June 2011

June is National Congenital Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Awareness Month. Congenital diseases, such as Congenital Cytomegalovirus, may affect fetuses of pregnant women who experience domestic violence. In one study, women who reported intimate partner violence during pregnancy or the year prior to pregnancy were less likely to receive prenatal care in the first trimester and often experience high risk pregnancies. Pregnancy complications are known connections of intimate partner violence. 

There are different ways you can help bring awareness to domestic violence not only this month, but all year long. Find out what you can do at your school, clinic, and community by reading the features below. Read our online fact sheets to learn more about the issue and take a look at our online catalog of materials to support your campus activities.  Let me know what you’re planning on your campus for June and beyond by sending me an email: healthintern1@futureswithoutviolence.

Also, feel free to email me with any questions or to talk more about campus strategies to help raise awareness of domestic violence. If you would like to subscribe to this listserv, click here and be sure to check the box for “Student Health Network.”

Thanks,
Michelle Dalida
Futures Without Violence, formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund
Graduate Health Intern
healthintern1@futureswithoutviolence.org

FEATURED NEWS
Obama Administration Fulfills Core Element of I-VAWA
Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator of the USAID, announced the establishment of the Office of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment and named Carla Koppell to the newly created position of Senior Coordinator. Futures Without Violence applauds and welcomes the creation of this position and the Obama Administration’s efforts to strengthen USAID’s gender programming. Futures Without Violence activists were instrumental in achieving this success, bringing us one step closer to preventing and ending violence against women and girls around the world.

In creating the position of Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, the Obama Administration has taken a major step to strengthen USAID’s gender programming and organizational structure. These improvements are necessary to ensure that gender issues remain at the forefront of the United States’ foreign policy and development programming.

“Taken together, these steps will reaffirm our commitment to gender equality and help harness the power, creativity, and energy of women and girls to deliver meaningful results for the developing world,” said Dr. Shah.

A coalition of over 150 organizations, led by Futures Without Violence, Women Thrive Worldwide and Amnesty International U.S.A., have been advocating for the implementation of the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA); the creation of the Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment position is a key component of I-VAWA.

Ms. Koppell’s new position will allow her to work alongside the State Department’s Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, Melanne Verveer. Together they will create a comprehensive strategy for reducing gender based violence.

Most recently, Ms. Koppell served as Director of the Institute for Inclusive Security and the Washington office of the Hunt Alternatives Fund. She has worked extensively with women and civil society leaders in conflict areas around the world, including: Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, the Middle East, and Sudan. Ms. Koppell previously worked at the USAID from 1997-1999 as Special Assistant to the Administrator and Director of the agency’s climate change program.
[Source: futureswithoutviolence.org]

EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Teleconference: Assessing and Intervening in the Home with Victims of Intimate Partner Violence
National Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center is hosting this teleconference on Tuesday, June 7. Experts in the field of intimate partner violence will discuss best practices for integrating intimate partner violence screening and intervention practices with home visiting services. Special attention will be paid to increasing practitioner safety when there is violence in the home, as well as navigating assessment and intervention when the perpetrator is present. Featured presenters are Carla Smith Stover, PhD and Phyllis Sharps, PhD, RN, FAAN. There is a $25 session fee for this 90-minute conference call. To register, click here.
[Source:aia.berkeley.edu/training]

Training Workshop: Emotion Regulation with Adolescents Who Have Been Sexually Assaulted
Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs will be presenting this training workshop on June 7 from 9am-4pm in Richland, Washington.  This presentation will focus on issues in therapy with teens who have been sexually assaulted, with an overview of development and attachment considerations. For more information, click here.
[Source: wcsap.org]

Training Workshop: Supporting Children Living with Grief and Trauma: A Multidisciplinary Approach
The Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center is hosting a training on June 14-15 in Salem, Massachusetts.  This two day interactive training is designed for victim advocates who want to develop knowledge and skills to provide appropriate services for children experiencing trauma and grief as a result of violence. Instructor Angela McCown, victim services director for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, will be leading this training. There is a $200 registration fee for this training workshop. For more information and to register, click here.
[Source: ovcttac.gov]

