Category: Op-eds

Articles written in reponse to news articles or news stories

Shining a Light on Sexual Assault: – TX FNE

Post author By Blog Author
Post date April 17, 2023

Shining a Light on Sexual Assault: Empowering Survivors and Promoting Healing
with Texas Forensic Nurse Examiners: Forensic Center of Excellence (TXFNE)

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), a time to unite as a community to raise awareness about sexual assault, advocate for survivors, and talk about prevention.

One organization working on the frontlines to support survivors of sexual assault are the forensic nurses, advocates, and staff at Texas Forensic Nurse Examiners: Forensic Center of Excellence (TXFNE).

TXFNE opened its doors in Houston 2019, challenged to aid in closing the gap in medical forensic services for victims of sexual violence. The issue? Sexual assault victims sometimes had to go from hospital to hospital to receive an exam, or wait for hours, or find out they could not be treated at all.

Now in its fourth year, TXFNE operates as a 24/7 community-based victim service center that provides medical forensic exams, dispatching specially trained forensic nurses to 55 partner hospitals and clinics throughout the Houston area. Nurses arrive within 90 minutes of receiving a call a victim is in need of a medical forensic exam.

TXFNE has also expanded services to include adult forensic interviews, counseling and advocacy, and legal support to all survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking, child abuse and elder maltreatment. All services are confidential and free of charge.

For more information, visit TXFNE’s website.

Understanding Sexual Assault

Sexual assault refers to any unwanted sexual act, including rape, attempted rape, and other non-consensual sexual contacts (RAINN, 2021). It is a pervasive problem affecting millions worldwide, regardless of age, gender, race, or socioeconomic status. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), one in five women and one in 71 men will experience sexual assault at some point in their lives (NSVRC, 2021).

Preventing Sexual Assault

Prevention efforts should be multifaceted and involve individuals, communities, and institutions. Here are some strategies to consider:
Education: Comprehensive sex education that includes lessons on consent, healthy relationships, and bystander intervention can help create a culture that discourages sexual violence (CDC, 2019).
Bystander intervention: Encouraging individuals to safely intervene when they witness potential incidents of sexual assault can help prevent violence from occurring (Banyard, 2011).
Social norms change: Promoting healthy, respectful relationships and challenging harmful beliefs about gender and sexuality can create environments where sexual assault is less likely to occur (Heise, 2011).
Institutional policies: Strengthening policies and procedures that protect survivors and hold perpetrators accountable is essential in preventing sexual assault (NSVRC, 2015).

Supporting Survivors
Survivors of sexual assault may experience a range of physical, emotional, and psychological effects. It is crucial that they receive appropriate support and resources to facilitate healing. TXFNE plays a vital role in providing this support through its forensic nursing, advocacy, and counseling services.

Ways to help:

Believe: The first and most important step is to believe and validate a survivor’s experience.
Offer resources: Provide information about TXFNE, local crisis centers, counseling services, and medical providers that specialize in supporting survivors of sexual assault.
Encourage autonomy: Support the survivor’s decisions and respect their choices regarding reporting, medical care, and other steps in the healing process.
Be patient: Healing from sexual assault can be a long and challenging process. Give the survivor the time and space they need to process their experience.

By educating ourselves and our communities about the impact of sexual assault, by advocating for survivors, and by working together to prevent future incidents, we can make a meaningful difference in combatting sexual violence.

The Texas Forensic Nurse Examiners (TXFNE) plays an essential role in the movement to end sexual violence by providing expert forensic nursing services, advocacy, counseling, and legal support, working toward comprehensive solutions for victim services. Together with organizations like TXFNE, we can empower victims, promote healing and create a safer environment for everyone.

References

Banyard, V. L. (2011). Who will help prevent sexual violence: Creating an ecological model of bystander intervention. Psychology of Violence, 1(3), 216-229.
CDC. (2019). STOP SV: A technical package to prevent sexual violence. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/sv-prevention-technical-package.pdf.
Heise, L. L. (2011). What works to prevent partner violence? An evidence overview. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/derec/49872444.pdf.
National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC). (2021).
Statistics about sexual violence. Retrieved from https://www.nsvrc.org/statistics.
National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC). (2015). Key components of sexual assault crisis and advocacy programs. Retrieved from https://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/publications_nsvrc_guides_key-components-ofsexual-assault-crisis-and-advocacy-programs.pdf.
RAINN. (2021). What is sexual assault? Retrieved from https://www.rainn.org/articles/sexual-assault.

