Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Program
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 Fall 2000, Table of Contents It Can Happen to Anyone: A Survivor's Story SAVI Needs Volunteer Advocates SAVI Program Coordinators Attend Sexual Assault Examiner Training Dealing with Sexual Harassment Thomas Alessando Wins National Crime Victim Services Award Conference on the Male Sexual Victim SAVI's Alice Robinson Speaks to the New York City Council It Can Happen to Anyone: A Survivor's Story SAVI Director Iona Siegel was having a typically hectic Monday. There was a staff meeting in the morning, a budget meeting in the early afternoon, the benefit was being planned, talks were under way to provide SAVI services to a new hospital, and the usual assortment of crises to handle. At seven p.m., she had agreed to talk at an Operation Safeguard Safety Seminar at Lenox Hill Hospital, an event set up by Nikki Henkin and Joie Anderson, the women behind the East Side Rapist Reward Fund. About 150 people were expected. The speakers included an Assistant District Attorney from Linda Fairstein's office, Detective Merri Pearsall, the head of the NYPD Special Victims Liaison Unit, Chris Fowley, the head of the St. Vincent's Rape Crisis Program (and SAVI's former assistant director and close personal friend) and others. At 6:55, Iona hung up the phone, grabbed her tote bag and walked briskly from her office on 98th Street to Park Avenue to grab a cab for the short trip to the meeting on 76th Street. After she gave the driver her destination, she was sitting back when she heard a click as the driver locked the doors. Many cab drivers do this routinely, partly for safety and partly to keep passengers from jumping out before they pay their fares. Still, the sound raised an alarm. Iona, who describes herself as "hypervigilant," usually jots down the taxi medallion number when she gets in a cab. This time she didn't because she was in a hurry. Just then, the driver turned slightly in his seat, leered at her, and began to describe the kind of sex acts the two of them were going to perform. Instinctively, Iona reached for the button to lower the side window, but it went down only an inch before the driver blocked it from his controls in the front seat. Iona screamed and continued to scream. After some blocks, the driver, apparently unnerved by her shrieks, pulled over, unlocked the doors, and Iona jumped out at 86th Street. Iona Siegel, founder and 16-year director of a prominent rape crisis program, had just survived an attempted sexual assault. "I don't remember how I got to the meeting on 76th Street. I probably ran. I don't know. I was propelled. I knew the police would be there. I knew I'd be safe," Iona said later. Minutes after she walked in to the meeting, which was already going on, Iona heard her name called from the podium. It was time for her to speak. "My whole body was shaking, but I didn't consider not going forward. Again, I felt as if I was propelled." She grasped the podium. "I'm the director of a rape crisis program. Sexual assault isn't supposed to happen to me," she said. "But it can happen to anyone. It almost happened to me half an hour ago." She told the audience exactly what occurred. Nikki Henkin reported that "the audience was spellbound during Iona's talk." She saluted Iona for her handling of a difficult situation. "They will never forget what they heard and saw and will spread the word," she said later. Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Linda Fairstein, chief of the Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit, told Iona that she had just convicted a yellow cab driver who had locked the taxi doors and kidnapped a female passenger, taking her over the bridge to a deserted area. She knew of several other cases over the years. "A yellow cab always seems safe, but it isn't always." Weeks later, Iona reported that she was experiencing many of the symptoms a survivor typically has. "I've had a lot of nightmares, sleepless nights, flashbacks. I still haven't been able to get in a cab alone. Part of it, for me, has been becoming aware, almost as an observer, of my own reactions. I've been talking to survivors all these years. Now it's happening to me." She reports that although she continued to function at work, the week was chaotic. "I lost some time. I lost some papers. I don't remember some meetings or conversations. It's surreal. I feel like it's a movie." Although she talked to detectives the night of the incident, it was not until Chris Fowley called a week later, that Iona realized she had not filed a formal police complaint. "I meant to do it, but I guess I was in denial. Here I was saying, 'Whoops, I forgot.' I definitely was not responding normally." She called the police immediately to file a complaint. They were, and continue to be, responsive, available and empathetic. Iona found that she could not give the police a very good description of the taxi driver. She believes she would recognize him if she saw him again, but his face is blanked out of her memory along with the details of how she got from 86th to 76th Street that