Conference: Looking at the Big Picture: Working Together to End Violence
Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault presents their 2011 Annual Conference from June 27-29 in Vail, Colorado. Conference speakers include Connie Burk, executive director of the Northwest Network of Bisexual, Trans, Lesbian and Gay Survivors of Abuse in Seattle, WA; Shira Tarrant, professor of Political Science at Cal State University in Long Beach; and Patti Bland from the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. For more information and to register, click here.
[Source: regonline.com]

Conference: Ending Violence Against Women & Teen Dating Violence Annual Forum
Tranforming Communities and the California Department of Public Health, Violence Prevention Unit  are sponsoring a forum from June 27-29 in Sacramento, California for primary prevention advocates. The purpose of this forum is to strengthen capacity and collaboration among Violence Against Women and Teen Dating Violence prevention advocates for program and policy development. For more information, click here.
[Source: ncdsv.org]

Webinar: SAFEta Victim Centered Care Series- Transgendered Sexual Violence
The National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations of Adults and Adolescents encourages a victim centered approach to caring for patients who have experienced sexual violence. Transgendered persons offer unique challenges in assuring victim centered care.  Presenters include Michael Munson, co-founder of FORGE, and LGNTQ advocate Loree Cook-Daniels. To register, click here.
[Source: safeta.org]

CURRENT NEWS AND RESEARCH FINDINGS
Andrade EM, Nakamura E, de Paula CS, et al. Health Professionals’ Views About Domestic Violence Against Children and Teenagers: a qualitative study. Saude E Sociedade. 2011; 20(1):147-155.
Abstract: Domestic violence is one of the most difficult topics to be dealt with by health professionals. We aimed, in this research, to understand the experience of health professionals concerning domestic violence against children and teenagers, describing the identification of the cases and the aid offered to the victims in the Unidades Basicas de Saude (UBS - Primary Health Care Units). The techniques were participant observation, focus groups and semi-structured interviews conducted at two UBSs in the city of Embu, one of the most violent regions of Brazil, located in the Metropolitan Region of Sao Paulo. According to the results, the professionals said they have several difficulties in tackling the question of violence, such as fear of getting involved with criminal people, lack of protection in the UBSs and the relatives' lack of commitment. The fear of assuming legal obligations makes it difficult for the professionals to have attitudes in order to assist the victims. One of the reasons for their denunciation difficulty would be the reproduction of cultural standards in which physical punishment is accepted as an educational practice. Besides, they seem not to feel responsible or qualified to deal with the problem. The professionals of Embu, in a certain way, reproduce the same values and attitudes of the community in relation to violence, conniving at the silence of the families, avoiding commitment to the cases and not believing in the institutions that are responsible for children's protection. It was clear that the problem of domestic violence against children and teenagers is not easy to deal with. The assistance offered to the victims is restricted, mainly due to the professionals' difficulties in handling the social-cultural characteristics of the population and to the lack of dialogue with the institutions that are responsible for referring the cases. The approach, referral and treatment of children and teenagers who are victims of physical violence can be more effective when the health services are in close contact with the daily life of the population.
[Source: Web of Knowledge]

