Murder suspect Joran van der Sloot arrested in central Chile.
June 302010
Joran Van der Sloot, the alleged killer of Natalee Holloway, the co-ed who disappeared in Aruba in 2005, was captured tonight in Chile. He’s under suspicion for the stabbing death of 21 year old Peruvian Stephany Flores. On June 2, Flores’s body was found in Lima, Peru in a hotel room registered to Van Der Sloot
Van der Sloot was arrested twice for Holloway’s killing. He was released twice due to lack of evidence. Part of the “lack of evidence” included Van der Sloot talking on video about Holloway’s death and how her body was taken out to sea. This video “did not incriminate” Van der Sloot because he claimed he was just trying to “impress a drug dealer.”
Violence against women is epidemic, but perpetrators like Van der Sloot, too often don’t get punished and become repeat offenders. There is little public awareness of the ubiquity of the crimes, and insufficient funding for education, prevention, prosecution, or protection for women.
When the media covers stories about victims like Natalee Holloway, it’s usually in the most sensationalistic, ineffective way. If the women are attractive, white, and middle class, as she was, networks endlessly recycle former cheerleading or prom photos. But rarely do Larry King, Greta van Susteren, or Bill O’Reilly and co. accompany these horrific stories with facts about how widespread violence against women is, featuring direct service workers, experts in the field, who can educate the public with real statistics and solutions.
Today, in the Bay Area, Roselyne Swig, founder of Partners Ending Domestic Abuse took a step towards helping to stop the violence in a more effective way. Swig convened a summit in San Francisco with leaders from Bay Area organizations committed to ending violence against women. Swig’s hope is that these Bay Area organizations will collaborate, providing a leadership position, bringing public awareness to this widespread issue, taking action to end it.
JaMel Perkins, Board President of Partners, opened the summit by sharing terrifying statistics including some of these:
31% of American women report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend.
Around the world, 1 in 3 women are beaten, coerced into sex or physically abused.
Women of all races and ethnicity’s are equally vulnerable to violence by a domestic partner.
Homicide is the leading cause of death for pregnant women.
77% of those deaths occur in the first trimester.
Abused women are 60% more likely to require hospitalization while pregnant.
90% of our homeless population are victims of abuse.
The health-related costs of rape, physical assault, stalking and Homicide committed by domestic partners exceed $5.8 Billion each year. Nearly $4.1 billion of this is spent on direct medical and mental health care services.
1 in 5 female high school students reports being physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.
The summit was attended by representatives from Bay Area organizations including SF Child Abuse Center, Blue Shield Against Violence (the leading private DV funder in the state), La Casa de la Madres, the police department and DA’s office who convened to network and collaborate.
“Domestic violence is something we should all be concerned about,” said Swig. “We need to create a collaborative voice.”
Marcia Smolens of HMS Associates, a local lobbying group, urged advocates to use social media to bring awareness to the issue of domestic violence to create change.
Judy Patrick, President and CEO of the Women’s Foundation of California, said that the goal of her foundation is to ensure that women and families are safe, healthy, and economically secure.
Duration : 0:0:56
We are proud to share our “Speak Out Against Domestic Violence” video with you. The video tells the emotional story of abuse and provides direction and suggestions for those who are victims of domestic and intimate partner violence. 
(Part 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6E7PYC7YnU
Barney seeks help from a female district attorney when a woman brings a charge of rape against her husband.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-07-28-voa29.cfm One out of every three people in the United States has been a victim of domestic violence, according to Department of Justice Statistics. In 1994, the United States passed the Violence Against Women Act to protect women against domestic abuse. Since then, more women are reporting these crimes. But now lawmakers are planning to re-examine the law in several areas, particularly as it deals with millions of immigrants in the United States. But not everyone is happy about that.
(Part 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6E7PYC7YnU
Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape produced first-ever music video about male sexual assault
(Part 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZMbwPQBs28
Circumcision means removal of the foreskin, one of our most essential safeguards against rape.
(Part 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZMbwPQBs28