Category: Sexual Assault

Half the Sky, a documentary based on the book of the same name, was shown on PBS October 1 & 2. However, if you missed it, it’s available in its entirety thru October 10 online. I haven’t seen it yet, but I read the book after it was given to me as a wonderfully thoughtful speaker’s gift. “Half the Sky follows six celebrity activists including Diane Lane, America Ferrera, Olivia Wilde, and Gabrielle Union as they travel to nine countries and meet inspiring, courageous individuals who are confronting oppression and developing real, meaningful solutions.”

See also: http://www.halftheskymovement.org/

I was scanning my Facebook page and came across a blog post shared by my friends over at the OSATF on the issue of pelvic exams under anesthesia. While this practice is not legal in the state in which I reside, the fact of the matter is that most states don’t have laws on the books prohibiting the practice of allowing students to learn how to do pelvics on anesthetized women who have not specifically consented to the exam. It’s still apparently happening in enough hospitals that the October 2012 issue of the green journal addresses this in two opinion pieces.

Here’s another live event in DC that will also be webcast (although it will be an archived one, not in real time like yesterday’s post): Dr. Rebecca Campbell will be speaking on October 29th from 10-11:30 am. Her presentation will be The Neurobiology of Sexual Assault: Implications for First Responders in Law Enforcement, Prosecution and Victim Advocacy. It’s part of the National Institute of Justice’s Research for the Real World seminar series (past recordings are available here).

Two of IAFN’s members (including Board Secretary Kim Nash) are heading to Swaziland to work with local clinicians caring for pediatric sexual assault patients. It’s an amazing opportunity and I am excited to hear about their travels and what they learn while they’re there. And lucky us, they’ve decided to blog about their experiences, so now we can follow along.

IAFN has released a statement in response to Rep. Akin’s claims about pregnancy and sexual assault. Read it in its entirety here (PDF).

The National Sexual Assault Conference is in Chicago this week and I am not there. Bummer. Many of my favorite people on the planet are there, and I guarantee some great conversations will be taking place. If like me, you wish you were attending, but aren’t, you can follow much of the goings-on via twitter by searching #NSAC2012 (UPDATE: #NSAC and #NSAC_2012 also being used). For those of you (and I’m talking to a huge number of forensic nurses now) who don’t yet use twitter, I will just say again that it’s more than just getting status updates. Our colleagues will be posting links to some fantastic tools and resources, which makes it worth your time to occasionally hop on and peruse.

The California HIV/STD Prevention Training Center has several online offerings that would be useful–particularly for new clinicians who need to shore up on basics, including the CDC Guidelines. There are online courses, archived webinars and podcasts to choose from, so it’s worth checking out the site. Take note–one of them is a video (15 minutes long) on the new gonorrhea treatment issues. Perfect for a staff meeting CE update.