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The Cost of a Call

Here at PWCL, we answer an average of 26,000 calls each year. We wanted to know the cost of each of these calls to put our expenses in perspective so, we took the expense of our Crisis Line program and divided it by 26,000. It turns out each call costs PWCL approximately $7.

I plan to go see Zombieland this weekend, and I can guarantee my movie ticket alone will be more than the cost of a Crisis Line call. So when I think about a call costing $7 for 24/7 access to skill Crisis Line Specialists who have the knowledge about community resources, emergency housing and immediate safety planning, I think its a pretty good deal.

I'm not just telling you this to educate you on what a good deal it is for survivors and our community who access our free services. I'm telling you because, honestly, we need your help. We need 700 people to help us support the cost of 700 calls a month by the end of December.

For me, $7 is an easy number. Cheaper than a movie ticket, cheaper than two lattes from the coffee shop, and about the same price as one of the cocktails I'll drink when I'm out this weekend.

Can you spare $7 for survivors? Sign up on our website now.

DV and SA in August

Although I've mentioned my role in the development department a few times on here related to our upcoming event, I sometimes also fail to mention that I also work half-time on the crisis line. I've been on our crisis line for about a year and a half as a staff person, and a little over two years from when I started as a volunteer.

Since I've been with PWCL the calls have increased dramatically - both in number and in severity. In August every year, our crisis line sees a sharp increase in calls. Today, in 6 hours, we took about 100 calls on the line. That was all before noon.

On the bright side, maybe we're getting so many calls because more people know about us. On the dark side, maybe the failing economy and lack of area resources have made it that much more urgent for survivors to reach out to us. Either way, we're taking a lot of calls, and a lot of those are really scary.

This is one of the busiest and most difficult times of year for our work, so I write this tonight to ask that you keep our hard working advocates on your mind while you play in the summer weather. I hope you'll also join all of us as we take a few hours to honor and celebrate the work we do on September 12th at Safety In Numbers 2008 at the Crystal Ballroom. Come up and say hello to our lovely staff advocates, especially those who work long hard hours answering call after call on the hotline or responding to hot calls at the hospital. They may be a little shy, but they'll appreciate it. I promise.

If You're Wondering Why We've Been M.I.A. Lately....

...It's because we're working harder than ever on this year's Safety In Numbers. If you missed out last year, first of all I'm forever sorry for your loss, and second of all you won't want to miss out this year. Safety In Numbers 2008 is the 6th annual gala and auction to end domestic and sexual violence. If you're like me, auctions aren't very appealing because of the high prices and stuffy atmosphere... but that's where PWCL's event differs from most. We have a fun crowd, great food and drinks, amazing tunes, and one of the best, most incredible (and affordable, too!) auctions in town.

This year we'll be auctioning off an electric guitar, marathon training, many vacation packages, and lots of great handmade items from local businesses and artisans. Seriously, this is the best event in town. Maybe I'm biased, but I'm willing to prove it to you on September 12th at the Crystal Ballroom.

Want tickets? GO HERE and put "Safety In Numbers 2008 Tickets" in the designation, or get them from McMenamin's Box Office or Ticketmaster.

If I'm not blogging before then, see you on September 12th at the Crystal Ballroom!

I can't read the news anymore...

...without wondering why local officials don't label domestic and sexual violence an epidemic in our state.

Everyday I check www.kgw.com to get the local headlines, and everyday there is at least one headline about a recent domestic or sexual assault or murder.

Yesterday it was about the doctor who assaulted a number of patients yet is somehow avoiding jail time (wtf??) and today it's about a recent DV stabbing.

I'm sure I'm not the only person who notices this...but really - are we that jaded?

Advocates: What do you do?

I'm sitting here with my curling iron warming up and my dress aching for me to steam some wrinkles out of it before tonight's Party With a Purpose to raise money for the upcoming PWCL PSA, and I got to thinking. If you work in the anti-violence movement like we do, how do you explain to people what you do?

I got to thinking about this because I attended a party last weekend where I struggled to explain my job in a really simple and effective way, especially without sounding jaded or like I'm speaking jibberish. Tonight I plan to talk to others about the work that we do at PWCL, so I wanted to write a blog to get some feedback from others who do this work to see how you field these questions.

What do you do with blank stares, or even worse, when people apologize or tell you that they feel bad for you because of your job?

So I guess this is much like when we asked you months ago to put "rape culture" into laymen's terms. How do we put DV/SA work into laymen's terms without sounding self righteous, jaded, or just plain confusing?

P.S. If you haven't heard about Safety In Numbers 2008 or the upcoming PSA project, please check out the PWCL website for more information and info on how to buy tickets!

Balancing rage and compassion

Guys, I love the internet. Today I came across two articles that seemed totally incongruous and unrelated at first, but actually became a beautiful lesson in balancing the anger I feel when talking about rape culture with the compassion that I feel is a necessary component of creating meaningful change in our often indifferent world.

Jen's amazingly brave post about her experiences with sexual assault and rape culture at Female Impersonator attracted the ever-present shithead: Anonymous Commenter. (Trigger warning, BTW. The post is very graphic, as are the comments.) The comments are nothing unique or special: someone gets defensive about the idea that we live in a rape culture, misinterprets the OP's conclusion that all men are potential rapists as all men are rapists and the rest de-evolves into a big mess of blegh. Same old song and dance.

