In September 2014 I wrote a blog titled "Mixed Messages" the subject of which three law enforcement officials in Oklahoma were sexually assaulting women on the job. At the time the captain of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol offered some valuable advice on how women should protect themselves when getting pulled over but then said "to follow the law in the first place so you don't get pulled over." At the time I read the article I was so outraged as to the mixed messages sexual assault victims receive sometimes that I wrote the blog and shared the article (link above). It has now happened again.
Today, through the UltraViolet organization I learned that the University of Oregon is using a rape survivor's private therapy records against her in a lawsuit. The university is using a loophole in a federal law that covers health services on college campuses. Simply stated most student health centers are subject to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) filled with loopholes that allows schools to access their records without their consent for non-medical reasons.
The mixed message here is that colleges are providing valuable health services to students and then using their medical records when it benefits the college. Mental health services for sexual assault victims is crucial as I can personally attest to and the University of Oregon campus health center offers these services. Most times it's the only option for cash strapped students. In this case the university was preparing a lawsuit against the survivor pertaining to her rape report but the university received pressure from students, faculty and the community so they dropped the suit but the damage was done. Trust has been lost as students were scared off from using the school's therapy center where the staff publicly called the administrations actions unethical. Survivors of rape and sexual assault need counseling to overcome their trauma and eventually lead them on a path to healing. If they think at any time anyone can access their records they will reject much needed therapy.
What is the point of offering medical and mental health services to students and encouraging them to use it only to turn it against them? We can't allow this precedent to continue to spread like a weed throughout colleges and universities across the country. UltraViolet has begun a campaign and drafted a petition that will be submitted to congress to close the FERPA loopholes.
To learn more, get involved and sign the petition follow the link below.
http://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/FERPA_loophole/?referring_akid=1731.805355.xyHhHe&source=taf
Showing posts with label Trauma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trauma. Show all posts
Friday, March 13, 2015
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Should We Leave the Year Behind Us?
As we approach New Year's Eve our natural instinct is to review the year gone by and look forward to the prospects of the year ahead of us. This is especially the case when we may not have had the best year, reached goals or accomplished everything we had planned. While I began to do the same, because I am very goal and task oriented, a thought had occurred to me which was 'maybe we shouldn't put the past in the past?' Reaching the end of one year and preparing for another is a very positive milestone no matter what events may have taken place. It means that we are strong and have tackled all the challenges that were put in front of us whether we reached the desired result or not.
I have had to do a lot of evaluation of the previous 10 years since embarking on my full-time JoAnnSpeaksOut mission/campaign in January 2014. I realized that each time I faced a difficult situation during those years I was better able to handle the next one. This is not something you know is happening as you live through it but only much later on in review. I have learned a lot about myself and grown to appreciate even more the family, friends and those professionals who helped me through the horrific ordeal following my sexual assault. What also came to light while evaluating the past including 2014 is that each time I opened myself up and allowed people in I witnessed the unconditional kindness of strangers there is in this world. I pride myself on seeing the good in people and avoiding skepticism as much as possible and there is a lot of compassion in humanity it's just a matter of being ready to receive it.
So I'm here to say don't be so quick to dismiss the past. Do not put the year behind you, embrace it and celebrate it. As a survivor of whatever horror you have encountered, trauma or health issue you have faced you have made this far by being brave and strong and sometimes vulnerable and it wasn't easy. But take all of that in and give yourself the credit you deserve for all that you've accomplished first before putting it behind and looking towards the future. Remember to love yourself first and all that goes with it.
We may not get to achieve everything on our "List" in one year but Life is made up of many, many years. Some good, some bad but all contribute to who we are as humans.
Happy New Year!
I have had to do a lot of evaluation of the previous 10 years since embarking on my full-time JoAnnSpeaksOut mission/campaign in January 2014. I realized that each time I faced a difficult situation during those years I was better able to handle the next one. This is not something you know is happening as you live through it but only much later on in review. I have learned a lot about myself and grown to appreciate even more the family, friends and those professionals who helped me through the horrific ordeal following my sexual assault. What also came to light while evaluating the past including 2014 is that each time I opened myself up and allowed people in I witnessed the unconditional kindness of strangers there is in this world. I pride myself on seeing the good in people and avoiding skepticism as much as possible and there is a lot of compassion in humanity it's just a matter of being ready to receive it.
So I'm here to say don't be so quick to dismiss the past. Do not put the year behind you, embrace it and celebrate it. As a survivor of whatever horror you have encountered, trauma or health issue you have faced you have made this far by being brave and strong and sometimes vulnerable and it wasn't easy. But take all of that in and give yourself the credit you deserve for all that you've accomplished first before putting it behind and looking towards the future. Remember to love yourself first and all that goes with it.
We may not get to achieve everything on our "List" in one year but Life is made up of many, many years. Some good, some bad but all contribute to who we are as humans.
Happy New Year!
Sunday, July 13, 2014
A Different Kind of Help
...The rest of November passed uneventfully, Thanksgiving came and went and the Holiday season was upon us. I embraced the Christmas season with the usual decorating, parties, shopping, time off, etc. The closer I got towards the end of the year the more I began to feel like something just wasn't right with me. I don't mean in the physical sense, I was a healthy eater and had worked out religiously since I was 19 (I was 39). I mean in the mental and emotional sense. In my late 20's I was diagnosed with a mild case of depression, not severe enough for medication but I participated in individual and then group therapy sessions which I did eventually "graduate" from once I achieved good mental health. This "off" feeling wasn't exactly like that but enough for me to recognize by the start of the new year I was going to need professional help. I really needed to talk to someone on a consistent basis about what had happened to me and what I had ahead of me.
Very few people know this (until now of course) but I kept a large file of paperwork, newspaper clippings, business cards and general notes of anything that had to do with the case/trial. I'm extremely organized in my personal and work life and the trial ordeal would be no different. So I pulled out that legal sized envelope and took out the business card I received from Kathy at W.O.A.R. and I called the number on it. I remember that first day of the preliminary hearing and Kathy sat down next to me she had written my name down in a notebook of hers so when she picked up the phone and I gave her my name and where we had met she greeted me with enthusiasm and asked how I was doing. I told her that since the hearing I was feeling less and less myself and wanted to take her up on the offer of counseling. We chatted a bit more as she had some basic questions for me and said her next step was to get a counselor assigned to me. I would receive a call from the counselor directly to schedule our first appointment where we have an initial introduction and I would complete paperwork. I thanked her and we said our good bye's.
I hung up the phone and immediately began to feel some relief which solidified any doubts whether I had made the right decision. This would turn out to be my first step towards healing...
Very few people know this (until now of course) but I kept a large file of paperwork, newspaper clippings, business cards and general notes of anything that had to do with the case/trial. I'm extremely organized in my personal and work life and the trial ordeal would be no different. So I pulled out that legal sized envelope and took out the business card I received from Kathy at W.O.A.R. and I called the number on it. I remember that first day of the preliminary hearing and Kathy sat down next to me she had written my name down in a notebook of hers so when she picked up the phone and I gave her my name and where we had met she greeted me with enthusiasm and asked how I was doing. I told her that since the hearing I was feeling less and less myself and wanted to take her up on the offer of counseling. We chatted a bit more as she had some basic questions for me and said her next step was to get a counselor assigned to me. I would receive a call from the counselor directly to schedule our first appointment where we have an initial introduction and I would complete paperwork. I thanked her and we said our good bye's.
I hung up the phone and immediately began to feel some relief which solidified any doubts whether I had made the right decision. This would turn out to be my first step towards healing...
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