night. "It's typical of what happens to you in crisis," said Chris Fowley. "You can't advocate for yourself, even if you do this work. When something traumatizing occurs, you need someone to help you. It's why our programs are so valuable." On April 27th, an article appeared in the weekly, Our Town, under the headline "Harassed Woman Speaks at Rape Forum." The reporter had been in the audience at the safety seminar, and Iona was grateful the newspaper decided to publish the story. "It's important for the world to hear the story," Iona said. "It can happen to anyone. When it does, you don't know how you'll react. You're helpless. You lose control. I was lucky. Screaming worked. I had a sore throat for two weeks. That was the worst of it. It could have been worse. Much worse." The lesson, according to Iona, is not to take safety for granted. Be careful. Be aware at all times. We are all vulnerable. All the time. Iona would like to thank the SAVI staff, Chris Fowley, Linda Fairstein, Detective Merri Peersall and the Special Victims Unit of the NYPD. SAVI Needs Volunteer Advocates Mount Sinai SAVI is recruiting women and men for its upcoming annual Volunteer Advocate Training. Volunteer Advocates help support victims of rape, domestic violence and incest who come into the emergency rooms of the following hospitals: in Manhattan, Mount Sinai, Metropolitan, Lenox Hill, Harlem, North General and Cabrini; in Queens, Elmhurst, Queens and Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens. Applicants must live within approximately 20 minutes of the hospitals, and undergo an interview and 40-hour training. The training begins September 23rd at Mount Sinai Medical Center, and runs four full Saturdays and one Sunday from 10am to 5pm, and three Tuesday evenings from 6:15pm to 9pm. Those who successfully complete the training will attend monthly meetings and be on-call at least once a month to support individuals and families. If you are interested in taking the training, please call the main SAVI office at (212) 423-2140 to schedule an interview. Recruitment has already begun, so call now. Current volunteer opportunities SAVI Program Coordinators Attend Sexual Assault Examiner Training On two weekends in April, SAVI ED Services Coordinators, Anna Ferrer, MA and Amy Weinstein, CSW participated in the Sexual Assault Examiner (SAE) training Program. This training was co-sponsored by the New York City Rape Treatment Consortium and the Pace University Women's Justice Center. The Sexual Assault Examiner (SAE) is a licensed health care professional, (i.e. registered nurse, nurse practitioner, physician's assistant, or physician), who has completed both a 40-hour training and a comprehensive preceptorship in which the examiner becomes proficient in providing thorough and comprehensive medical and forensic examinations to the sexual assault/rape survivor. The SAE training was organized and lead by Dr. Donna Gaffney who provided a historical context to help the trainees better understand the emergence of a movement in the nursing profession to provide specialized training to health care professionals in order to ensure that survivors of sexual assault receive the highest standard of care when they come for medical treatment in the emergency department. The SAE training included special presentations from the Pace University Women's Justice Center, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and The New York City Medical Examiner's Office. Special training in forensic examination and evidence collection process was also provided as well as specialized instruction on the use of the colposcope, a microscope used to visualize injury during the forensic examination. SAE trainees practiced performing pelvic examinations with evidence collection on trained teaching associates. The representation of SAVI at the SAE training represents SAVI's commitment to providing the highest quality of care for all sexual assault/ rape survivors. Dealing with Sexual Harassment Sarah, a 32-year-old single mother, had always prided herself on being an industrious worker, happily working for the same computer programming company for the past four years. The atmosphere in the office changed, however, when a new manager, Bob, became Sarah's supervisor. He began to comment on her attire and physical appearance and then gave her special assignments requiring her to work later hours while he was the only employee present. Sarah was concerned because Bob was married and had two kids, but a co-worker told her she was overreacting. Although Sarah was uncomfortable with this situation, she needed the job to support her family. The situation came to a head when Bob called Sarah into the office and locked the door. Bob began to talk about a possible promotion as he unzipped his pants. After a struggle, Sarah managed to open the door. Sarah called in sick for the next few days to avoid contact with Bob. When she returned to work she wore baggy clothes to conceal her body. But it wasn't enough to cover her loss of self esteem. In a matter of weeks Sarah lost thirty pounds. She was no longer able to focus on her work and suffered