McKay-IDVSA_Voice 1.4 MB - Downstate Conference on Child

IDVSA VOICE
V O L U M E
OUR MISSION
To advance the knowledge
of domestic violence and
sexual assault in an effort to
end interpersonal violence.
IDVSA accomplishes this
through research, education
and training, technical
assistance, and collaboration
with university and
practitioner communities,
and the community at large.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
A Shared Vision
1-2
Voices from IDVSA
3-4
IDVSA Project Updates 4
A Voice From the Field
5-7
Affiliate Profile
8-9
IDVSA Project Updates 10-11
Continued from Page 4
Staff Notes
11
Mark Your Calendars
12
Transitions
13
Published by
Institute on Domestic Violence
& Sexual Assault
9 ,
I S S U E
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S P R I N G ,
2 0 1 4
A Shared Vision
By Noël Busch-Armendariz, PhD, LMSW, MPA
The Inherent Conflicts in Inter-Professional
Work: Agreeing to Take On, Understand, & Solve
Multiple Conundrums in Sexual Assault Crimes
Although the field of social work is full of conflict and contradictions I have found great
satisfaction working as a social worker. In the late 1980s I started out as a parole officer
and trainer with incarcerated men and later advocated for battered women who were
incarcerated for killing their abusers. In these later cases the conflicts came in the form of
balancing aggravating and mitigating circumstances, victim blaming, and personal
responsibilities. I remember a woman telling me that she contracted to have her abusive
husband killed after 15 years of extreme physical and sexual violence because he told her
he was going to kill her and their children and if she left he would kill her elderly mother.
His violence had escalated and she knew his threats were real—she, her children, and her
mother were in real danger. What is ‘right’ and ‘justice’ in these post-conviction cases is
difficult, and today I am very grateful we also focus on prevention with the aim to
ameliorate the harm in domestic violence homicide.
IDVSA uses a bio psychosocial context, where individuals, family, communities, social
structures (e. g. court systems) are interrelated, and a historical analysis to understand
how things got where they are and what moves us forward. It is a complex social science
discipline grounded in ethical values and principles. Social workers and social work
scientists hold the complexities that are the realities of people’s lives.
For nearly three years IDVSA staff have been working with an interprofessional team on a
project funded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to address untested sexual assault
kits (SAKs) in Houston, Texas. We are exploring the reasons that 6,663 SAKs were
stored and unrequested for testing in the Houston Police Department property room.
The project’s (often talked about by the public as the backlog—although it is not really a
backlog in which SAKs await testing in a queue) aim is to develop a national model that
addresses this specific problem about sexual assault crimes. Nationally we have come to
know that unrequested SAKs exist in property rooms all over the country and so
Houston is not unique.
(Continued on page 2)
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A Shared Vision
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Continued from Page 1
At first this seemed like a relatively simple problem to solve. The solution was to test all the
SAKs. While testing of forensic evidence is important, testing results do not give us answers to
the complex reasons that unrequested SAKs existed in the first place. Our model building has
required us to hold these conundrums and move forward anyway. \
We have moved forward by building professional relationships and committing to a process of
accountability among the key stakeholders—a social work value and principle. It has been an
incredible process of truth telling for problem solving rather than blaming. Second, we have
acknowledged that sexual assault crimes are difficult and conflictual for a variety of reasons and
we have allowed all of those reasons to be said. We have learned, for example, the difficulty lies
in the relationship that exists between the offender and victim, the tenacity of the offender’s
behaviors, the difficulty of reporting, and under-resourced services. These crimes are among the
most nuanced of all violent crimes, and yet our criminal justice system is set up to discretely
measure behavior. Third, we have started to shift the response systems to address these
challenges and support professionals and survivors, with an aim to look toward offender preassault behaviors (this model is still under development).
As a group we have also had to acknowledge that little is known about the range and efficacy of
services for survivors of sexual assault from point of outcry to the indictment and adjudication of
the offender and the factors that promote or hinder survivors restoration and offender
accountability. We also know that we are not reaching the vast majority of sexual assault
survivors—82% of all sexual assaults go unreported to law enforcement in Texas. At the same
time, professionals engaged in response systems can uniquely make a difference in the validation
and treatment of victims and toward offender accountability. This is tough work, and so we need
to think about how to recruit, retain, and support the most seasoned and committed
professionals across all organizations doing it (SANEs, crime lab, law enforcement, victim
advocates, prosecutors, researchers, and others).
