Lived Experiences Fuel Hope & Action

By Cordelia Anderson and Joan Tabachnick

The August 30 ECSA Web Conference featured two survivors of child sexual abuse who have incorporated their stories into their activism to end child sexual abuse.  Their stories and their work provided a moving foundation for a discussion about how to tell one’s truth with a vision for social change. 

Amita Swadhin opened with her own story of abuse within her family and described how her healing led her to question the responses of the system to those of different class, ethnic or immigrant status.  And these questions led her to the idea of building a theater performance from the perspective of adult survivors of child sexual abuse, which was created by Ping Chong & Company. The result is an incredibly powerful performance, called Secret Survivors, performed by those whose stories are crafted into the script. As a young, queer woman of color and daughter of immigrants she fights structural oppression with the power of her truth and paves the way for the truth of others to be heard.  Randy Ellison, Board President of Oregon Abuse Advocates and Survivors in Service (OAASIS), was silenced by the weight of shame as a male sexual abuse victim, so much so that he did not disclose abuse or address his trauma for 40 years.  After telling his story for the first time at a public hearing before the state legislature, he will not be silenced again. He authored the book, Boys Don’t Tell: Ending the Silence of Abuse, and is part of the OAASIS Speakers Bureau that works for policy change.

Randy and Amita point out that while speaking out results in others feeling safer to disclose their own experiences of abuse, they believe the power of personal stories is to give hope and inspire action for social change.  Personal stories make the facts come alive and motivate people to get involved. But then what?  When asked what others can do, Amita supported the idea of a national “coming out” day for survivors in order to create a broader picture of who is affected and how many of us are affected by child sexual abuse.  Randy talked about the power of having many voices speaking together, and suggested contacting a local coalition to speak with others on key questions facing our policy makers and funders

Much of the discussion centered on how ALL of us are affected by child sexual abuse in some way.  We defined “Voices of Experience” as anyone who has been personally affected by child sexual abuse –survivors, friends and families of survivors, and the friends and families of those who have perpetrated abuse.  We explored the difficult question of how to learn from all stories – even of those who have abused.  Amita brought forward a quote that captured how our collective stories force us to look at trends and long term solutions rather than just an immediate response: “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story” (Chimamanda, Adichie, The Danger of a Single Story).

Beyond what Amita and Randy spoke about, they also modeled so beautifully the power of combining personal stories with professional goals.  For years, it has been hard for professionals to fully own and incorporate their personal stories into their work.  In this web conference these two survivors, activists, and professionals did just that -- opening the door for others to do the same.  

We ended the web conference with a quote by Henri  Nouwen “when we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means most to us, we often find that it is those who instead of giving advice, solutions or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand”.  A huge thank you to Amita and Randy for all you do to build a movement and make prevention a reality.

A Facade of Progress

By Deborah Jacobs, Vice President, Advocacy and Policy

The strategic selection of former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, as well as South Carolina businesswoman Darla Moore, as the first women invited to join the Augusta National Golf Club demonstrates once again that public pressure can force change (in this case made necessary by the absence of common sense and human decency), but it also delivers an unsavory message from the apparently begrudging Augusta National board members: As men, we decide whether, when and which women can participate.

In April, Augusta National failed to invite the woman most entitled to an Augusta National membership, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, to join despite the facts that IBM has sponsored the Masters many times over and that its past four CEOs received memberships. The outrage over Rometty's unjust exclusion reached all the way to the White House, from which President Obama encouraged Augusta National to end to its near-century of sex discrimination.

The inclusion of Rice and Moore – some 10 years since the first Augusta National protests initiated by the National Council of Women's Organizations – represents an important step forward. But let's not kid ourselves about how big this step is. (The New York Times astutely called it “gender tokenism.”) If Augusta National had any interest in ending discrimination, Rometty would have been the first choice among potential female members. Instead, its actions serve as a reminder of the desperate thrashing for control of people reluctantly giving up power.