Tags fne, forensic nurses, harris county, harris county resources, harris county texas, sexual assault awareness month, texas forensic nurses, tx fne, txfne

Children Community Share Op-eds

Harris County Resources for Children and Adults

Post author By Blog Author
Post date April 10, 2023

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

This month and throughout the year, we all need to take part in protecting children and making Harris County a safer and better place for children to grow and thrive.

Last year, more than 56,000 children in Texas were victims of abuse or neglect. We often see a rise in incidents of child abuse and neglect during stressful times. The loss of employment, isolation, lack of housing, money and resources are just some of the risk factors that can reduce a parent’s ability to cope effectively with the day-to-day stressors of raising a child. The good news is that child abuse is preventable. The best way to prevent child abuse is to support families and provide parents with the skills and resources they need. Families are better able to deal with life stressors when they have the support and the resources they need.

For more than half a century, Harris County Resources for Children and Adults has been providing services to strengthen families and to help vulnerable children and adults in our community. We provide services to abused and neglected children with services such as:

Medical, dental, and behavioral health care in one location
Transitional services to current and former foster youth to empower them for successful adult living
Emergency shelter for abused and at-risk youth
Basic necessities, clothes, school supplies and holiday gifts

We provide community and school-based prevention and early intervention services to divert youth from involvement with child protective services and the juvenile justice systems. Some of our services include:

24/7 crisis intervention and hotlines
Mental health services
School-based counseling
Services for truancy, homelessness, parent-child conflict
Services for youth involved with the Justice of the Peace Courts
Summer and after school programs

In addition, we provide services to vulnerable adults and senior victims of crime. These services include:

Guardianship services for indigent and incapacitated adults in Harris County.
Services for senior victims of abuse, neglect or exploitation, age 65 or older.

All our services are voluntary and at no cost to families.
For more information visit resources.harriscountytx.gov or call our 24-hour number 713-295-2600.

Tags april child abuse prevention month, child abuse prevention awareness month, harris county, harris county resources, harris county resources for children and adults, harris county texas, resources for child abuse prevention, transforming communities

Op-eds

Wrap Up of March

Post author By Rebecca Councill
Post date March 20, 2023

The Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council is a domestic violence agency, and as such, part of our mission is to raise awareness about domestic violence and its impact on individuals and communities. This month, we have covered several important topics that are relevant to our mission. These topics included the difference between strangulation and choking, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and Women’s History Month.

Knowing the difference between strangulation and choking, is especially important to highlight because it is a common form of violence that often goes unnoticed or minimized. Most people use the terms interchangeable, but strangulation is a serious form of violence that can cause long-term physical and psychological harm, including brain damage and breathing difficulties. It is also one of the leading predictors of lethality in a relationship. By educating the public about the differences between strangulation and choking and the associated risks, we hope to raise awareness about this often-overlooked but commonly used form of violence and encourage survivors to seek help and support.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common consequence of domestic violence. Survivors of domestic violence may experience repeated blows to the head from a perpetrator or repeatedly having their head smashed against something. Both can cause brain damage, memory loss, and other long-term health problems. By raising awareness about the link between domestic violence and traumatic brain injury, we hope to encourage survivors to seek medical attention and support. We also hope this will help to promote policies and programs that address this issue.

Finally, this month is Women’s History Month, which is a time to celebrate the achievements of women and recognize the challenges they face, including domestic violence. We know that domestic violence disproportionately affects women, and we are committed to raising awareness about this issue and advocating for practices that support survivors and promote gender equality.

By addressing these important topics, we hope to educate the public about the impact of domestic violence on our community and encourage survivors to seek assistance. We also hope to promote policies and procedures that address the root causes of domestic violence and promote healthy, respectful relationships. As we continue our work, we remain committed to raising awareness about domestic violence and promoting a society that values safety, respect, and equality for all.

Tags choking vs strangulation, domestic violence, domestic violence survivors, tbi, traumatic brain injury, traumatic brain injury awareness month, women's history month

Children Community Share Op-eds

Texas Advocacy Project

Post author By Blog Author
Post date March 9, 2023

My name is Aarian Tipton. I am one of 3 licensed masters social workers with Texas Advocacy Project.

TAP provides free legal services and access to the justice system, and advances prevention through public outreach and education. We provide holistic trauma-responsive care in collaboration with the legal team. Our services aim to reduce barriers to legal services and provide pathways to improve long-term stability. Social workers are typically consulted after a survivor has spoken to a staff attorney, and expressed a need-or the staff attorney felt the survivor indicated they were in a high-risk situation.