I get so tired sometimes, you know? Frustrated with the fact that many people (heck, probably most people) don't understand that we live in a rape culture, and that most people victim-blame until the cows come home, often compounding a survivor's stress, depression and isolation.

So today I bookmarked this WikiHow entry: How to Forgive so I can find it again next time I'm in that frustrated, depressed, raging place. I need to remind myself that compassion is just as important as supporting and empowering survivors or engaging in self-care. In fact, reading this article might just be a step in my self-care process from now on.

ETA: As I re-read this, I realized it might sound like I'm advocating for all survivors to forgive the people who abused them, which I am DEFINITELY NOT. I firmly believe that every single individual person in this world knows best how to care for themselves and heal themselves. I connected with the entry's message of compassion, but that is part of my journey so please don't read this as me telling you how to heal.

SAAM Activism

A big blog thanks goes to Feministing for being so on top of everything.

I just read this article: Another military contractor rape *before you click - trigger warning*

Essentially, another woman working for a US defense contractor in Iraq has come forward as a survivor of a terrible, terrible sexual assault (too many details in the article. sigh.) perpetrated on her by her male coworkers.

The survivor was told to be quiet about it by superiors and stayed quiet for fear that more violence would be perpetrated against her.

Feministing is asking us to do a few things to support this survivor and the many, many survivors who are speaking up after working for defense contractors in Iraq, which I think is just so smart of the Feministing folk and it makes me like them all the more.

So, PWCL folks:

Take Action! Pressure the Department of State and Department of Defense to take steps to protect US contractors; urge them to respond to the concerns raised by Rep. Louise Slaughter.

It's April!

Is it a sex crime? Ya think?

Has everyone heard about this little gem from Clackamas County?

Man Charged with "Lewd Act" Turns Himself in and is Released

If you haven't been watching the local news, this is a guy who "randomly" (so they say) wiped his _semen_ on a mother who was shopping with her 3 year old daughter at Target. His face was caught on tape (hello guy! there are cameras all over Target) so he turned himself in only to be released because, according to the officer interviewed, there was no "indecent exposure". Apparently he got himself off, so to speak, "off camera" and can't be charged with anything else.

What a disgusting failing of justice. How do we know that this guy wasn't stalking this woman and her daughter (or any other woman or child in Target that day) throughout the store getting his rocks off only to feel the need to degrade them even further by wiping bodily fluid on the mother?

Let's even entertain the idea that he wasn't stalking her but chose to masturbate in Target of his own volition. Okay, sure. In that case, he chose a random woman to degrade just because he could.

But it's not a sex crime, according to our authorities. Seems like a prime example of the sexual assault continuum, if you ask me. What do you all think?

What's Newsworthy

Tonight I attended a training on lethality assessment and safety planning.  On my way to the conference room where the training was held, I caught a glimpse of the front page headline of the evening edition of The Oregonian which was something to the effect of "Starbucks closes for 3 1/2 hour tonight.  Why?"

Is this the most important thing going on in Oregon?

What I do know is that a woman is sexually assaulted every 2.5 minutes which means during the time Starbucks was closed 84 women were assaulted.  Shouldn't the headline read "Between 5:30-9 84 will be sexually assaulted.  Why?"

Did anyone hear this on OPB this morning? This would be a great opportunity to respond and educate about PWCL's role in the process. If only we had a Communications Director.....

Portland Police Respond To Sex Crime Audit

By Rob Manning

Portland, OR October 30, 2007 3:42 p.m.

Five months after a troubling report from the Portland city auditor’s office found major problems in how officials respond to sex crimes, police leaders outlined Tuesday how things are improving.

City auditors sounded cautiously supportive of the changes, and commissioners applauded the actions – though some problems remain. Rob Manning reports.

A sexual assault case typically starts with call to 9-1-1. But according to an audit completed last June, that’s also where the problems begin.

Principal auditor, Ken Gavette, says that 9-1-1 dispatchers are supposed to advise rape victims on how to preserve DNA, or other evidence. Gavette says that information was not always getting through.

Ken Gavette: “They actually had in the training policies and procedures a good piece of information about what they should say, about telling victims about appropriate washing, going to the bathroom, and things like that – but they weren’t consistently giving that information out.”

Gavette says in some cases, the dispatchers didn’t pass the message along because police officers or nurses called – and dispatchers assumed law enforcement or medical professionals knew what to do. 9-1-1 call center supervisor Toni Sexton says that policy has been tightened.

Toni Sexton: “And we also are making sure that from now and on to advise the caller not to bathe, or not to wash anything that may contain evidence.”

Sexton says that advice is now issued whether it’s the victim, a relative, or a nurse calling. But while some of the personnel issues may be resolved, some technical issues remain.

For instance, at the same time that dispatchers notify a uniform officer to respond, experts say another call should alert a victim’s advocate. Police say the advocate call will be automated in a few months.

And, principal auditor Ken Gavette says there are other remaining issues – like hospitals not having equipment to process rape kits. And he says Multnomah County has fewer medical examiners qualified to deal with rape victims, than smaller counties.

Ken Gavette: “Multnomah County area lags far behind the rest of the state. Just for example, I mean Coos County has 12, Linn County has 15, Jackson County 23, and Multnomah County has 12.”

Read the rest here: http://news.opb.org/article/portland-police-respond-sex-crime-audit/