"I Wouldn't Take No For An Answer"

In the debate over how to reduce sexual assault on university campuses, proposing self-defense classes for women is controversial. But, according to new landmark Canadian research, it works.

Caller-Times Saturday’s biannual Coastal Bend Social Forum hosted by Del Mar College gathered an array of experts to delve into the issues of domestic violence, labor rights, immigrant rights and homelessness, among other topics, to ignite a new tide of change in the Coastal Bend.

Science suggests that having a secure relationship with a caregiver can help protect a child’s brain and body from the effects of adversity. A Connecticut program for young children who have experienced trauma or other challenges has gotten results by focusing on that relationship – and the things that can interfere, including depression, family violence, and a parent’s own history of trauma.

A national survey showed that few college students intervene when witnessing a sexual assault. The school with the highest rate of student intervention was Dartmouth College, where students receive bystander prevention training.

In El Paso domestic violence cases are processed more effectively by having social workers, prosecutors, and law enforcement work together to get immediate support to the victims and hold the aggressor accountable.

When processing rape kits, it may be faster and more cost-effective to extract DNA profiles rather than first screen swabs and undergarments for semen. Ohio’s crime lab, which has identified a potential suspect in nearly 40 percent of recent cases, has made this and other changes to its procedures.

Areas of High Point, North Carolina have suffered from crime, poverty, and neglect, until the city began implementing Operation Ceasefire, a policing program that uses data collecting, community support against crime. High Point is now leading the country in its success of Operation Ceasefire, boasting dramatic reductions in violent crimes, domestic abuse, robberies, and drug-related offenses.

In the Mumbai slum of Dharavi, an NGO called Society for Nutrition, Education & Health Action (SNEHA) is working to make life safer by teaching men the importance of not being violent towards women. Through an app called Eyewatch, community members are able to document acts of domestic violence, which helps SNEHA team members locate victims and their abusers.

2014 was a year marked nationwide by activism and unprecedented federal attention to the issue of campus sexual assault. The University of Texas system is putting $1.7 million into a comprehensive, multi-year effort to combat sexual assault on campus.

A non-profit in Bangladesh is fighting domestic violence by having female and especially male Bangladeshi volunteers give sexual education and women's rights classes.