While working on this problem we are also looking toward next steps—reaching far. Sexual
assault is a social problem that if we are to reduce it (actually let’s end it, shall we) and its impact,
it requires a complex, multi-dimensional systemic response. This crime is difficult and thorny. Best
practices in Houston have undoubtedly included survivor centered approaches, and although that
has created complexity the value laden in the decision is doing the right thing.
Noël Busch-Armendariz is the Associate Dean for Research in the School of Social Work,
Full Professor, and Director for the Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault at the
University of Texas at Austin. She can be reached at nbusch@austin.utexas.edu.
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Voices from IDVSA
By Caitlin Sulley, LMSW
Using your voice – “speak up, speak out” – are common messages in the month of April
for Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.
Our partners in Austin and throughout Texas are using creative approaches that focus
on inclusiveness during the month. Awareness and prevention efforts focus on the
inclusion of survivors’ preferences and comfort level with “speaking out”, as well as
efforts to include all genders, especially men who have historically been less involved in
the movement.
Locally, Voices Against Violence at UT-Austin’s Counseling and Mental Health Center
have provided cards for “The Visual Voice Project” which survivors and allies can use to
express their story of interpersonal violence to be displayed or read out loud at Take
Back the Night on April 9th.
Statewide, the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault is focusing on male involvement
with efforts to include the entire community through their campaign, “First Class Male:
Cultivating Change through Male Involvement.” The focus is on engaging men at all ages
in a conversation on issues related to sexual assault and including men who are
committed to the health and safety of their communities.
In the spirit of inclusion of all experiences of interpersonal violence, here is my “speak
out”:
In March, I was a victim of a theft – a theft of a sexual nature. I had encountered and
reported a man stealing my bras on a previous occasions, and found him again rifling
through my laundry in my apartment complex laundry room. By my assessment, he has a
fetish for bras or getting caught stealing bras (just bras-nothing else). It is undetermined,
although unlikely, that he only targets me. Last time I caught him, he fled. However this
time, he approached me with arms up in a threatening manner. I took out my phone to
call for help and he fled again. I returned to my apartment to wait for police, and from
my large 2nd story window, saw him creep down the street, trying to slink through yards,
but looking obvious and oafish. On the street below, he looked up and saw me – I was
frozen. I kept him in my sight as he moved towards my building, I felt terrified and
vulnerable. As he moved out of my line of vision, I was crying as my body released my
anxiety.
I then immediately began to assess my reactions and the neurobiology of trauma! I knew
my left brain was engaged, and I began to analyze his behavior. Not surprising for a
researcher and advocate.
(Continued on Page 4)
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Voices from IDVSA
By Caitlin Sulley, LMSW
(Cont from Page 3)
At this time, police arrived and searched the area, helped me to feel safe, were strengths-based, and connected
me with victim services. An investigator called the following week and I made a formal statement. I no longer do
laundry at my building, and our management has stated they intend to improve security, yet there have been no
changes so far.
In moving forward, my goal is to frame this negative and invasive experience as a learning opportunity to better
assess offender behavior, improve my safety planning skills, advocate for improved security, understand the
systems response first-hand, gain a better understanding of trauma response, and identify and utilize support.
I already had appreciation for law enforcement and victim services, as well as all other professionals who
promote awareness and prevention of sexual assault and interpersonal violence – and am even more thankful
now.
And to survivors and allies who will speak out this month in whatever way YOU CHOOSE – THANK YOU!
Contributed by: Caitlin Sulley, LMSW. is a Research Project Director at IDVSA. She currently oversees the Houston Sexual Assault
Kit Action-Research Project. She has served survivors of sexual assault and family violence in law enforcement and community-based
settings. She can be reached at csulley@austin.utexas.edu.
IDVSA Project Updates
Cont on page 10
The Continuity of Risk: A three site study of Congolese
women-at-risk resettled in the US
By Laurie Cook Heffron & Karin Wachter
Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University,
in collaboration with UNHCR, recently carried out a study to identify the concerns, challenges, risks, and strengths
of adult Congolese refugee women resettled to the US under the women-at-risk category. The study was carried
out to help policymakers, service providers, and other stakeholders prepare for the increase in arrivals of Congolese
refugees over the next 5 years.
