Volunteer advocates are the backbone to the agency providing an invaluable service to our survivors of sexual violence. Volunteers participate in an “on call” rotation to respond to one of our 4 hospitals when a call is received through the crisis line after business hours. We only ask volunteers to respond to their closest hospital location when the call is received. Our hospitals are located in Daviess, Ohio, Henderson and Union. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer please contact Crystal at [email protected].

Please join us on August 31 at the Owensboro Convention center as we welcome Elizabeth Smart.

The abduction of Elizabeth Smart was one of the most followed child abduction cases of our time. Elizabeth was abducted on June 5, 2002, and her captors controlled her by threatening to kill her and her family if she tried to escape. Fortunately, the police safely returned Elizabeth back to her family on March 12, 2003, after being held a prisoner for 9 grueling months.

Through this traumatic experience, Elizabeth has become an advocate for change related to child abduction, recovery programs, and National legislation. Elizabeth triumphantly testified before her captor and the world about the very private nightmare she suffered during her abduction, which led to conviction.

Elizabeth’s abduction and recovery continue to motivate parents, law enforcement and leaders worldwide to focus on children’s safety. She emphasizes vigilance by “everyday” people and the belief that hope always exists to find every missing child.

Thank you to our Gold Sponsor Owensboro Health and our Silver sponsor Fraternal Order of Eagles for making this event possible. If you would like to sponsor please contact us at 270-926-7278. Opportunities are available for a private meet and greet with Elizabeth prior to dinner.

Kentucky is working its way toward getting all kits tested and entered into the national database.  You can follow the progress by going to https://www.kentuckybacklog.com/

National Institute Partner and Sexual Violence survey was just released and the news is not good for Kentucky.  The state ranks number one in regards to the number of stalking victims.  But that’s not all the bad news.  We continue to rank high in lifetime victimization of both men and women and in partner intimate violence which includes both physical and sexual violence.  These events lead to higher rates of health issues when compared to those who have no history of victimization.  You can access the study at https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/NISVS-StateReportBook.pdf

Seven years ago New Beginnings was part of a statewide effort to reduce violence in high schools through the Green Dot program.  The evaluation of this project spanned 5 years and roughly 80,000 students.  Prevention educators from all 13 rape crisis centers presented this bystander intervention program to 13 high schools across the state.  An additional 13 schools were chosen as control schools and did not receive the training.  The results were amazing!  We were able to reduce victimization by 17% which in the world of research, is a fantastic reduction.  Recently the hard work paid off as the study just got published in the Journal for Preventative Medicine and Green Dot will now be listed on the CDC website as a proven prevention program.  Many thanks to our prevention educators, school administrators, the research team, the Centers for Disease Control for funding the evaluation project and last but certainly not least, the thousands of students across the bluegrass that participated!  Here is a link to the article if you would like to read more about the process.

https://uknow.uky.edu/research/uk-researchers-observe-reduction-sexual-violence-among-high-school-students-after

Survivors will tell you that having an advocate present at the hospital is one of the most comforting things offered to them during a very traumatic and difficult time.  Our advocates are trained to respond to crisis calls at the hospital or over the phone.  They are a critical part of New Beginnings and we couldn’t do it without them.  If you want to be a part of a great team making a true difference in the lives of others then call us today.  You’ll be glad you did!

If you are looking to make a difference in your life and in the life of others, please consider joining our team as a board member.  Our board meets monthly on the 3rd Tuesday at 5:30 January-November.  Everyone brings their own unique set of skills to the table to work diligently in helping the agency succeed and fulfill our mission.  If you think you want to be a part of our team, please complete an application.

 

When you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to Green River Regional Rape Victim Services Inc. Bookmark the link http://smile.amazon.com/ch/61-1142453 and support us every time you shop. This is a great way to support our agency and bring dollars back into our own community!

http://www.kyforward.com/our-schools/2014/09/11/green-dot-proven-effective-in-reducing-sexual-violence-in-kentucky-high-schools/

By Keith Hautala
Special to KyForward

The University of Kentucky’s “Green Dot” violence prevention program is effective in reducing sexual violence, according to preliminary findings from a five-year study evaluating the program in Kentucky high schools.

The study, led by Ann Coker at UK’s Center for Research on Violence Against Women, found a greater than 50 percent reduction in the self-reported frequency of sexual violence perpetration by students at schools that received the Green Dot training, compared to a slight increase at schools that did not.

The study also found a 40 percent reduction in self-reported frequency of total violence perpetration — including sexual violence, sexual harassment, stalking and dating violence — at the Green Dot schools, compared to a small reduction at the non-Green Dot schools.

Sexual violence continues to be a serious problem for Kentucky teens. One in seven high school students in Kentucky experience physical dating violence, and one in 11 have had unwanted sex because they were physically forced, or too intoxicated to give consent.

Coker announced the findings at a news conference at the Kentucky State Capitol. Among those present were Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear, UK President Eli Capilouto, and Eileen Recktenwald, director of the Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs (KASAP), which partnered with UK and CRVAW researchers to coordinate interventions into schools statewide.

In her remarks, Coker identified violence prevention as a public health priority.

“We know that violence significantly affects high school students’ lives by causing physical injuries, missed school days, and increased need to both medical and mental health services,” Coker said. “This is true for both young women and men. Finding strong evidence for this program’s ability to reduce violence is very important and could result in dramatic reductions in health care costs.”

Beshear discussed violence against women as an issue of particular importance for Kentucky, and one to which she feels a strong personal commitment.

“Current rates of sexual violence among young Kentuckians are unacceptable,” she said. “Teenagers already face enough struggles without having to cope with trauma of physical abuse. The Green Dot study proves that sexual violence education is the key to successfully preventing abuse and plays an important role in reducing the state’s overall rates of violence.”

Recktenwald said the study marks a watershed moment in Kentucky’s fight against sexual violence.

“In the 40 years since the anti-rape movement began in Kentucky, the rates of sexual violence have steadily risen; they have never reduced,” Recktenwald said. “The idea that, due to the effectiveness of Green Dot, we can change that, that there will be many fewer young people suffering the pain and devastation of sexual violence: This is priceless.”

Green Dot, designed by former UK faculty member Dorothy Edwards, has been in use at the university since 2008. It teaches students how to identify situations that could lead to an act of violence (represented on incident maps by a red dot) and shows them how to intervene safely and effectively. A “green dot” represents “any behavior‚ choice‚ word‚ or attitude that promotes safety for all our citizens and communicates utter intolerance for violence.”

In 2009, rape crisis center staff and CRVAW researchers recruited 26 high schools across Kentucky to participate in a randomized statewide intervention trial, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Half of the schools were assigned to receive the Green Dot intervention, with the others serving as the study’s control group. Green Dot interventions were conducted by trained rape crisis staff educators from KASAP-affiliated regional centers.