Month: November 2019

I try and publish a gift guide because our team members deserve to be celebrated. There’s not a lot that’s celebratory in the work we do, but one thing we learned in the National SANE Sustainability project was that recognition and validation help with the retention of staff. And what better reason to recognize the contribution of your team than the holidays. Even if you have no budget for gifts, my hope is that this gift guide serves as encouragement to do *something*–a potluck dinner, a secret Santa gift exchange, or some handwritten notes letting your colleagues know how much their work is valued. And if you do have money for gifts, well, maybe some of the items here will provide ideas (or solutions).

A safe and happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating this week. See you back here next week.

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

It’s Thanksgiving Week here in the US, and I will be taking most of it off to spend quality time with my people. A continued case next week means no travel on the backend, so I am coming off the holiday to a week in the office, which is a luxury (I was supposed to be heading back across the ocean, so yay). Only one work gig left for the year–I made a concerted effort to take most of December off the road, in stark contrast with last year, where I was gone the entire month of December. We’ll be celebrating a milestone birthday for Sasha, our wedding anniversary, and of course, Christmas and Hannukah. Basically, just trying to regroup after one of the busiest years yet. But we’re not there yet.

I won’t be posting much this week. Come back tomorrow for our 2019 gift guide. Until then, here’s what caught my eye since last we spoke:

He said, they said (a 6-part feature if you’re so inclined)

I love Connie Schultz, and her work on grief is particularly on point

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and kicks off 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence

The future of reproductive healthcare may be at home

Not really what I was hoping to see from an alternate VAWA proposal

During this busy travel season, tips for the trans- and nonbinary traveler

And in the spirit of Thanksgiving, this excellent feature from The Kitchn

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

Happy Monday to you all. I am off to teach in San Diego for the Army, at one of my favorite legal courses of the year. I’ll be there just a few days, but it’ll be hectic enough that posts will be light. That’s okay, because things inevitably get lighter as we approach the holidays, and there are fewer educational offerings and publications for me to post. Plus, here’s a bit of a secret–FHO will be undergoing an overhaul at the end of December, so there will be a brand new site to unveil just in time for our 11th (!) birthday. With the new site will be some significant changes, which I promise I will highlight as we get nearer to launch.

Sasha had reserve duty this weekend, so I was solo for 3 days. While it’s true I binge-watched a good portion of the new season of The Crown last night, I spent most of the time working. But there were still a few things that caught my eye since last we spoke:

There are some compelling reasons to do away with the statute of limitations in my home state of Ohio–this article covers one of them

Minneapolis, you’ve got an untested kit problem

Police in PR are undercounting murdered women

Male bias in women’s health trials

Very interested in watching this case

In the national sustainability project, we saw retention impacted by people feeling unappreciated in their jobs. Here are some straight forward suggestions to make sure your team members aren’t feeling that way.

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

A very happy Forensic Nurses Week to all of us! We are so very fortunate to be able to do this good work. And to all of the FHO readers who are veterans, including my own spouse, a happy Veterans Day, as well. Much gratitude for your service. I think Sasha put it beautifully when she stated in a Facebook post:

 All Veterans appreciate being thanked for this choice we made. But if you really want to thank a Vet, ask them how their healthcare is, how their access to the VA is. How their aches, pains, and scars are being treated. The visible and the invisible alike. And listen to them. Ask if they are being treated and healed or simply medicated. And if the answer makes you as mad, sad, and frustrated as it makes me, call your elected officials and tell them our Veterans deserve better. Still less than half of 1% of the US population serve in the Armed Forces. 100% of them will get out at some point. After fighting in wars, they shouldn’t have to fight for access to healthcare. But we do.

We had a fantastic testimony training last week in Arizona–it was great meeting so many of you. And the icing on the cake was the trip to Korea vanished at the last minute, as these things do, so I now have a mostly unscheduled week at home for writing and whatnot. That’s afforded me some catch-up time to read and generally be curious about what I missed while I’ve been running around. Here’s what caught my eye since last we spoke:

What the…?

In honor of Veterans Day, a long read but a good one about survivors guilt and its aftermath

Related.

How does the soul survive atrocities?

This was a great article about just how pervasive common myths about rape still are–among the people deciding the fates of those on trial

We already knew this, but it’s nice to see it reported in the mainstream media

More on child abusers use of tech–fascinating and infuriating (and heartbreaking)

Speaking of using tech for evil…

Ok, this was just a g*d damn delight

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.