persistent nightmares, lack of sleep, panic attacks and fear of the workplace. Complete defeat came when Bob was promoted to another department while her own job was terminated. A concerned friend noticed the changes in Sarah, and recommended that she receive counseling. Sarah's story is not atypical. Women who have been sexually harassed experience devastating psychological effects, but there are few places they can go for help. As a result, last September SAVI established a sexual harassment support group. The group acts as a forum for sharing feelings with women who have had similar experiences as well as providing mutual support. We asked the group members what they would like readers to learn about the group and sexual harassment. Barbara said, "Sexual harassment leaves a life-long scar." She continued, "Its like the scarlet letter, you are branded forever." Lauren reported, "You need support, you feel lost, like you're drowning." Stephanie added, "The group allows me to talk to individuals who have been through similar stages, to vent with other women, and to offer each other advice." Allison expressed it most strongly. "Sexual harassment does not happen to one type of woman. We are from different backgrounds leading different lives - we did not deserve this." The group unanimously voiced the need for more resources and better policies to assist women who have been sexually harassed. They also wanted to stress to readers that sexual harassment is a crime and can be reported to the police. A support group has a tremendous impact on the healing process whether the harassment occurred recently or many years ago. If you or someone you know has been sexually harassed you can call Women's Rights at Work for support, information on workplace and legal options and referrals: Amy Lowenstein, (888) 979-7765 x42. For counseling, you can call Rahel Lehrhaupt, MSW (212) 987-4552 or Michelle Mintz, CSW (212) 423-2150 at SAVI. In June 2000, a number of women were sexually abused in Central Park by a mob of men after a parade. The following comments discuss the cultural significance of this appalling event. In an editorial in the New York Times titled "Playing 'Catch and Grope' in the Schoolyard," Brent Staples wrote: "The Central Park rampage could similarly transform how this country looks at sexual harassment and violence against women. The police have identified more than 40 suspects from the mobs that harassed and assaulted what now appear to be as many as 50 women, many of whom were doused with water and stripped while young people stood by cheering. . . "Those who get convicted in connection with the Central Park rampage could eventually meet a 27-year-old woman named Misu Byrd, a domestic violence consultant who furnishes court-mandated treatment for men who come into the court system for battering women. Ms. Byrd said in an interview last week that she was 'not at all surprised' by the episode since the culture tolerates harassment of women from a very young age, starting in the schoolyard. 'It is a typical thing that takes place,' she said. 'I remember growing up it happened on the schoolyard from elementary into middle school. We had this game in which boys converged on girls, and groped them and pulled at their clothing, then ran away. My mother asked me recently why I never told her, but I grew up thinking it was normal. I thought that because no one at school did anything about it.' "Ms. Byrd argues that the culture takes sexual crimes lightly, even at the criminal level. 'Seventy-five percent of domestic violence cases are pled down to misdemeanors. The average child-molesting relative gets five years max because the judicial system does not see it as an important crime. . . We have normalized sexual abuse. Orders of protection are the typical response to assaults on women but orders of protection do not stop bullets.' "Ms. Byrd does not talk like an optimist. But just last week something in one of her sessions cheered her. When a man called an instructor 'sweetheart,' she rebuked him, and was joined by another man in the class who said: 'She's right. We have to be more aware. . . especially after that Central Park thing.' " In a statement, Hillary Clinton said: "The pictures that we saw. . . of women being targeted for abuse and violence, being disrespected and demeaned are not ones that we can or should quickly forget. Women going about the business of their lives, roller blading through the park, walking with a new husband, enjoying the day were all singled out because of a fundamental disrespect for women. These horrendous acts must be punished swiftly. "That is why it is critical that we make our voices heard and call on Congress to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, because all people deserve to be free from violence and every person, man and woman, boy and girl deserve to be treated with respect. Not only will this reauthorization help to provide better training, resources and sensitivity to police, judges and public officials, it will enable them to respond quickly and to better understand the seriousness of situations where women's safety is at risk. The message must be clear: whether it happens in the middle of the night or in broad daylight surrounded by crowds of people, violence against women is a crime." In her Newsweek column, Anna Quindlen wrote: "There is only one good thing about what happened in Central Park, and that is that this time we got to see it. This comes at a cost; what was the deal, really, with the guys with the video cameras, many of whom seem as though they were producing amateur bachelor-party films for the emotionally stunted instead of creating evidence of a crime? But at least what is on film cannot be minimized, or denied. 