Rape kits sit in storage, sometimes for years

A five-month CBS News investigation of 24 cities and states has found more than 6,000 rape kits from active investigations waiting months, even years to be tested.

In this investigation, County Attorney Steve Redding of Minneapolis found several rape kits in storage where the victim did not know the attacher. He also found 8 of the 35 cases had DNA matches. All eight were charged with rape.

Watch CBS News Video Online

If it was so simple for Redding to do a little digging and end up charging eight rapists for their crime, why isn’t more attention being focused on making sure rape kits are being sent through the process?

One reason is that the process seems to be time consuming. In the CBS investigation, they talked to one woman, “Cathy”, that was raped in July. Her attacker had been convicted of rape once before, but that rape kit still hadn’t produced results. That is until July 8. The day after “Cathy” was raped, the results from his first attack came in, 14 months after being filed. He was charged with both rapes.

One solution to this that Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times, wrote about in his column in April was that more funding is needed for these DNA centers. The mass amount of backlog on rape kits is tremendous in some states, which makes way for accused rapists to go on repeating this offense, possibly several times before being convicted for the first.

I think this is inexcusable. After going through the invasive procedure to have a rape kit put together, these victims deserve their justice in a timely manner.

What else do you think could be done to make this happen?

Rihanna interview with Diane Sawyer

Today on Good Morning America with Diane Sawyer, Rihanna spoke out about Chris Brown’s assault on her in February, but also made a public confession to her fans for setting a bad example for women suffering from domestic violence.

Rihanna said she felt that her decision to go back to Brown after the physical wounds had healed only made the emotional wounds worse and it damaged her relationship with her fans. She also said she felt that her decision to go back to Brown was based on “blind love” and she said she couldn’t be held responsible for telling women to go back after being abused. Just because Brown didn’t abuse her again, she said that didn’t guarantee that someone else would be so lucky.

Rihanna’s advice to these women that are contemplating going back to their abusive partners was “Don’t react off of love. F- Love.” She said its important to look at the situation from a third-person point of view before making a final decision.

Watch the following portion of the interview. The full interview is going to be released tomorrow night on ABC’s 20/20 at 10 p.m.

Keira Knightley cut commercial

When I saw the movie Last House on the Left, I was sickened when one of the main characters was violently raped by one of the criminals. I realize that more and more people are going to the movies with more violence, more gore, more explicit language. What I don’t get is how they can get away with this and ban a commercial that is trying to take a stand against domestic violence.

This short commercial, by womensaid.org.uk, features actress Keira Knightley, and I feel is shocking enough to prove a point, but clearly does not step over any boundaries that any other commercials have broken.  See for yourself.

I want to get everyone else’s opinions on this? Do you think this commercial should have been aired? Is it “too violent”?

All about “O”

It’s that moment when your heart is racing, your face is flushed, your sweaty palms grip the silky sheets and you can’t stand another pulsating minute. That’s right. It’s at that moment you let yourself go, shout “oh, oh yes,” and experience the pleasures of an orgasm.

Marshall Miller and Dorian Solot, sex and relationship educators that are experts on the subject of female orgasm, entertained a packed auditorium of Towson University students on Oct. 19, with their presentation I Love Female Orgasm. They’ve presented nationwide to colleges and universities, conferences, education centers, churches and several businesses, delivering a fun, honest approach to sexual health, sex, intimacy and female orgasm.

“Each orgasm is unique like a snowflake,” Dorian said.

Continue reading post…

 

First step to volunteer at HRM

Yesterday, I attended my orientation at House of Ruth in Maryland for a volunteer job. I have to say that I am glad I was told about this place. What they are doing to help these women that are stuck in abusive relationships is simply amazing.

At the orientation, we were told about the history of HRM, definitions and tactics regarding domestic violence. We then watched a couple videos regarding women from HRM that were abused and eventually murdered by their abusers, both of which had taken the steps to get help, but it simply was not enough.

The job opportunities that are being offered are numerous and range from assisting with donations, assisting at the legal clinic, to even assisting the women with life skills workshops.

I have decided to help out with the life skills workshops because I feel, as a journalism student, I have a lot of knowledge in this area that could prove beneficial for these women. Some of these include assisting them with resumes and cover letter writing, job skills using computer software, creative writing, networking, and using the internet. I think this is also a great opportunity for me to grow and use what I have learned these last 4-5 years in college to help others.

I’m looking for any good resources that would relate to the workshops and topics I mentioned. Some of these I may be leading by myself to teach to about 15 women, other times it may be more one-on-one. Any tips and resources would be most appreciated!

If you’d like to help out and be a part of the volunteer program at HRM, visit their website or call 410-889-0840.

A race in remembrance

Last week, I woke up just before 6 a.m., made myself some hot chocolate, wrapped myself in hat and scarf and headed to meet my friend Cait Fultz for the 2009 Race for the Cure in Hunt Valley.

Cait and her boyfriend ran the 5K race to support the fight against breast cancer. Check out my personal portfolio to see and experience the event yourself!

We are all ‘daughters of the promise’ Pt.2

To continue off my last post, I’d like to highlight some of the key points made at the Daughters of the Promise event at Towson University last Thursday. Rory Kennedy and Ilyasah Shabazz both gave speeches at Towson University on the influence their fathers’ had on their lives and the examples set for them to dedicate their lives to humanity.

Here are some of the main points Shabazz made during her speech.

More children between the ages 0-5 are dying from Malaria than AIDS. We know Malaria is curable so what are we doing about that?

Her mother, Betty Shabazz, kept her father, Malcolm X, alive for them and spoke of him in the present tense.

Her father had huge shoes to fill, size 14 to be exact.

She found that it was better to be raised in a single parent household with one functional parent than a two parent household with two dysfunctional parents.

A poll given out to several children revealed their main goal was that they wanted to be rich. “What happened to our humanity? our compassion? It is unacceptable to be so focused on material. Focus on the goal of service to humanity, first and foremost, and then to material wealth if that is your desire.”

She watched her mother’s tireless efforts as she committed herself to the cause of human rights and empowering women.

Her mother was just a young woman in her 20s when she was traumatized by the assassination of her husband. She was widowed and homeless. However, she refused to accept defeat or limitations and never accepted “no” or “I cant” as an answer. She knew it was up to her to make it happen and her capabilities were limitless. “She was a survivor.”

Message for students and young people: “You are the leaders of tomorrow studying at TU. Commit to change, improve upon and give back to society and take full advantage because you can never get these years back. The struggle is not over. Be willing to stand for something, commit yourself to give back and prepare yourselves so that you can fulfill your life’s purpose. Demonstrate to the world that you too are the sons and daughters of promise.”