NSVRC Blogs

Guest blog post by Sally J. Laskey, NSVRC Evaluation Coordinator My cat and I are pretty curious creatures. Pete, my cat, is definitely an evaluator at heart. She always investigates anything new coming into the house. She asks a lot of questions, like “Why are you moving that chair?” or “What do you hope to gain by vacuuming so regularly?” Pete has reviewed the data and determined the most effective grooming strategy and systematically applies this intervention every day. Traveling around the U.S. last year, I was able to meet a lot of other people (and some cats) that are also working to

As I write this, I am wrapping up holiday celebrations. The holidays are a time many of us get together with our families. I love seeing my family, but sometimes I dread it because undoubtedly I will hear somebody spouting off sexist, homophobic, transphobic, or anti-Black sentiments. The most recent family gathering was no exception. No matter how much I tried to explain or how much data I used to back up my argument, I could not get through to some of my Latinx relatives, most of whom are non-Black or white-passing.  I couldn’t stop deliberating about some of the things my family

As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues work around addressing opioid overdose, sexual violence preventionists and advocates continue to raise awareness about the link between sexual violence and addiction. While states are attempting to reduce supply through legislation, the demand created by the over-prescribing of opioid painkillers isn’t going away.  In a previous post, we highlighted the importance of involving community rape crisis centers in the response to overdoses due to opioid use, and talked about the limited amount of research and news coverage that is

This is a guest blog post from Mo Lewis, NSVRC Prevention Specialist and Sally J. Laskey, NSVRC Evaluation Coordinator Looking back at 2018, one of our favorite moments was presenting at the Evaluation 2018 conference in Cleveland.  The theme of the conference was Speaking Truth to Power and we embraced that theme by talking frankly about the fact that most preventionists didn’t join the movement with evaluation in mind. Our workshop, “I Didn’t Sign Up for This!” How to Teach Evaluation to People who Hate Evaluation, focused on how to teach evaluation principles to non-evaluators. We were

The New Year is upon us and with it may come new challenges, goals, and anticipations. As always, it is important that we take time for ourselves. Whether that is spending time alone with a cup of tea, spending time with family or friends, or finding a cozy spot to curl up with a good book, taking some down time is indeed good for the soul. With these things in mind, I wanted to share a small collection of books that will hopefully meet the needs of a variety of different ages. I Walk with Vanessa: A Story About a Simple Act of Kindness by Kerascoet is a simple picture book that tells the

Over the past few days, my timeline has been overflowing with responses following the premiere of the Lifetime docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly”. People are going through it and struggling to process. Anyone born in the 90s and older are having their world turned upside down as we sift through the details of R&B Singer Robert “R. Kelly” Kelly. The outcry from the Black community has been a mix of “we have to do better” to “man, the media is just trying to knock another brother down.” Regardless of what is said, the message is clear: more needs to be done to prevent and respond to sexual

As sexual assault advocates, we serve anyone who seeks services, including children, adults, people in later life, and youth. Certain age groups across the lifespan can be challenging for advocates to work with for a range of reasons outside the survivor’s control. Teens in particular face many circumstances that advocates may find challenging. Working with teens can be like walking a legal tightrope. Depending on state or tribal law, young people may lack the ability to grant consent for services or may not have confidentiality during service provision. Many sexual violence programs do not

SAAM Event Planning 101 10 SAAM Events to Inspire Your Planning Efforts Planning a SAAM Event on a Budget Embrace Your Voice as a Leader SAAM Campaign Ideas for Your Community How to Engage Your Campus in SAAM Movies to Screen During SAAM How Social Media Can Amplify Your SAAM Message Every April across the U.S., individuals and organizations with a passion for sexual violence prevention take part in Sexual Assault Awareness Month, or SAAM. The goal of SAAM is to raise awareness about sexual violence and educate communities on how to prevent it. While one month isn’t enough to solve the

This post was developed in partnership with Justin Boardman, Independent Consultant at Boardman Training & Consulting.  NSVRC partnered with retired sex crimes detective Justin Boardman to bring you a series of webinars called “Through the Lens of Law Enforcement.” You will need a free account to view the recordings.   This series helps advocates understand the perspective of law enforcement when working with survivors. In each webinar, Retired Detective Boardman provides his perspective of law enforcement, working with dispatch, medical professionals, prosecution, and

At the moment we have received as many sign-ups for the SAAM 2019 Action Kit as we can accept. Follow the SAAM blog or our Facebook page to find out if we will be able to distribute more Action Kits in 2019.