Teen Dating Violence Awareness & Prevention Month
February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness & Prevention Month!
Promoting healthy relationships, educating on teen dating violence and engaging males and females to work together to shatter the silence & prevent the violence!
Click here for PAVE LOVE FEST pamphlet – Twitter Hashtag #TDVAM
VIDEOS FROM PAVE AMBASSADORS….
PAVE Ambassador Sarah Rice on YouTube
PAVE Ambassador Johnna Janis on YouTube
PAVE Ambassador Jaime Gill on YouTube
Pinterest Postcard Campaign, Teen Video Contest, Downloadable Pamphlet & Podcast from US Dept of HHS Office of Adolescent Health featuring PAVE Founder Angela Rose.
And Click here for more info from our friends at Break the Cycle!
ABOUT DATING VIOLENCE
- Nearly 1.5 million HS students experience physical abuse from a dating partner per year in the US
- 1 in 3 teens is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional, or verbal abuse from a dating partner
STEPPING IN
- Stopping violence is everyone’s business
- Trust your gut! If you think something is wrong, it probably is!
- Say something when someone is being disrespectful
- If you see something wrong, step in!
- Speak up if you see someone intentionally getting someone drunk
- Remind friends that sexual contact with an intoxicated person is against the law!
UNHEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
- Jealousy and Distrust
- Co-dependence
- Fear
- Putting You Down
- Lack of Support for Things You Enjoy
- Manipulation
- Guilt for Spending Time with Friends and Family
- Forced Sexual Contact
- Threat of violence
HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
- Supportive
- Respect of Oneself and Each Other
- Good Communication
- Equality
- True Comfort in Being Your True Self
- Your Have a Strong Friendship
- Sense of Interdependence (Mutual Responsibility)
SUPPORTING A FRIEND
- Believe every person
- Treat them with respect
- Be aware of victim blaming language
- Offer them local resources
- Be a good listener
- Reassure: THIS WAS NOT YOUR FAULT
- Let them know that they are not alone
If you or someone you know is a victim of dating violence or sexual assault, reach out right away. The National Dating Abuse Helpline is 1-866-331-9474
VIDEOS FROM PAVE AMBASSADORS….
PAVE Ambassador Sarah Rice on YouTube
PAVE Ambassador Johnna Janis on YouTube
PAVE Ambassador Jaime Gill on YouTube
PAVE Founder’s Book
PAVE Founder Angela Rose launched her first book “Hope, Healing & Happiness: Going Inward to Transform Your Life” on April 2, 2013 at Penn State Harrisburg!
CLICK HERE receive a free chapter and tangible empowerment tips!
CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE BOOK
TWEET ANGELA @AngelaRosePAVE
Angela Rose is an author, speaker, humanitarian and entrepreneur who is passionate about helping people triumph over tragedy. Her decade of work on self-empowerment and community building has taken her across the country and abroad to speak on continuous improvement for the mind, body, and soul. Angela focuses on helping others take control of their minds, reconnect to the love and light within, and transform into their fullest potential as human beings. She has been seen on CNN, Dr. Drew, The Today Show, and TIME magazine. In 2012, the Bio Channel profiled Angela’s story of surviving abduction and assault on the show “I Survived”. CNN Headline News Morning Show featured Angela on the “Breakthrough Women” series: http://bit.ly/ZQSmtA.
VAWA Action Alert!
UPDATE, Feb 4 – THANK YOU…‘magic number’ of 60 bipartisan cosponsors of VAWA legislation reached! Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Friday that the Senate has enough votes to pass the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, with the Senate to begin consideration of the law this week. Thank your Senator! READ MORE
PAVE ACTION ALERT!
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), enacted in 1994, recognizes the insidious and pervasive nature of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and supports comprehensive, effective and cost saving responses to these crimes. Historically, VAWA has had bipartisan support! VAWA programs, administered by the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services, give law enforcement, prosecutors and judges the tools they need to hold offenders accountable and keep communities safe while supporting victims. VAWA must be swiftly reauthorized to ensure the continuation of these vital, lifesaving programs and laws.
THE SENATE WILL VOTE NEXT WEEK – WE NEED YOU!
Step one: Click here to find your state Senators
Step two: Click here to see if your Senators are in support of VAWA
Step three: If they are already a co-sponsor, please call to say thanks.