Using qualitative methods and thematic analysis, researchers conducted semi-structured interviews and focus groups
between August and October 2013 with 57 key informants (28 Congolese women and 29 service providers) in Lexington, Kentucky, San Antonio, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah. Main research findings reveal a better understanding
of traumatic experiences; availability of mental health services; experiences of social isolation; economic and parenting challenges as single mothers; and, unmet expectations of the women-at-risk resettlement category.
The study report that includes an in depth analysis of the research findings and offers concrete recommendations to
policy makers and the refugee service providing community should be released to the public by May, 2014.
Stay tuned!
For more information about the study, please contact Karin Wachter at Karin.Wachter@utexas.edu
Laurie Cook Heffron, LMSW is a doctoral student and Associate Director for Research with The
University of Texas at Austin’s Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault.
Karin Wachter, Med, is a doctoral student and an IDVSA Project Director.
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A Voice From the Field
By Kelsey McKay
As a prosecutor it is my job to ensure, to the best of my ability, that justice is served. When the focus of a prosecution is domestic violence, the layers of justice can become complicated and difficult to navigate. In the ten
years I’ve served as an Assistant County and District Attorney, I’ve always maintained a professional connection
to domestic violence. Four years ago, soon after Texas passed the domestic violence strangulation felony law, I
was tasked to develop our strangulation investigations and prosecutions. The challenges and complexities became
immediately apparent.
Strangulation is a form of asphyxia (lack of oxygen) characterized by the intentional closure of blood vessels and/
or air passages of the neck as a result of external pressure. Texas law requires that either the victims air flow or
blood flow be impeded in order to file a case as a felony.
There were two things I quickly realized about this crime; it is far more serious than most people realize and it is
extremely effective in obtaining compliance from a victim. I quickly identified both the seriousness and lethality of
this type of abuse, both in terms of the increased risk to the victim’s life as well as the intense power it has in the
context of an abusive relationship. Victims of intimate partner strangulation are 800% more likely to become a
subsequent victim of homicide at the hands of the same partner.1 Strangulation is a powerful and effective method
to gain control over a victim, as each time it occurs, the abuser reinforces to the victim that he holds her life and
survival in his hands. It is done, not usually to kill the victim, but to let her know that he could.
In the criminal justice system, we have to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt. The challenges in proving the
non-fatal strangulation became quickly evident, as cases filed with our office lacked corroborating evidence that
we would need to prove the offense.
Strangulation is often missed and misunderstood. It can be missed because if we do not ask the right questions,
the victim most likely will not mention valuable information on her own. Often, strangulation is part of a broader
violent event, such as domestic violence and/or sexual assault (sexual assault is the motive in over half of all strangulation acts). This should be expected as the victim will typically be focused on the here and now; such as the
sexual assault, where their abuser is, what is causing them the most pain at that moment or concern for the children. Victims often feel as though they overreacted when they don’t see a visible injury, which is the case in the
majority of strangulation assaults. Victims may not understand the potential lethal outcomes of strangulation thus
may not even mention that strangulation occurred and minimize or dismiss serious symptoms. In many cases,
victims are unaware of the extensive list of possible symptoms (such as nausea, uncontrolled urination or headaches) that may follow strangulation.
1
Nancy Glass et al., Non-Fatal Strangulation Is an Important Risk Factor for Homicide of Women, 35 J. EMERGENCY MED. 329,
329 (2008).
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Strangulation can be misunderstood by those that care for or assist victims because we expect to see significant
external injury to the neck when in fact, it is quite rare for a strangulation to result in visible injury. In a study in
San Diego, California looking at 300 strangulation cases, 85% of women who had been strangled had either no
detectable visible injuries (50%) or injuries to seemingly negligible to show in a photograph (35%). That left only
15% having visible injury2. When combined with sexual assault, sometimes strangulation is not asked about or
seen by law enforcement or SANE. The victim is unlikely to mention strangulation given the overshadowing
nature of a sexual assault.
As a result, when a victim of strangulation is evaluated, and lacks obvious signs of external trauma, the threat is
not considered to be serious. It is typically the black eye, the visible bruise or the cut on the head draws our
attention, not necessarily slight redness in the neck area. If a victim is visibly upset, crying, we may assume the
hoarse voice is a result of screaming when in fact, it is a symptom in approximately 50% of strangulation victims.
If we rely on visible injury, we may inadvertently minimize the seriousness of the strangulation to the victim.