A typical day for the social worker can look like speaking with a survivor about various safety concerns, stress, assessing mental health concerns, and providing various community resources. However, no day is the same and other challenges may arise. When survivors’ basic needs (shelter, food, mental health, ect.) are addressed, they are more likely to have improved engagement as well as improved legal outcomes. In addition to the case management/crisis management intervention we provide to survivors.

We have developed community partnerships such as with HCDVCC and UAHT, provide staff education and trainings, and provide internships for students. We currently have 3 interns. We provide services all over the state of Texas. Our website is: https://www.texasadvocacyproject.org/ we look forward to connecting with more organizations and survivors as it is our vision that all Texans live free from abuse.

Tags courage, domestic violence, empowerment, integrity, legal, sexualviolence, texas advocacy project, transforming communities, trauma informed

Children Community Share Op-eds

Family Scholar House

Post author By Blog Author
Post date March 8, 2023

Houston is one of the newest locations of the Family Scholar House brand. This organization was started in Louisville, KY in 1995 by a group of nuns and has grown to include 9 affiliates in 13 locations.

Family Scholar House targets single parents who want to pursue higher education (two year, four year or apprenticeship) and need a support system to successfully matriculate through. The Louisville program offers supportive housing to parent scholars and has almost 300 apartments on five campuses. Houston will also offer supportive housing for parent scholars starting in 2024-25. There will be 66 units to start and that number will grow over time.

One of their moms is a 30+ year old recently divorced mother of an autistic son. She lost their housing and stability when her marriage failed. She went back to school at a local community college and has found housing but it’s difficult to afford with the increase in rent locally. She’s grateful for the wraparound support, mentoring and connection to resources.

Their graduation rate is 88 percent, which would be the pride of any fine university. A whopping 70 percent of graduates are completely off public assistance within three months of leaving the Family Scholar House program. We are recruiting single parents who desire to complete their degree, mentorship, and connection to resources.

Another participant is a 20+ year old student with small children who will be graduating at the end of this year. She’s been connected to various resources, scholarships, counseling and mentorship.

For more information, call Felicia Young at 346-399-6278 or visit their website: https://familyscholarhouse.org

Tags empowering families, end poverty, family scholar house, transforming communities

Capital Day Community Share Op-eds

Capital Day Wrap Up

Post author By Blog Author
Post date February 27, 2023

On February 16th I attended Capitol Day in Austin with over a hundred advocates across the state of Texas. This is probably my 7th Capitol Day and yet it was like the first time, because this year I got to see it through the eyes of the women who have survived and are now thriving in the aftermath of domestic violence. The Voices of Freedom, the Ambassador group of the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, traveled to Austin to share their stories and provide education to our Representatives on the importance of funding and policy that will enhance the safety for all Texas survivors of domestic violence. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be sharing our Ambassadors’ experience in their own words.

Here is Lereca’s experience…

On February 16th with my heart racing and frostbitten fingers and toes, while wearing a beanie and a neck scarf, in partnership with hundreds of diverse voices- who shared a life-altering experience and dressed in hues of teal or purple, as one collective voice, we boldly marched towards that place in Austin, TX -the building in which many funding decisions are made for millions of Texans. We were at Capitol. We were at Capitol Day in partnership with TAASA & TCFV- this specific day was set aside for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.

See, a few minutes earlier the collective group gathered down the street for a legislative briefing to prepare us for the conversation we’d be having with the legislators and yes, I felt prepared.

I felt prepared and powered to talk about the Texas Stalking Statues. As a survivor of stalking, I felt compelled to share how I felt unprotected by the current statutes as is and how I believe my life was in danger- and it was because my stalker eventually strangled me. I will never forget when one of the legislators connected my story with their story. In the moment of sharing, this person could empathize with how it feels to be stalked. The stalking experience is terrifying. As a survivor, you often wonder if the stalker will ever be stopped. Well here’s what I know, I left the legislator’s office that day knowing that they’d feel equipped with an understanding of why the State of Texas should strengthen its stalking laws.

My experience at the capitol underscores how the value and impact of sharing my survival story coupled with data are necessary to inspire and invoke change in the domestic violence space. Thank you HCDVC for creating this moment and opportunity!

Tags austin tx, domestic violence, legislative session, sexualviolence, taasa, tcfv, texas stalking statues

Black History Month Community Share Op-eds

Testimony of the Righteous

Post author By Blog Author
Post date February 20, 2023

Testimony of the Righteous

In honor of Larcenia Floyd, mother of George Floyd:

A tribute to the resilience of poor working-class women.

