It Gets Better Project World Cafe

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Kate

We are pleased to invite you to our It Gets Better Project World Café on Friday, Nov. 8 from 12-2pm in UW-Whitewater’s Fern Young Terrace in the Young Auditorim.

The purpose of the session is to engage participants in a visioning dialogue about LGBT issues and the climate for LGBT people in our communities. Members of the It Gets Better touring company will facilitate the session.

World Café conversations allow diverse groups an opportunity to share ideas and experiences toward a better understanding of LGBT issues within a community. As the conversation progresses, participants move toward visioning about future possibilities.

Participants will include a variety of individuals from across our community, such as civic leaders, educators, students, members of law enforcement, university leaders, business owners, clergy, artists, social service providers, LGBT leaders, and other interested stakeholders. If you know of someone who would provide meaningful contributions to our discussion, please let us know.

The session will last approximately 2 hours and will include an informal lunch. Rather than being an observer, you will participate in discussion for much of that time. While there are no ongoing expectations from participants, we hope that those who attend are open to continuing dialogue and/or work in this area if meaningful ideas emerge from the session.

Please RSVP to Cindy Konrad Cindy Konrad at konradc@uww.edu or at 472-7169, LGBT Coordinator at UW-Whitewater by Monday, Nov. 4 at 5pm. Feel free to contact Cindy with any questions.

World Cafe Invitation-3

For more information about the It Gets Better Project and touring production please visit It Gets Better and It Gets Better Tour

Posted in it's happening here!, LGBT issues | Leave a comment

Prevention Resources

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Kate

On 9/25/13 Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault (WCASA) hosted a webinar on Integrating Primary Prevention and Classroom Tips and Management. The slides and handout are attached above and the webinar is free to access on our website under “Prevention Education Webinar Series” or directly on our Youtube channel.

Boston Public Health Commission has a healthy relationship quiz. Fill it out and see how your relationship rates and what you can do to work towards or maintain a healthy relationship with your partner.

Tip sheets and other resources from Stop It Now! Together We Can Prevent the Sexual Abuse of Children. They also have a nice Q&A section.

Playing for gender equality – 10 interactive activities for kids aged 8 to 12. Developed and tested in the Middle East to start youth education of gender equality concepts. Much of it seems easily adapted for the US (some options or questions may need to be modified).

Posted in all around the world, it's happening here!, LGBT issues, the committee | Leave a comment

Health Care Law

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Kate

With all of the discussion about the new health care law, it can be overwhelming and confusing. The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence has provided two resources to find out about the new health care law.

The Simplest Explanation of Obamacare.Ever.

For more information and to begin enrollment go to healthcare.gov.

Young Invincibles is doing outreach work to inform young adults about ACA.

Please assist in helping all of those who have given up on health care to get enrolled and take advantage affordable health care.

Posted in all around the world, LGBT issues | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Transgender and LGB Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Now Have New Protections

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Kate

October 1, 2013 is the start date for a ground-breaking new federal law protecting transgender and gender non-conforming people, and FORGE is delighted to announce that it has received funding to help with the implementation process.

Earlier this year Congress passed a non-discrimination addition to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) when it reauthorized it, explicitly prohibiting VAWA-funded agencies from discriminating against survivors based on gender identity and sexual orientation. This week the Office on Violence Against Women announced a $350,000, 3-year continuation award to one of FORGE’s existing Training and Technical Assistance grants to directly address the implications and implementation of the new legal requirements.

Specifically, FORGE will be conducting a nationwide, baseline assessment of the primary attitudes, values and beliefs held by those working in VAWA-funded agencies. Based on the study findings, FORGE will then develop additional training and advocacy tools specifically aimed at shifting attitudes and beliefs so that they better align with the new legal mandate for all VAWA-funded agencies to serve lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) survivors equally. FORGE will also work intensively with two or three pilot sites to implement comprehensive changes in their systems to better serve transgender, gender non-conforming and LGB survivors and pilot-test the newly developed tools. In year three, FORGE will create and disseminate a toolkit to assist all victim service providers in reducing attitudinal barriers to serving trans and LGB survivors.

Posted in all around the world, LGBT issues | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Expert Witness in Domestic Violence webinar

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Kate

Expert Witnesses in DV/SA Prosecutions: Check-Ins and Updates

Join us for a Webinar on October 11

Time:12:00 PM – 12:50 PM CDT

Space is limited. Click here to reserve your webinar seat now.

In collaboration with the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin and the DOJ Office on Crime Victim Services, SPET will be hosting a webinar to bring expert witnesses in domestic violence and sexual assault cases together with prosecutors and victim witness specialists in order to establish what we hope will be an ongoing dialog.

We will discuss relevant case law, Daubert updates and other issues that affect our ability to utilize expert witness testimony. There will be an ongoing series of these webinars throughout the year designed to ensure that we have expert witnesses around the state who are ready and able to testify as well as prosecutors who feel comfortable using expert witnesses in the post-Daubert climate.

Posted in all around the world, it's happening here!, LGBT issues | Leave a comment