For years, the lack of physical evidence caused the criminal justice system to treat many strangulation cases as
minor incidents, much like a slap in the face where only redness may appear. Patients may have no visible
trauma but have internal injuries that are life threatening. Charges were being filed in line with the lack of visible
injury, in other words based on what the officer could see. Focusing on the visible signs of strangulation, most
victims lacked physical evidence of being strangled. As a result, for years, strangulation went largely undetected
and under investigated by law enforcement and medical professionals.
After Texas adopted the felony strangulation law, we had to find a way to better investigate these serious cases
in a way that would lead to a successful felony prosecution. Over a period of a year, I worked with the Austin
Police Department to develop a “strangulation supplement” to assist first responders to gather valuable
information in a timely and thorough manner. Because so often victims do not cooperate in our prosecutions, it
is imperative that the evidence is gathered promptly at the scene while she is still helpful to the investigation.
The “strangulation supplement” was introduced on the streets by APD in August of 2013. The goal of the
supplement was to carry knowledge into the field in order to assist and guide officers to ask important and timesensitive questions at a time when a victim is likely to cooperate. Quickly, our office saw the valuable results as
we experienced both a significant increase in the volume of cases, as well as an improvement in the quality of the
cases we received. Gone were the offense reports which simply stated a victim had been strangled without
supporting evidence. Instead, cases were filed describing the violent assault and the accompanying sensations and
thoughts experienced by the victim. For instance, “her body felt like a limp noodle” or “she felt a tingling
sensation in her extremities” or “her eyes felt like they were going to pop out.” These types of descriptions help
corroborate and clarify the seriousness of the act of strangulation.
In the immediacy of the assault, the focus needs to shift to non-visible signs and symptoms of strangulation,
victim’s emotional state needs to be documented and EMS needs to be encouraged to respond and transport
victims. Education and understanding are vitally important. The structures of the neck are vulnerable to just
2
In a major study of 300 strangulation cases, 50% of victims had no visible injuries, and 35% had injuries “too faint to photograph.” Gael B. Strack et al., A Review of 300 Attempted Strangulation Cases Part I: Criminal Legal Issues, 21 J. EMERGENCY
MED., 30at 311, 315 (2001).
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slight pressure. Once the anatomy of the neck and the amount of pressure that is necessary to cut off the air flow
or blood flow is understood, it becomes clear that visible injury in the assumed forms (handprints, bruises) are
not realistic. It is important to understand the physical injuries and the non-traditional, non-visible evidence of
injury in strangulation. Even if the victim doesn’t want to prosecute, it is important that she is educated about the
dangers of strangulation and takes the risks seriously. Though the victim may not prosecute this particular case, it
may give her the support and knowledge that she needs to find a safe way to leave.
Efforts to educate about the dangers and signs of strangulation should be focused on anyone who will speak to a
victim, beginning with those who might have initial contact with a victim soon after the offense occurs (such as
first responders, crisis counselors or medical staff). Training and understanding needs to extend to people she
might talk to separate from the prosecution such as shelter staff, hotline workers, and victim services counselors.
And finally, this training needs to spread throughout our criminal justice community to reach judges, prosecutors,
and ultimately juries who ultimately determine whether to convict an abuser. In the last few years, I’ve developed
and implemented trainings for the patrol officers and detectives, shelter staff, prosecutors, investigators, victim
counselors, social workers, staff in the emergency room, sexual assault forensic nurses, and countless other
audiences.
It is important that a victim have accurate information to counter the minimization that is a normal response to
trauma, intimate partner violence and sexual assault. Victims/survivors need to know you care. Educating
yourself and understanding the seriousness of strangulation allow you to acknowledge the true impact of the
assault.
In 2010, when I started as our strangulation prosecutor there were over 200 strangulation cases filed. In 2013
there were a little over 400 strangulation case filed. I believe the increase in the number and quality of cases filed
is a direct result of the improved knowledge and awareness officers have regarding strangulation. As training
continues to spread throughout our community, our ability to prosecute these dangerous abusers will only get
better and better.
I urge anyone who will touch a victim’s life, to educate themselves about the seriousness of strangulation, the role
strangulation plays in IPV and sexual assault and the associated lethality. After more trainings and talks than I can
count, I recognize how far we have come in our community. However, on a daily basis, I’m reminded of how
much is left to do to spread awareness around the country so that all communities better understand this
dangerous and lethal form of domestic abuse.