Act One – a play

I knew George Floyd’s mother even though I never met her face-to-face. I never shared a meal with her, nor did we gossip about our neighbors while waiting for the arrival of our monthly welfare check or being careful not to miss the Metro because we had houses to clean. I stood standing at the bus stop surrounded by the silence of Latino women going to some of the worst jobs in the city, we never said hello and never had time to say goodbye. No formal introduction would ever happen, but at the same time we were tribal sisters with ancient identical tattoos.

We wore the tattoos of poverty, Spirit, hard work, generational resilience, laughter, single parents, burritos, gospel music, flying bullets, black-eyed peas and cornbread, prayers, dreams deferred, and a sacred hope when there was nothing to hope for coupled with periodic despair. We kept our heads above water, but mostly we existed underwater with small pockets of air slowly keeping us alive. I knew George’s mother, but I never met her face-to-face.

She and I were the statistical conclusions of governmental research. We were the charted cycles of the marginalized studied in college classrooms across America while members of our families generationally rotated through the American prison system. We were Roosevelt’s New Deal now failed by deficient school systems, food deserts without food justice, racist red lining; we were brutalized by traumatized police systems, chronic medical disparities, and culturally insensitive gentrification of communities historically not seen as worthy.

Educated people studied us in sanitized United Way board meetings while preparing for their next funding cycle. We were Section 8 mothers: we had to be Mom and Dad at the same time as part of too many families with fathers touched by incarceration who were not allowed to live in government housing. We survived in a system for broken families that never intended our families to become financially grounded, mentally thriving, and sustained enough to envision a positive future.

We were expected, alone, to heal the sick as well as tame the wild. We were experts at surviving and morphing into distorted and contorted versions of ourselves, bound to Section 8 account numbers, housing inspectors, caseworkers, and slum landlords. We tried over and over to make things better as we tumbled through welfare systems and poverty programs that could not nourish us as mothers who were fragmented and broken by the constant shock of not having. I never knew George’s mother, but I will tell you one thing: I knew her pain. I knew her deep disappointments. I knew her feelings of abandonment.

We were American women rooted in African ways that would not, could not ever be remembered. We were grounded by the tribal energy of the diaspora in places where race and class hypocrisies danced well together, where poverty had always been a generational problem, hand-in-hand with the mass killings of Black men. The violence of poverty had never been far from the violence of the Black body with Black people dying by the hands of the prison system, by the hands of White murderers, and by the hands of people who looked just like them. The Black body individually and throughout history has always needed intensive care and healing.

Waiting patiently with patriotic foolishness, we were women of color trapped in a romanticized matrix of dreamlike American visions that were never meant for melanated women who surrender to life in marginalized ways. We were mothers waiting for the next funeral, the next open grave, the next balloon released into blue skies.

We were colonized and constantly surrounded by the stress and the fear of whiteness. Each day we bore witness to systemic manipulation of poor whites rooted in Eurocentric brutality based on distorted stories of indentured servitude and racialized traumas used to divide, control, and conquer.

We noticed the deadly residues of white supremacy shown through the bold and dangerous acting out of young white people based in their family system’s traumatic nightmares. I never met George’s mother, but I do know that we hungered for reparations and a home, waited for those forty acres of work well done with mule at hand and a place of safety we could call our own.

With intention, we carry the ancestral heartbeats and the resistance of those who came before us, always resisting and fighting to reclaim the humanity of a people. Even when shot in the back with cuffed hands, we resist. We resist and die while jogging on a sunny day. We resist by suicide, heart attacks, and nervous breakdowns. We resist by selling cigarettes on corners until we stop breathing.

We are magical women resisting, hiding under the sun, birthing new people, disappearing, murdered while sleeping or simply coming from a store eating Skittles. We are often accused of resisting while being suffocated with knees on the neck, quietly whispering, “I can’t breathe,” quietly whispering, “You are killing me,” while echoing the sacred childlike words of, “Mama…Mama….” I know George Floyd’s mother even though I never met her face-to-face.

About the Author

Hitaji Aziz- M.A., RMT, Reiki Master
Social Healing for the Greater Good
Keynote Speaker, Life Coach, Holistic Healer

Tags black history month, george floyd, hitaji aziz, trauma informed

Op-eds

US Court Ruling response

Post author By Rebecca Councill
Post date February 13, 2023

RESPONSE

Local Domestic Violence Agencies stand united in outrage at the recent ruling on February 2, 2023, by the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals declaring a law that restricts those with domestic violence restraining and protective orders from owning firearms unconstitutional. An Nisa, Aid to Victims of Domestic Violence, Bay Area Turning Point, The Bridge Over Troubled Waters, DAYA, Family Ties, Family Time, Fresh Spirit Wellness, The Empowered Survivor, Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, Houston Area Women’s Center, and Northwest Assistance Ministries Family Violence Program stand together in opposition of a ruling that has devastating and deadly consequences for those suffering the trauma of intimate partner violence.