If you don’t see your Senator on the list of current co-sponsors, please call the United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, ask for your Senator’s office. When they answer, say….
I am a constituent from (city and state) and my name is _________. I urge Senator_____ to co-sponsor the S. 47, a strong, bipartisan bill that would reauthorize the lifesaving Violence Against Women Act. Thank you and I look forward to hearing that the Senator is a co-sponsor.
Step four: Please leave a comment here when you have done this!
Step five: Forward this to your friends via FB/Twitter/Email
VAWA has improved the criminal justice response to violence against women by:
• holding rapists accountable for their crimes by strengthening federal penalties for repeat sex offenders and creating a federal “rape shield law,” which is intended to prevent offenders from using victims’ past sexual conduct against them during a rape trial;
• mandating that victims, no matter their income levels, are not forced to bear the expense of their own rape exams or for service of a protection order;
• keeping victims safe by requiring that a victim’s protection order will be recognized and enforced in all state, tribal, and territorial jurisdictions within the United States;
• increasing rates of prosecution, conviction, and sentencing of offenders by helping communities develop dedicated law enforcement and prosecution units and domestic violence dockets;
• ensuring that police respond to crisis calls and judges understand the realities of domestic and sexual violence by training law enforcement officers, prosecutors, victim advocates and judges; VAWA funds train over 500,000 law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, and other personnel every year;
• providing additional tools for protecting women in Indian country by creating a new federal habitual offender crime and authorizing warrantless arrest authority for federal law enforcement officers who determine there is probable cause when responding to domestic violence cases
CLICK HERE to read more
Erin’s Law
PAVE Ambassador Erin Merryn is an author/activist/speaker who has launched a nationwide effort to pass Erin’s Law.
“Erin’s Law” requires that all public schools implement a prevention-oriented child sexual abuse program which teaches:
- Students in grades preK – 5th grade, age-appropriate techniques to recognize child sexual abuse and tell a trusted adult
- School personnel all about child sexual abuse
- Parents & guardians the warning signs of child sexual abuse, plus needed assistance, referral or resource information to support sexually abused children and their families
Already state governments in Illinois, Indiana, Maine and Missouri have passed Erin’s Law.
It is now pending in eight additional states, with more to come:
- Georgia
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- New York
- Pennsylvania
Erin’s Law is named after childhood sexual assault survivor turned activist Erin Merryn, who is the founder and President of Erin’s Law, which is registered with the IRS as a 501 (c)(4) non-profit social welfare organization.
Erin has been featured on Oprah, Montel Williams, Good Morning America, CNN, Time, The Chicago Tribune and was recently named a Glamour Woman of the Year. She has dedicated her life to preventing child sexual abuse and supporting its victims. She is determined to see to it that all 50 states pass Erin’s Law to protect millions of children from having to experience anything similar to what she did.
GET INVOLVED TO PASS ERIN’S LAW IN YOUR STATE! Email: Info@PavingTheWay.net
National Rally Against Rape – TAKE THE PLEDGE
National Rally Against Rape: Shatter The Silence & Prevent the Violence on 01/31/13
Our Time is NOW!
TAKE THE PLEDGE!
Arlington, VA – PAVE: Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment – a leading national nonprofit group that shatters the silence of sexual violence – is joining forces with the support of other organizations for this unprecedented launch of a national movement Rally Against Rape: Shatter the Silence & Prevent the Violence on Thursday, January 31, 2013.
The controversy surrounding Steubenville, Ohio of an alleged gang rape of a high school girl that went viral coupled with the recent death of a gang rape victim in India has demonstrated the critical need for our country to come together in solidarity to launch a nationwide movement to prevent sexual violence and create a supportive community for survivors.
The Rally Against Rape: Shatter the Silence, Prevent the Violence features a step-by-step action guide to complete this event in your community. This free kit includes web-based instructional curriculum, celebrity cameos, and other tangible tools to use for the day of action and throughout the year. It also is a call to action for the reauthorizing of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
Leading research has found that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18 (Finkelhor). PAVE’s efforts boldly aspire to one day transform our nation into one free from sexual assault — and to ensure that until we collectively realize this transformative vision, that no victim ever feels alone or disempowered.
PAVE Founder Angela Rose said, “All of these recent travesties of justice present a unique window of opportunity to fuse our energy. Sexual abuse plagues our society and the silence, shame, and cover-ups allow it to continue – we must work together to shatter the silence and prevent sexual violence. Our time is NOW.”