Consider the timing and selection choices. Instead of inviting Rometty at the right time – during the Masters in April – Augusta National refused her. Then, instead of perhaps waiting a few weeks to save face and then inviting Rometty, August National took no action. And now, as it finally yields to the pressure of protest and the modern realities of American society, Augusta National wants to remind Rometty, and us, that it will continue to exclude women whether we've earned our place, or not.

Photo Credit: Jun Acullador

"Having It All" Through Employer-Supported Work-Life Balance

By Christie Petrone, Senior Manager, Public Relations

The dust has barely settled on Anne-Marie Slaughter’s controversial article about the difficulty of balancing family and career. Central to her argument is the idea that “having it all” requires job flexibility for both men and women.

(While things like flexible hours, telecommuting options, compressed workweeks and family friendly work environments may seem like a luxury to many, Glassdoor.com recently identified the top 25 companies for work-life balance, based on self-reporting from employees.)

Not only does the Ms. Foundation advocate for policies promoting work-life balance and other benefits, but we also practice what we preach, with generous paid time off and sick leave.

More than a policy, it’s an office culture that makes a difference in the lives of Ms. employees, who are able to achieve greatness in the workplace while also raising children (or cultivating a hobby or snuggling with their cats every evening). Women shouldn’t have to make a choice between advancing up the career ladder and being home to tuck their children in bed.

With President and CEO Anika Rahman – mother to 8-year-old Amani – leading the way, employees feel a stronger commitment to the Ms. Foundation for supporting their healthy balance of work and life. That commitment translates into better responsiveness – our social media guru often Tweets late into the night from the comfort of her bed – and a greater urgency from all departments in ensuring that all women have access to quality, living-wage jobs with paid leave, flexibility and other benefits that make “having it all” possible.

Now, excuse me while I pick up my daughter from daycare; my boss knows that I take all of my responsibilities very seriously.

Goodbye Karolina!

For the past two years the Ms. Foundation has been thrilled to be a host organization for one of Duke Engage's Moxie Project interns. The Moxie Project is a fantastic program that aims to encourage deep thought and engagement in women's issues, feminism, and social justice. The Project brings young Duke students to New York City, placing them as interns in social justice organizations and supplementing their 9-5 work experience with an intensive curriculum of reading, reflection and activities.

It's amazing to see these young women grow into confident socially conscious women - women who no longer keep their opinions to themselves; women who stand tall for feminism; and women who are committed to changing not just their own lives, but their communities as well.

Today we are sad to say goodbye to Karolina Povedych - our Moxie intern - but we are energized by the intelligence and passion of the "Moxies." We say goodbye, knowing that women's advocacy and activism are alive and in good hands.

Incorporating what we know about perpetration into prevention

By Cordelia Anderson, guest blogger and host of the Ms. Foundation’s Ending Child Sexual Abuse Web Conference Series

What do you think of when you think of child molester? Monster. Dirty old man. Disgusting. Pervert. And the list went on.

Joan Tabachnick began July’s web conference with this question, focusing attention on the deeply emotional component of this topic. During the online event, titled Preventing the Perpetration of Child Sexual Abuse [listen to the recording], Joan and co-presenter David Prescott covered emerging research and the use of this research into prevention programs. David’s incredible overview of the research highlighted the wide variety of adults, adolescents and children who sexually abuse children. David also noted that despite widely and strongly held opinions, the research shows that most who commit sex offenses do not re-offend. This is true for both juveniles and adults who offend. And when they do re-offend, they are more likely to re-offend for non-sex crimes.

Why is this so difficult to get across? One key reason is that the stories seared in our minds are of the most monstrous offenders with many victims.

David also pointed out research findings that show the need to have treatment options that reflect the range of motivations for those who do perpetrate child sexual abuse. He shared research indicating that “punishment only” approaches don’t impact re-offense rates, while sentencing that combines treatment combined with supervision works best.

