback from committee members that were not in attendance.  We updated our Action Plan. Our website material is almost complete.  Our position paper on "What Are Sex Offender Discharge Treatment Outcomes for Adults" will be submitted to the Steering Committee for approval.  Committee members that work with juvenile offenders are working on a parallel paper for juveniles.  We will be having a joint meeting with the Victim Response subcommittee on 11-10-11 to explore possible joint projects.  We are also considering additional action plan items and proposals for future legislation. 

  

Prevention and Education Subcommittee (PEC) 

The Prevention and Education subcommittee is continues to implement the statewide sexual violence prevention plan. Visit the subcommittee's page on oregonsatf.org to download the executive summary of the strategic plan. The committee also continues to prepare prevention profiles to be placed on the ORSATF's website. These profiles will create a virtual map of prevention work in Oregon. Please make sure your work is included by contacting Ashley. 

 

Victim Response Subcommittee (VRC)  

The Victim Response subcommittee dedicated its last meeting to reviewing its application, purpose statement, governing guidelines, and slot list.  We will return to reviewing and hopefully finalizing the suggested guidelines for a paper on serving underserved survivors. We plan to meet with the Offender Management subcommittee for our next meeting to learn about how we can collaborate and best work together. 

 

 

The SATF was formed in 1999 by Attorney General Hardy Myers at the request of a group of advocates and multidisciplinary responders in order to organize statewide efforts to address adolescent and adult sexual assault in Oregon. The SATF incorporated into a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-governmental corporation in 2003. 

 

The mission of the Oregon Sexual Assault Task Force is the effective prevention of and response to sexual violence through collaborative, comprehensive, survivor-centered strategies.

 

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