Prabhu M, Mchome B, Ostermann J, et al. Prevalence and correlates of intimate partner violence among women attending HIV voluntary counseling and testing northern Tanzania, 2005-2008. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics. 2011; 113(1):63-67.
Abstract: Objective: To investigate the prevalence and correlates of intimate partner violence (IPV) among women at an HIV voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) center in northern Tanzania. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, the lifetime history of IPV experienced by women attending an HIV VCT center in Moshi, Tanzania, from June 2005 to January 2008 was assessed. Bivariate and ordered logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for IPV. Results: Of 2436 enrolled women, 432 (17.7%) reported IPV during their lifetime. Older, unemployed, and less-educated women, and those with children were more likely to have experienced IPV (P < 0.05). IPV exposure differed by marital status (P < 0.001). Adjusting for sociodemographics, the odds ratio of IPV was 1,51(95% confidence interval [CI] 1.10-2.07) for married women and 2.25 (95% CI 1.63-3.10) for divorced women, compared with single women. HIV prevalence did not differ by IPV exposure or severity; however, 22.4% of single women who had experienced IPV were HIV seropositive, compared with 15.1% of women with no experience of IPV (P=0.041). Conclusion: Given that IPV represents both a risk factor for and a consequence of HIV infection, VCT sites are an appropriate and accessible venue for IPV screening and counseling in resource-poor settings.
[Source: Web of Knowledge]

Reed E, Silverman JG, Raj A, Decker MR, Miller E. Male Perpetrations of Teen Dating Violence: Associations with Neighborhood Violence Involvement, Gender Attitudes, and Perceived Peer and Neighborhood Norms. Journal of Urban Health-Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine. 2011; 88(2):226-239.
Abstract: This study aims to examine the link between male perpetration of teen dating violence (TDV) and neighborhood violence, as well as associations with gender attitudes and perceived peer and neighborhood norms related to violence among a sample of urban adolescent boys. Participants of this cross-sectional study (N = 275) were between the ages of 14 and 20 years and recruited from urban community health centers. Crude and adjusted logistic and linear regression models were used to examine TDV perpetration in relation to (a) neighborhood violence involvement, (b) perceptions of peer violence, (c) perceptions of neighborhood violence, and (d) gender attitudes. Slightly more than one in four (28%) boys reported at least one form of TDV perpetration; among boys who have ever had sex, almost half (45%) reported at least one form of TDV perpetration. In logistic and linear regression models adjusted for demographics, boys who reported TDV perpetration were more likely to report involvement in neighborhood violence (odds ratio (OR) = 3.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.7-5.5), beliefs that their friends have perpetrated TDV (OR = 2.7; 95%CI = 1.4-5.1), perceptions of violent activity within their neighborhood (OR = 3.0; 95%CI = 1.4-6.3), and greater support of traditional gender norms (beta = 3.2, p = 0.002). The findings suggest that efforts are needed to address boys' behaviors related to the perpetration of multiple forms of violence and require explicit efforts to reduce perceived norms of violence perpetration as well as problematic gender attitudes (e.g., increasing support for gender equity) across boys' life contexts.
[Source: Web of Knowledge]

Cripe SM, Sanchez SE, Gelaye B, Sanchez E, Williams MA. Association Between Intimate Partner Violence, Migraine and Probable Migraine. Headache. 2011; 51(2):208-219.
Abstract: Objective:Intimate partner violence (IPV) among women is a global public health problem. The association between childhood maltreatment and migraine is well established, but not the association between IPV and migraine. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the relationship between type and severity of IPV and migraine in a large cohort of Peruvian women.
Methods: Women who delivered singleton infants (n = 2066) at the Instituto Nacional Materno Perinatal, Lima, Peru were interviewed during their postpartum hospital stay. Participants were queried about their lifetime experiences with headaches and migraine, and with physical and sexual violence. The International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-2) diagnostic criteria were used to classify participants according to their migraine status. Questions on physical and sexual violence were adapted from the protocol of Demographic Health Survey Questionnaires and Modules: Domestic Violence Module and the World Health Organization (WHO) Multi-Country Study on Violence against Women. Depressive symptoms were assessed using a modified version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Logistic regression was used to estimate multivariate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Compared with women without a history of violence, women with experiences of lifetime physical or sexual violence (aOR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.19-1.75), physical violence only (aOR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.10-1.68), sexual violence only (aOR = 1.76, 95% CI 0.97-3.21), and both physical and sexual violence (aOR = 1.61, 95% CI 1.12-2.31) had increased odds of any migraine after adjusting for maternal age, parity, and access to basic foods. There was no gradient of increased odds of any migraine with severity of physical violence. The relationship between IPV and any migraine was strongest among women with moderate to severe levels of depressive symptoms. The odds of any migraine was increased 2.25-fold (95% CI 1.75-2.28) among abused women who also had moderate to severe levels of depressive symptomology compared with women who were not abused and had none or mild levels of depressive symptomology. Associations from sensitivity analyze that segregated women according to probable migraine (ICHD-2 category 1.6.1) and migraine (ICHD-2 category 1.1) diagnoses were of similar magnitudes as those reported here for women with any migraine diagnoses. IPV, particularly sexual violence, appears to be a risk factor for migraine. Conclusion: Our findings suggest the potential importance of considering a history of violence among migraineurs.
[Source: Web of Knowledge]