In addition, David described how emerging research about risk factors suggest that multiple risk factors without the buffers of protective factors create situations requiring clear intervention. Joan translated that research into a story: As one man in prison for sexual offenses said, “All the signs were there and no one – no one in my family, none of my friends, and no one at work – ever bothered to ask me about them.”

Both presenters provided a wealth of information about treatment, management and prevention. They also agreed that as people who care about the prevention of child sexual abuse, we must understand the signs and the conditions that allow children to be harmed and contribute to the development of perpetration behaviors. As the speakers noted, no child is born a sex offender.

Learn more about the Ending Child Sexual Abuse Web Conference Series.

Supreme Court Victory: 19 Million Uninsured Women Win

In a big win for women’s health, the Supreme Court ruled this morning that the Affordable Care Act is, indeed, constitutional. What that means is that we’re on track for full implementation of many benefits, including:

• Women’s health services, like mammograms, pap smears, birth control and cancer screenings, will be available with no co-pay;
• Women will no longer have to pay more than men for the same insurance coverage;
• Insurers can’t deny coverage due to pre-existing conditions; and
• Insurers can’t cancel our policies if we develop breast cancer or other serious illnesses.

However, the court put limits on the Medicaid expansion, ruling that the federal government cannot withdraw existing Medicaid funding if a state chooses not to comply with the expansion. This provision was expected to add nearly 30 million more people to the program. You can be certain that the Ms. Foundation and its grantees will be working hard across the states to ensure that women are not excluded from the health care system due to this ruling.

On a lighter note, the Ms. staff shared some laughs together throughout this joyous day, with the Affordable Care Cat and When SCOTUS Upheld Obamacare. We hope you’re able to smile, as well, content with the knowledge that health care reform is no longer in jeopardy.

Moving the Media towards Prevention

By Cordelia Anderson and Joan Tabachnick, co-hosts, Ending Child Sexual Abuse (ECSA) Web Conference Series

The second Ms. Foundation for Women Web Conference featured the Berkeley Media Studies Group (BMSG) and Frameworks Institute discussing their research about working with the media to end child sexual abuse. The messages of the two presentations intertwined eloquently, bringing fresh insights to media work.

First, Pamela Mejia described the BMSG research, pointing to the dramatic change in reporting after the Penn State tragedy. Pamela first offered an excellent summary of their two recent reports commissioned by the Ms. Foundation, Case by Case: News Coverage of Child Sexual Abuse and Breaking News: Early Coverage of Penn State. The research highlighted a shift in media reporting of Penn State towards institutional (rather than individual) responsibility. Pamela also discussed the important opportunity that advocates had in the days immediately following the arrest of Sandusky. BMSG recommendations included:

• monitoring the media,
• piggybacking on breaking news,
• writing opinions,
• developing relationships with journalists, and
• being very intentional about the language used.

Moira O’Neil followed with an overview of the public perception research the Frameworks Institute has done with Prevent Child Abuse America and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Moira discussed findings from both studies and described their process of finding the right frame to change the public’s understanding of the child sexual abuse. Key pre-existing frames to overcome include:

• the idea of the family bubble, which reinforces individual parents and child’s responsibilities to protect themselves from harm, and
• the belief that the harm resulting from adverse childhood experiences is not all that bad and the sense that “what didn’t kill us makes us stronger.”

She noted that people tend to think our media messages are going into an open mind, but offered a helpful reminder that the mind is more like a swamp and it is easy to get stuck and hard to get through. She offered the following example: although most people know CSA is a problem perpetrated by those they know, when they get to solutions they revert to thinking about stranger danger. Finally, Moira echoed BMSG recommendations on the importance of focusing the media on the role of communities in prevention and the social causes of child sexual abuse rather than relegating the response to individual choices.

Our closing message: while the media is powerful, it can also be a powerful tool for solutions. We need to build a bigger choir of voices singing the stories of solutions, including stories of organizational and community change in the face of child sexual abuse.