01 Mar NYSCASA Monthly Digest – March 2021

Do you have announcements that you would like NYSCASA to share in our Monthly Digest? Email submissions with “Newsletter” in the subject line to cmiller@nyscasa.org.

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NYSCASA Responds to Accusations Against Governor Cuomo

NYSCASA is aware of recent reports of sexual harassment and abusive behavior perpetuated by Governor Andrew Cuomo. This kind of behavior is unacceptable in any workplace. The highest level of New York State government is no exception.

We echo calls for an independent investigation into Governor Cuomo’s workplace behavior, and we will continue to advocate for policies that prevent workplace sexual harassment and promote mechanisms for accountability and healing.

Visit our website to read our full statement and access resources for survivors: https://nyscasa.org/nyscasa-responds-to-accusations-against-governor-cuomo

Does Your Program Need PPE? Request PPE By March 15!

NYSCASA is pleased to be able to provide a limited amount of PPE to our member rape crisis programs.

Available items include:

• Face masks of various types (surgical style 3-ply mask, KN95 masks, and cloth 2-ply masks)
• Hand sanitizer (16oz and 2oz bottles)
• Disinfectant wipes (large canister of 100 wipes and small packs of 50 wipes)
• Disposable gloves (vinyl gloves and nitrile gloves)
• No-contact infrared digital thermometers

If you have questions, please feel free to contact us by email (info@nyscasa.org) with “PPE Request Form” in the subject line.

Please submit PPE requests by March 15, 2021, using this form: https://forms.gle/hinPiS3KCavfuDsn8. Please note that we may not be able to fulfil requests received after March 15.

Get Involved: Join NYSCASA’s Board!

NYSCASA is currently seeking candidates for our Board of Directors.

We are interested in candidates from all regions of New York State who have knowledge and skills in:

• nonprofit management;
• organizational planning;
• fundraising;
• finance;
• personnel management;
• legal matters; or
• public relations.

We are looking for candidates who are prepared to:

• raise funds for NYSCASA;
• support the executive director;
• engage in Board and organizational development, including long-term planning;
• ensure the agency’s legal and ethical integrity and maintain accountability; and
• donate to the agency.

For more information or to apply, please contact Sam Mitchell at smitchell@nyscasa.org or 518-482-4222 x311.

Visit www.nyscasa.org/get-involved for information about other opportunities to get involved.

All New Yorkers Encouraged to Support Survivors During COVID-19 Crisis

We are still experiencing a pandemic. During this time of crisis, sexual violence, domestic violence, and child abuse will continue to occur – most likely at increased rates than ever before. The New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Seven Dancers Coalition, and Prevent Child Abuse New York encourage New Yorkers to support their friends, family members, or colleagues whenever they seek help.

Read our joint statement and learn about available resources here: www.nyscasa.org/support-survivors-during-covid

 

Ending Violence Without Violence: 2020-2021 Virtual Training Series

NYSCASA, Seven Dancers Coalition, and Interrupting Criminalization: Research in Action are pleased to announce the continuation of our 2020-2021 virtual training series, Ending Violence Without Violence.

Confirmed Spring 2021 speakers and workshop facilitators include:

• Andrea J. Ritchie (Police misconduct attorney, organizer, and author of Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color)
• Richard Smith (National Director of the Common Justice learning collaborative, HealingWorks)
• Mimi Kim (Executive Director and founder of Creative Interventions and Associate Professor of Social Work at California State University Long Beach)
• Mariame Kaba (Founder and director of Project NIA, co-founder and co-organizer with Survived and Punished, and a Researcher in Residence at the Barnard Center for Research on Women)
• Donna Jenson (Founder of Time To Tell™, author of Healing My Life from Incest to Joy, and playwright/performer of What She Knows: One Woman’s Way through Incest to Joy)
• Spring Up (Multimedia artist collective and social enterprise building an alternative vision of our world rooted in ongoing consent, liberation, community accountability and care)

Click here to see the full schedule, read more about the series, and access resources: www.endviolence2020.com.