Moore BC, Easton CJ, McMahon TJ. Drug Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence: A Comparative Study of Opioid-Dependent Fathers. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 2011; 81(2):218-227.
Abstract: Because very little is known about the co-parenting relationships of drug-abusing men, this comparative study was designed to examine the lifetime prevalence and recent frequency of intimate partner violence in the co-parenting relationships of 106 fathers enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment. When compared with 118 community controls, the opioid-dependent fathers reported greater prevalence of physical, sexual, and psychological aggression directed at the mother of their youngest biological child over the course of the relationship. They also reported more frequent physical, sexual, and psychological aggression directed at the mother during the previous year. Similarly, the opioid-dependent fathers reported both greater prevalence of physical and sexual aggression directed at them by the mother of their youngest child over the course of the relationship and more frequent sexual aggression directed at them over the previous year. The results highlight the need for clinicians to consider risk for intimate partner violence in co-parenting relationships when planning family-oriented intervention designed to meet the needs of fathers, mothers, and children affected by chronic drug abuse.
[Source: Web of Knowledge]

FUNDING LINKS-SCHOLARSHIPS-RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
Call for Abstracts: 6^th Biennial National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence
Futures Without Violence is looking for abstracts that feature innovative health research and clinical programs addressing domestic violence. The deadline for submissions is June 24. To submit, click here.
[Source: nchdv.org]

Request For Proposals: Responding to Crime Victims with Disabilities National Training Conference
The National Center for Victims of Crime is hosting this conference which aims to enhance the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of service providers to better serve people with disabilities who are victims of crime, abuse, and neglect. The conference will facilitate partnerships among the fields of victim assistance, advocacy for persons with disabilities, and other allied professions. The deadline for proposals is Friday, June 24. To submit a proposal, click here.
[Source: ncvc.org]

JOB AND INTERNSHIP LISTINGS
Domestic Violence Specialist-Turning Point- Mount Clemens, MI
The Domestic Violence Specialist will coordinate or assist with the organizing and development of the Empowerment Group Series as well as handle a variety of assignments or responsibilities. To view the complete job description and to apply, click here.
[Source: michworks.org]

Advocate- Domestic Violence Intervention Services- Tulsa, OK
An advocate is needed to perform duties such as intakes, crisis line and client care on the weekends. For more information, click here.
[Source: indeed.com]

Domestic Violence Adult Advocate- United Services, Inc.- Dayville, CT
Responsibilities include providing advocacy and helping to coordinate services for victims of domestic violence and crisis hotline coverage. For more information on this position, click here.
[Source: careerbuilder.com]

Clinical Director of Domestic Violence Programs-Prototypes-Los Angeles, CA
Specific responsibilities of this position include supervising the transitional domestic violence program, STAR House; providing clinical supervision ot therapists on staff; supervising professional staff; facilitating staff meetings and case conferences; and working with the program director and lead case managers. For more information and to apply for this position, click here.
[Source: socialservice.com]