Angela Rose was featured on HLN (CNN’s Headline News) on the “BREAKTHROUGH WOMEN” series for her work in creating PAVE.
TO GET INVOLVED, email RallyAgainstRape@yahoo.com
PAVE: Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment is a multinational nonprofit that uses art, education and grassroots action to shatter the silence of sexual violence.
New PAVE Ambassador – Merri Dee
PAVE is proud to announce that Chicago broadcasting legend Merri Dee is our newest PAVE Ambassador. This past week, Ms. Dee was given the honor of being appointed by IL Governor Quinn as the Human Rights Commissioner!
“When you think that you are all alone and no one understands what you have been through, PAVE is here for you. PAVE offers light, love, direction, guidance and a reason to go on. When you are a PAVE member you have joined a major, national advocacy group of supporters. PAVE advocates for you where you are, on college campuses, in Washington. A PAVE membership is not a card to carry, its an actionable step that you take for yourself – that you genuinely share with others. Do something powerful! Join PAVE now!”
About Merri Dee…
Merri Dee is a nationally recognized motivational speaker and a highly popular panelist, moderator, and professional mentor. As president of MD Communications, she helps organizations develop strategies on media relations, marketing and public relations, community relations, and fundraising. In addition, Merri Dee provides individuals with professional and life coaching assistance.
As a celebrated motivational and keynote speaker, Merri Dee infuses humor and warmth into her real-life stories that inspire individuals and employees to rise above challenges and seize control of their destinies. She has presented to audiences from a few hundred to more than a thousand. Clients for her keynote addresses include companies in the Fortune 100 such as AT&T, Kraft, and Motorola. Merri Dee’s inspirational keynote topics include:
– Communication and Leadership Skills
– Increasing Productivity
– The Will to Survive Fear and Pain
– Successful Fundraising
– Supporting Military Families
– From One Caregiver to Another
– Surviving the Senior Years (Helping Your Seniors Live Their Best Lives)
– Women: Empowered
– Violence Prevention
As an award-winning broadcaster, Merri Dee has been a trailblazer in both radio and television. She has served as a newscaster, talk show host, and staff announcer. Later she served as Director of Community Relations at superstation WGN-TV and as advisor to other Tribune owned TV stations. She has hosted countless parades, telethons, television specials and has served as an emcee and host for a variety of organizations.
For more than 30 years, Merri Dee co-hosted the nationally syndicated “UNCF Annual Evening of Stars,” raising tens of millions of dollars for college scholarships. She leveraged her relationship with the McCormick Foundation to raise more than $31 million for Chicago Children’s Charities. However, her efforts extend beyond raising money. She supports organizations that address critical social issues such as adoption and foster care, violence prevention, education, and women’s issues.
An impassioned advocate for violence prevention, Merri Dee arrives at this issue from personal experience. Many lifelong Chicagoans still remember her heart-wrenching story of being kidnapped at gunpoint, shot, and left for dead by an assailant. Given last rites twice, overcoming paralysis and blindness, Merri Dee survived and became an inspiration to others overcoming various traumas. The account of her ordeal was the subject of several network programs, including 60 Minutes, the Phil Donahue Show, and Oprah.
This life-changing experience led her to being the force behind the Illinois General Assembly’s passage of the nation’s first Victim’s Bill of Rights. Illinois’ legislation has served as the model for similar laws throughout the United States. While Merri Dee continues to speak forcefully about violence prevention, she also provides her expertise to CeaseFire, a highly successful evidence-based national violence prevention organization.
Merri Dee is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. Among these are:
– Silver Circle Award, Academy of TV Arts & Sciences
– President’s Award, United Negro College Fund
– Hall of Fame Induction, National Association of Black Journalists
– Adoption Excellence Award, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
– National Women in Film
She has received honorary doctorate degrees from Tougaloo College and Lewis University.
Merri Dee was appointed to serve as an official U.S. Army Ambassador. She was appointed by former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley to serve on the Mayor’s Council on Women’s Issues, and by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to The Serve Illinois Commission, a volunteer advocacy delegation. Merri Dee is the Illinois State President of AARP, which has 1.8 million members. Merri Dee has recently been appointed a Commissioner, Ill. Human Rights Commission.