Stay tuned for announcements about upcoming webinars and virtual learning opportunities! Click here to sign up for our Ending Violence Without Violence mailing list.

Peer Support Calls for BIPOC in NYS Victim Services

NYS-based victim services staff/volunteers who identify as Black, Indigenous, or otherwise as People of Color (BIPOC), are invited to participate in NYSCASA’s upcoming peer support calls for BIPOC at victim services programs. These informal conversations will be facilitated by NYSCASA staff.

Logistics: This space meets on the second Wednesday of the month from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM ET.

Accessibility: The meetings will be conducted in spoken English. Please indicate in the registration form or by email (ahill@nyscasa.org) if you require language interpretation and/or closed captioning. Please provide this information at least 3 business days prior to the start of the session.

Registration: Registration is required. Register at the links below:

• Click here to register for the March 10 session.
• Click here to register for the April 14 session.

Contact: Please contact Articia Hill (ahill@nyscasa.org) if you have questions or require assistance with registration.

 

Left Out of MeToo: New Initiative Focuses on Black Survivors

It’s been more than three years since the #MeToo movement launched a culture-shifting conversation about sexual violence. But Tarana Burke, the activist who gave the movement its name, says concrete change has been incremental at best — and especially for Black survivors. Read more about the new initiative, “We, As Ourselves,” which centers Black Survivors, from the Associated Press: https://apnews.com/article/we-as-ourselves-black-women-metoo-9f672965d85b2f9993e9b9841ea2efec

How to Counter Penis Politics: What It’s Like to Work for Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio

“Like many powerful men in politics, they create a public image as champions of women’s rights and equality. Behind closed doors, they use gender domination as one means to assert their power over women,” writes Karen Hinton. Read more of her op-ed on New York Daily News: https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-how-to-deal-with-powerful-men-20210224-coenqmxc7zdgrhxb3n5gy62kom-story.html

NYPD Watchdog Board’s Bid to Probe Police Sexual Misconduct Gets Public Airing

“Without independent oversight, police perpetrators often evade accountability. Internal reporting systems that represent law enforcement value internal, political and reputational protection and close cases above safeguarding the fundamental human rights of survivors,” the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault and the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault wrote in testimony to the Civilian Complaint Review Board. Read more from The City: https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/1/12/22228093/nypd-watchdog-police-sexual-misconduct

Please Stop Asking FKA Twigs—And All Domestic-Abuse Survivors—”Why Did You Stay?”

Why do we still think it’s appropriate to interrogate survivors of domestic abuse about why they stayed, instead of asking what structural support, material resources, or other forms of help they needed and lacked in order to embolden their own sense of agency? Read more from Emma Specter for Vogue: https://www.vogue.com/article/fka-twigs-domestic-abuse-survivors-why-did-you-stay

Why the Compounding Traumas of the Pandemic Year May Spark Another Wave of the #MeToo Movement

As Rep. Ocasio-Cortez said in her Instagram Live, “when we go through trauma, trauma compounds on each other.” While she was referring to the assault on the Capitol reopening mental wounds associated with her experience as a sexual assault victim, there is another new trauma universal to this past year that may compound the effects of sexual assault for the one in every six women (and one in 33 men) who have experienced it: the pandemic. Read more on Well+Good: https://www.wellandgood.com/sexual-assault-trauma-during-pandemic

We Are Not Living in a “Post-Me Too” Era

The domestic abuse allegations against A-list celebrities are the continuation of the movement that began three years ago, argues Gina Tonic. Read more on Vice: https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7mjyd/we-are-not-living-in-a-post-me-too-era

In February, ‘me too.’ International, the National Women’s Law Center, and TIME’S UP Foundation launched “We, As Ourselves,” a campaign that seeks to change the conversation about sexual violence and its impact on Black communities.

Working in collaboration, the three organizations aim to: 1) create safe spaces where Black survivors can confront their stories; 2) upend cultural narratives that harm and silence Black survivors; and 3) build new practices wherein Black survivors are believed, heard, and supported. Access more information and resources here: www.weasourselves.org