'This is not a crime that occurs in broad daylight with many witnesses,' wrote Linda Fairstein in her book Sexual Violence. But Fairstein, who runs the Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit of the Manhattan DA's office, has seen it all in her line of work - a defense attorney who once held up a pair of leopard panties during his summation to prove that a Wall Street worker was asking for it, a rapist who came back to the restroom stall where his victim still cowered because he had put down his newspaper during the act and wanted to retrieve it. Now she is overseeing a broad-daylight case, with a VCR as both investigator and witness. That is new. All the rest of this horrid spectacle is as old as earth." Quindlen perhaps best sums it up: "Why is it so simple for some boys to learn they cannot lift a person's wallet and yet so difficult for them to understand they cannot lift a person's skirt?" Rape as Nature? Maybe Not In the last issue of the SAVI Advocate, we published an excerpt from a controversial new book in the field of evolutionary biology that seemed to excuse rape as 'natural.' We asked for responses from our readers. The following article is from one of New York's leading biologists. The Natural History of Rape by Randy Thornhill and Craig T. Palmer has received quite a bit of media attention, unfortunately, much of it before the book was available for review. The suggestion that rape is "just in the genes, stupid" is more than a little offensive to both women and men and begs for a whole lot more explanation than most of us have seen. Although I think we are well past the days when we automatically take offense at the suggestion that we are governed by anything other than pure rational thought, there are several reasons why biologists might also take issue with Thornhill and Palmer's thesis. In the first place, evolution is anything but male-centric. Female "genes" have had a thing or two to say about the evolutionary forces that would subvert female mate choice. In many species, mating is just not possible without female cooperation. In other species, humans included, social systems protect females from both sexual and generic violence. To illustrate, one of our close relatives, the gorilla, lives in social groups comprised of large, powerful males, usually outnumbered by much smaller and somewhat less aggressive females. While females are no physical match for the powerful males, most males are just not sexually excited by females that are not interested in them. A female must "present" to a male in order to get his sexual attention. Why would this be? One explanation is that females work very well together and automatically protect other females that are threatened by males. Males that overstep the limits of gorilla courtship etiquette are attacked and bitten by females that collectively outweigh the male and can win most physical confrontations. Of course, physical assault greatly reduces the mood for romance but more importantly, females are much less likely to ever present to a male that has made himself an object of fear. Thus, most mating opportunity (and selective advantage) shifts to the male that (1) has a healthy fear of retaliatory attack; and (2) elicits sufficient confidence in females to make him a desirable object of mate choice. Obviously, this is a lot more complicated than simply having the equipment to deposit semen wherever he so chooses. Altogether, the so-called "natural history of rape" is more about unnatural history and some confusion about the subtleties of sexual motivation and behavior. The textbook version of male vs. female sexual behavior (at least among most of the mammals and other vertebrate animals) is that females are choosy because they have the most investment in the offspring while males are sexual opportunists. True enough, but when does human male opportunism cross the line? Certainly, it should be no surprise that mental illness (of either organic or drug/alcohol-induced origin) can create huge deficits in male ability to discern female solicitation behaviors and/or ability to keep proper perspective on the dangers of anti-social behavior. But, it is important to cite another factor with which we are only just beginning to recognize: population booms create social instability. The last 10,000 years of human history have been about a self-perpetuating cycle of rapid growth in human numbers followed by the struggle to "make do" with a scarcity of resources. The result has been the creation of social systems