NSVRC Blogs

Harrisburg, PA – It is vital that we hold those who commit sexual harassment, abuse, and assault accountable, regardless of their power, fame, or wealth. After the extensive documentation of abuses inflicted on Black girls and women by R. Kelly, NSVRC is pleased to learn that he is facing criminal charges for some of this conduct. This case is a reminder that we must listen to and believe the accounts of Black women and girls, who experience sexual violence at higher rates than other groups of women but are often disbelieved and face systemic barriers rooted in oppression. It is also

Although the month of February is recognized as Black History Month with various events and celebrations the remarkable people and influences that we think of during this time, are worthy of being recognized and celebrated each and every day. I recently came back from a trip to Atlanta where I had the honor of visiting the Ebenezer Baptist Church where both Martin Luther King Jr. and his father were preachers. There are no words suitable to describe the experience. The Respect Together Libraries also hold a growing collection of individuals who

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month (TDVAM). This year’s theme is Know Your Worth. Teen dating violence includes physical, emotional, sexual, or digital abuse in a current dating relationship or by a former dating partner. Young people experience violence at alarming rates. According to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: Over 71% of women and over 55% of men first experienced intimate partner violence (sexual or physical violence, and/or stalking) under the age of 25 (Smith et al., 2018). One in four women first experienced intimate partner violence

Gemmel Moore. Timothy Dean. These are the names of two Black, queer men found dead in a white, gay man’s apartment. I’m an advocate and a white, queer person, and I’ve seen this story get some traction in some places on my social media feeds. But it hasn’t been enough, mainstream media has covered it only minimally, and not enough of us in the movements to end violence are naming sexual violence as a central issue to what is happening here. We need to actively name the sexual violence, racism, classism, and homophobia that have conspired here to harm and kill Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean,

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