According to the Texas Council on Family Violence’s Honoring Texas Victims report, in 2021 204 Texans were killed by their intimate partner, 46 in Harris County alone. Of the 46 killed in Harris County, 35 or 76% were killed by a firearm, and over 50% of those killed were black women. Additionally, 34% of the offenders were prohibited from possessing a firearm under Texas law and 40% were prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law. The number one predictor of a domestic violence homicide is the threat of homicide and the ownership of a firearm. An 11 city study found “…increased risk of intimate partner femicide included perpetrator’s access to a gun and previous threat with a weapon” (Campbell, 2003). Yet three judges – in their infinite wisdom – found it unconstitutional to protect women. Aren’t laws intended to err on the side of protecting people rather than harming them? For the record, in Texas, protective orders are civil legal lawsuits that are granted when domestic violence has occurred and there is a strong likelihood that it will continue. Protective orders help create boundaries of safety for a survivor by restricting harm doers from going to survivors’ homes, workplaces, and/or schools while also strictly forbidding the person from communicating in a threatening or harassing manner. These orders can be granted for any amount of time, and prior to this decision, required the surrender of a firearm for the duration of the order.

This court ruling is one more devastating decision, especially for survivors in Texas, that creates greater challenges for them to become safer. We know that firearms are the number one method of homicide for victims of intimate partner violence and rulings like this only send the message that the safety of women is not a priority. As Harris County continues to see the highest number of domestic violence related fatalities in the state of Texas, it is incumbent upon us all to ensure access to services and protections including the recognition that underserved communities of color experience the highest rates of homicides and the lowest rates of accessing formal services for protections.

One of the strongest protections has been the requirement of surrendering firearms when there is a protective order in place. This law has SAVED lives even as a voluntary program. Wait, what? Yes, you read that right – a voluntary gun surrender program. Currently, in Harris County, if a protective order is granted against a harm doer who owns a gun, they are offered a way to voluntarily surrender it through Harris County’s Safe Surrender Program. Thanks to the laxed and conflicting laws about gun ownership in Texas, actually requiring someone to surrender it with some type of investigation, enforcement and/or accountability does not happen. While Harris County’s Safe Surrender Program is not perfect, it is our best attempt at giving an alternative in adhering to the mandate to surrender firearms when a protective order is granted. It is a step towards increasing safety for survivors. Now even this small step in progress feels insignificant as this court decision strips survivors of more and more protections that should be due to them under the law.

Countless numbers of women have relayed stories to advocates in our community about the threats they received to be shot and killed, and for many women, this threat is made real. In 2022 our community experienced extremely high rates of deadly intimate partner violence and ever-increasing felony level assaults. No one can watch the news on a nightly basis without hearing about another tragic death. Families are suffering and front-line workers are exhausted and cannot keep up with the need. Our community should never have to face losing – a neighbor, a family member, a friend, a Houstonian – due to intimate partner violence. And…now this court ruling supporting the ownership of firearms when there is a protective order – UNACCEPTABLE.

Along with the highest number of homicides, Harris County continues to see the highest turn away rate for emergency shelter, a housing waitlist over 900 families deep, and long wait lists for counseling and therapeutic services. One domestic violence homicide can cost a community close to 15 million dollars (DeLIsis et al., 2010). This cost cannot even begin to account for the loss of a mother to her children, or a family member. Yet – we can put our priority on ensuring that the right to bear firearms is more important than the right to be SAFE.

We will not be quiet, we will not let go, we will unite our voices of outrage and the need to support laws that SAVE lives, not destroy them. Our leaders and decision makers need to hear us and make change to eradicate the laws that support the senseless death of survivors at the hands of a would be loved one. There is still much work to be done and we will not stop advocating for protection for victims and survivors that are affected by the lack of laws and protections from firearms.
NO MORE

NNEDV Statement Regarding United States v. Rahimi

BWJP Reacts to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s Disappointing Ruling Undermining Federal Firearms Prohibitions for Persons Who Have Committed Acts of Domestic Violence – BWJP

https://tcfv.org/wp-content/uploads/Call-to-Action-Gun-Violence-Final.pdf

Tags domestic violence, domestic violence awareness month, trauma informed

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

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