built more of expediency than socio-biological inclination. The manifestations include male-dominant societies and the compromise of optimal female protection systems. This has skewed the balance of power in favor of men while simultaneously compromising women's ability to create protection systems in direct proportion to necessity. The good news is that modern empowerment of women is beginning to address this 10,000 year-old problem - it is immediately visible in new legislation that is elevating issues of female protection to top priority. The days when the rape victim is blamed more than the suspect are now history in many parts of the world. So, yes, rape is a phenomenon of human society but in this biologist's opinion, there is no reason to elevate rape to the level of the "natural" and every reason to keep it pigeon-holed in the category of social and behavioral pathology. Thomas Alessando Wins National Crime Victim Services Award Thomas Alessandro, Director of the Witness Aid Services Unit (WASU) at the New York County District Attorney's Office received this year's National Crime Victim Service Award. And it was well deserved. For 22 years, he worked tirelessly to develop WASU into a comprehensive program addressing the divergent needs of crime victims who come to the New York County DA's Office. When he was hired as a staff member in 1977, the fledging unit consisted solely of a Victim/Witness Reception Center with a staff of six. Under his direction, the unit has grown to five divisions and a staff of 36, with Spanish-speaking staff in every division and location. These divisions provide legal assistance, social services and counseling, as well as addressing other needs. "My goal was to create a 'one-stop-shop' agency where crime victims are offered a wide variety of services under one roof." Here's how it works: at the Victim Assistance Center the staff may explain the legal process to victims, serve as their liaison with the police, the court or other justice agencies, provide case information and answer questions, and provide information about an inmate's incarceration status. Once victims pass through this process, they may need additional help. Take, for example, domestic violence victims. They may be steered to the Social Service Department where they may be taken to shelters if their safety is endangered (and if there is no immediate room in a shelter, put up at a hotel) or receive help in obtaining court orders of protection. Next, they may be referred to the Counseling Department. This department is perhaps Alessandro's most important innovation. Realizing that professional counseling is a critical component in victim services, he persuaded the DA's Office to establish the department and the position of Child Victim Specialist. He also introduced group counseling sessions for domestic violence victims and for survivors of homicide victims. Two other departments complete the units. The Property Release Department assists victims in recovering stolen property held as evidence by the police department and the Notification Department. The latter contacts victims for the purpose of obtaining signed affidavits and ensures victims receive copies of their Orders of Protection, among other services offered. This is the briefest summary of the many activities WASU offers to a large number of people. The unit's outreach is phenomenal. In 1998, for example, the Reception Center received 5,405 individuals, the Social Services Department provided critical social services assistance to 1,296 people and the Counseling Department gave 2,480 counseling sessions. Perhaps their biggest single outreach came some years ago when a motorman deliberately derailed a subway train. "157 people were aboard," says Alessandro. "Everyone of these victims was contacted by WASU and some 30 people took advantage of the unit's services." "This summer, large numbers were again WASU's focus when the Central Park rampage erupted," Alessandro reports, "We're working on that as we talk." Asked what his greatest achievement has been, Alessandro says, "Receiving the National Crime Victim Service Award." This may be the pinnacle, but there have been many other honors. Within the DA's Office, he was awarded the Bernadette Cregg Award in 1996 for his "dedication, loyalty and outstanding work." "In recognition and appreciation of outstanding sensitivity and support for families of victims of homicide," Alessandro received a Certificate of Appreciation in 1993 from the Long Island Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children. Additionally, WASU was given the Criminal Justice Award from the NYC Coalition for Crime Victims' Rights Week in 1992. SAVI salutes Tom Alessandro and his truly outstanding achievements. Conference on the Male Sexual Victim The Ninth International Conference of the National Organization on Male Sexual Victimization (NOMSV) will take place on October 25-28, 2001, in New York City at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Entitled "Healing Sexual Victimization of Boys and Men," the conference will have four tracks: healing workshops for survivors, training