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“You Save as Long as You Have To”

Catherine Rentz

May 22, 2021 |

ProPublica |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

The first DNA database in unsolved rape cases was created at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center nearly 50 years ago by a forensic pathologist who was appalled by the callous treatment of rape victims and the impunity their attackers were granted. Dr. Rudiger Breitenecker's methodical storage of physical evidence and meticulous documentation enabled dozens of convictions, and some exonerations, decades later with the development of DNA testing. Baltimore County's use of the evidence became a model for other prosecutors and police around the country.

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Nigeria is using radio to provide support for SGBV survivors

Seun Durojaiye

March 13, 2021 |

International Centre for Investigative Reporting |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Nigeria

To combat high rates of sexual and gender-based violence in Nigeria, the Spotlight Initiative supports several organizations providing counseling and educational services to victims and to women and girls at risk of abuse. One program from the NEEM Foundation countered the pandemic shutdown by distributing transistor radios to continue its classes for women. Another, Save the Child Initiative, intervened in a child rape case that local authorities ignored, convincing national police to arrest the attacker and providing counseling to the victim and her mother.

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Fighting to open closed doors: how advocates stepped up efforts to help sex trafficking survivors in a world where hiding victims is easier than ever

Christopher Johnston

January 14, 2021 |

Eye On Ohio |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Cleveland, Ohio

Victims of sex trafficking in Ohio have accessed services and resources made available by local advocates. Outreach events, support, and recovery services, trauma counselors, as well as personal care items were all provided.

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After 3 years and $1.5 million devoted to testing rape kits, Alaska made one new arrest

Kyle Hopkins

December 30, 2020 |

Anchorage Daily News |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Alaska

Despite hopes that testing a backlog of rape kits would reveal many new serial-rape suspects, Alaska's three-year push to test 568 kits under the federally funded Sexual Assault Kit Initiative led to only one new prosecution. The reasons the program fell short of expectations include a lack of usable DNA samples, errors by investigators, cases in which victims and suspects had died or victims no longer wished to proceed, or the kits revealed no evidence that wasn't previously known. Alaska is now footing the bill to test more kits, which contain physical evidence collected after a rape.

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After a sexual assault, where can you get a medical and forensic exam?

Catie Beck Adiel Kaplan Alexa Keyes Wilson Wong

December 28, 2020 |

NBC News |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States

A critical element in responding to rapes with trauma-informed victim care that aids an eventual prosecution is a sexual assault forensic exam. Rape kits, as they are known, are best administered by highly trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs). But the first nationwide census of available SANEs shows enormous gaps in availability and training. Federal aid since 2005 has helped improve care, and some states have innovated workarounds, including regional mobile SANE units for underserved areas.

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The Courage to Listen

Meg Daly

October 15, 2020 |

Jackson Hole Community Radio (KHOL) |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Jackson, Wyoming

Following a series of public controversies over sexual assault, Jackson's Community Safety Network convened a series of training seminars to foster a response that no amount of legislation or criminal prosecutions could offer: to cultivate culture change based on greater understanding and empathy about what survivors go through. The seminars capitalized on a surge in public interest, and misunderstandings, surrounding sexual assault allegations against a public official and other public officials' behavior. One survivor who was encouraged to go public praised the community effort.

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Empowering the survivor voting block

Angela K. Evans

October 01, 2020 |

Boulder Weekly |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Colorado

Colorado’s Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) helps survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse keep their physical addresses private. Registering to vote requires an address, which is part of the public record. The ACP program can also be used to enroll children in schools, on their driver’s licenses, and in court. ACP works with the postal service to create ghost addresses for survivors and it serves as the only place where the addresses are known. Four thousand people are currently using the service and up to 9,000 have used it since it began.

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Tackling Rape Culture and Sexual Violence Amid Societal and Systemic Limitations in Nigeria

Hadassah Egbedi

May 18, 2020 |

Ventures Africa |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Nigeria

Stand To End Rape (STER) is a youth-led Nigerian NGO that works with sexual and gender abuse survivors by providing services, including psychosocial support and advocacy to address cultural norms of victim-blaming, shaming, and skepticism that keep sexual assault survivors from getting help. 173 cases were reported to STER in 2019 and they provided legal support to 55 individuals from those cases. STER also works with the Women at Risk International Foundation for medical care and a 24-hour confidential helpline that took 230 calls in the last 2 years, an important but small fraction of national cases.

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After #MeToo, This Group Has Nearly Erased Sexual Harassment in Farm Fields

Vera Liang Chang

March 09, 2020 |

Civil Eats |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Florida

The Fair Food Program, which educates and empowers farmworkers to report on-the-job sexual harassment, has all but eliminated sexual assaults at participating farms in an industry that otherwise is known for vast power imbalances between migrant labor and labor contractors. By giving employers key business incentives to participate and by cracking the code of silence among workers, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers-run FFP has protected employees by educating tens of thousands of them while enforcing standards through a rigorous investigation and hearings process.

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Healing arts: Recovering from sexual assault through creativity

Emily Dean

February 18, 2020 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Phoenix, Arizona

For those who have experienced sexual assault, art therapy is being used for recovery, empowerment, and self-expression. Two organizations, Art Against Assault and CounterAct, are striving to use an arts-based approach to survivors who want to express what happened and their feelings, but may feel like they can’t. While gaining traction, expert practitioners warn that not anyone can do this, that this approach must be facilitated by experts in art therapy to prevent further harm.

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