Resources

Working with child sexual abuse/assault (CSA) victims and their nonoffending parents/caregivers/families can present a unique dynamic for Community Sexual Assault Programs (CSAPs) and advocates. What does confidentiality look like for a 10-year-old or a 15-year-old? What decisions can children or teens make for themselves? Who is my client, the child or the parent? Why is the child going through a medical assessment when the last abuse was three months ago? Why does the parent act like this…

Prevention programming is happening in communities across Washington in a variety of settings. However, it's hard to deny that schools are not a very popular place to deliver these messages. And for good reason, that's where the kids are. That's where our future goes to figure out what kind of world we'll all be living in tomorrow.

For this issue of the PISC, we are talking about schools. We take a look at the laws about what schools must offer, we provide ideas and resources about…

Executive Summary

In 1997, Washington State developed its first sexual violence prevention plan. The plan focused on changing the conditions that cause sexual violence. In 2008, the state began the process of revising the plan. Like the 1997 plan, this new plan emphasizes meaningful change rather than symptoms. Both plans view community development as a lever for change.

The Washington State Department of Health and the…

This Guide is a supplement to the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs' (WCSAP) general guide to psychoeducational support groups, Circle of Hope. Circle of Hope provides excellent information about the nature of psychoeducational groups and how they differ from self-help and therapy groups. In addition, there is information about how to select participants, work with a co-facilitator, establish a curriculum, handle the inevitable concerns that arise in the course of running…

Intimate Partner Sexual Violence (IPSV) is a comprehensive term that includes not only marital rape, but all other forms of sexual assault that take place within a current or former intimate relationship, whether the partners are married or not. Sometimes referred to as "sexual assault within the context of domestic violence," IPSV is a complicated, heart-wrenching form of abuse that has often been overlooked by the general public, law enforcement, and human service providers. IPSV is at the…

I am a person, so treat me like you.
Don't hurt me, abuse me,
or embarrass me too.
I think and I feel and I will speak out-
If someone does hurt me,
I'll stand up and shout!

This poem is a nice summary of this issue of Partners in Social Change, where we turn our attention to disabilities and sexual violence prevention.

To craft this issue, we asked ourselves a few questions.

1. If our…

Many sexual assault and domestic violence survivors engage in self-harming behaviors like cutting and burning. This webinar will address the reasons for self-harm, how to intervene, where to seek help, and how to distinguish self-harm from suicide.

This webinar will be a chance to explore and discuss the many critical aspects of safety in sexual assault support groups. From location and time, to confidentiality and closure, this webinar will look at how we can make support groups safer in any community, for the members as well as the facilitator.

This issue of Partners in Social Change explores current prevention strategies in our state and delves into community development as a primary prevention strategy. Additionally, it discusses educational presentation efficacy.

The research presented here has several implica­tions for service providers. Our first aims are always to support the safety and self-determi­nation of child sexual abuse survivors in fos­ter care and their foster and adoptive parents. Since many of our interactions are likely to be with the parents, it is important that we ex­plain the dynamics and effects of sexual abuse and situate problematic behavior as a normal response to trauma.

Service providers can ex­plain the importance…