seminars for professionals; prevention workshops for survivors and professionals; and research presentations on male sexual victimization. For information about NOMSV, the conference, and proposal submissions, visit NOMSV's web site at www.malesurvivor.org at or contact Richard Gartner, Ph.D., Program Chair, NOMSV 2001 Conference, 27 West 72nd Street #708, New York, NY 10023-3498. SAVI's Alice Robinson Speaks to the New York City Council The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault recently organized a presentation for the Women's Issues Committee of the New York City Council, chaired by Ronnie Eldridge, on the state of sexual assault services in the five boroughs. SAVI Outreach Training Coordinator, Alice Robinson, testified on the efforts to bring sexual assault services to the underserved area of Queens. This is an excerpt from her speech. When SAVI first began offering services in Queens, we had one staff person there and approximately 25 Volunteer Advocates on-call to the Elmhurst Hospital Emergency Department to assist survivors' of sexual assault. Now, five years later, we are still the only hospital-based rape crisis program, but we have grown. SAVI has five staff members based in Queens, with counseling sites at Elmhurst Hospital and Rego Park. We also have a counseling site at the Queens District Attorney's Special Victims Bureau ñ a collaborative effort that is particularly effective, and that you will hear more about today from Marjorie Fisher, the Bureau Chief. We now have 90 Volunteer Advocates serving the Emergency Departments of Elmhurst Hospital, Queens Hospital, and soon Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens (formerly Western Queens Hospital). We also offer community education, professional training and consultation services, and we have a male social worker available to work with male survivors. In recent months we have been collaborating closely with Elmhurst Hospital to develop it as a site for the first Sexual Assault Examiner (SAE) Program in Queens. In response to the challenges represented by the diverse language and culture of the Queens community, SAVI now has a diverse clinical staff able to offer counseling in Spanish, Hebrew, and three Indian dialects: Hindi, Gujurati, and Urdu. Also, our Volunteer Queens Advocates are as diverse as the community they live in. This means that if, for example, a Korean-speaking survivor of rape comes into one of our emergency rooms, there is a chance we can bring in one of our Korean-speaking Advocates to accompany and support her though her stay. Along these same lines, SAVI recently received an award for innovative programming from the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault for our development of the Takanot Project, which uses a culturally sensitive model to reach out to victims of assault in the Orthodox Jewish Community. In facing these and other challenges, SAVI's successes have been many and our impact significant. Yet the struggle to make sexual assault services accessible in Queens has really just begun. There are more than a dozen hospital emergency rooms in Queens that do not provide rape crisis Advocates, or train their staff to work with sexual assault victims. Many of our clients travel long distances to reach our counseling sites from Far Rockaway, College Point, or some other far-flung neighborhood of Queens. The void of sexual assault education programs in Queens, both for professionals and the community, is enormous. This means that young people and adults alike do not know how to prevent sexual assault, or what to do if they or a loved one is assaulted. It means that teachers, doctors, social workers, police officers, etc., often do not respond sensitively or appropriately to disclosures of rape and sexual abuse. In terms of language barriers, we are proud of our ability to offer services in three major Indian dialects, but there are 22 dialects spoken in India and therefore one might assume in the borough of Queens. We often have to wait-list clients or try to refer them to other agencies, particularly our Spanish-speaking clients who are many in number and for whom there are few resources. When trying to find referrals for our Spanish-speaking clients we are usually forced to either send them to case managers who are not trained to offer the kind of therapy they need, or to agencies that charge them for the service. Such agencies are few and given that many of our clients are poor, uninsured, and do not qualify for Medicaid (often due to their immigration status), a "fee for service" may mean no service. Psychiatric care and family therapy are virtually impossible to come by, and in-patient programs are scarce. Those that do offer these and other therapeutic services often do so with little understanding of how to address trauma issues related to sexual assault and abuse. What we hear too often when talking to other providers in the borough is "we're not focusing on sexual abuse right now." One hospital-based program can't do it all, and sometimes we at SAVI, and our clients, are left wondering, "If we don't focus on the sexual abuse, who will?" |