For a longer discussion about how we prosecute these cases, please go to: http://www.tdcaa.com/journal/closerlook-strangulation-cases
For possible trainings, the author can be contacted by email at Kelsey.mckay@co.travis.tx.us
Kelsey Palmer McKay is an assistant district attorney in Travis County, Texas who exclusively prosecutes strangulation
related crimes. She provides training for agencies and coordinates with law enforcement to assist in their investigation of
strangulation cases. Kelsey has prosecuted a variety of cases involving strangulation from assault, sexual assault and capital
murder. She has worked over the last few years to strengthen how her community investigates, treats and prosecutes
both strangulation and intimate partner cases.
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Affiliate Profile
New Agency Name and Sexual Assault Program!
After much thought, consideration and guidance from community members, we have changed our agency's name.
We are now Asian Family Support Services of Austin, or AFSSA and our mission is to promote abuse-free Asian
communities through advocacy, support, awareness and access to social services. AFSSA offers services through
five main program areas: Survivor Assistance Program (SAP), Economic Empowerment Program (EE), Asian
Sexual Assault Program (ASAP) Community Education & Outreach Program (CEO) and Systems Advocacy and
Training.
We chose the name to be clear and inclusive, and hope it will allow us to reach more survivors in need. This has
been a long time coming—for three years we carefully crafted our new identity to help more community
members find our services. We plan to keep SAHELI (which means "female friend" in Hindi) as a specific program
name in the future as a way to honor our agency's long history. We may have a new name and look, but our
services are the same and accessible to anyone who needs them.
We would also like to take this opportunity to announce our efforts to formalize a sexual assault program named
the Asian Sexual Assault Program of Central Texas (ASAP). ASAP provides outreach and sexual assault
intervention services to Asian refugees and immigrants who have barriers in accessing meaningful sexual assault
services due to cultural and linguistic barriers. We are emphasizing services for the growing refugee population
from Burma, Nepal, Iraq and Iran. Most of the new residents do not speak English and have difficulty contacting
mainstream social services for help. According to the 2010 US Census Bureau, the latest statistics show that the
Asian population in Travis County has grown to 58,583, which is 6% of the overall population. Both the growing
diversity and increased poverty rates for Asian women have posed a challenge to service providers to meet the
needs of Asian victims of sexual violence.
Sexual assault is prevalent among all communities and universally underreported. However, the rate of reporting
within the Asian community is significantly lower than the general community due to multiple cultural
expectations, language barriers, attitudes towards sex and complex honor and shame dynamic that result in
victim blaming. Additional cultural issues include: collective disapproval around expressions of female sexuality,
lack of dialogue around sexual anatomy, entrenched gender roles and the power differential between men and
women due to patriarchy. All of these lead to a higher risk of sexual victimization for Asians and people with
Asian heritage.
For over 20 years, AFSSA has worked to empower survivors of abuse, raise awareness of the importance of
healthy relationships and mobilize different Asian communities to address these issues in a manner that resonates
culturally. All of our services are shared by culturally specific staff members who have a deep understanding of
Asian community dynamics and immigrant stresses. We provide services in a language that resonates with the
client and adjust our services to meet the individual's cultural needs.
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Sexual assault is based on power and control and the agency ensures that victims are the ultimate decision
makers in how they proceed with their recovery process. For some survivors certain actions are not viable,
such as disclosure of abuse to others or filing a police report. Our inherent service philosophy is to support
survivors so that they are empowered to make decisions for their own lives and well-being. Advocates
respect these choices and work with the client to develop a safety plan that will accommodate the client's
unique needs. AFSSA has seen many clients who come with few options and who leave with the skills to
make
new
opportunities
for
themselves.
Over the years AFSSA has provided services in over 35 different languages and has become the go-to
organization for communities who are unable to access traditional, mainstream services. With the rapid
growth in immigrant and refugee populations from Asia, a strong referral partnership with hospitals and law
enforcement, and more ethnic communities receiving resource information that they can understand, the
demand for AFSSA services has increased steadily in recent years. Both locally and nationally, the agency has
become a model for culturally specific programs and regularly provides technical assistance to ensure that
these programs are effective for their targeted populations.
For more information about Asian Family Support Services, please visit afssaustin.org. The helpline number
for services is 1-877-281-8371 or 512-651-3743. The service area covers the counties of Travis, Williamson,
Hays, Caldwell and Bastrop. The programs utilizes both phone interpretation and in-person interpreters for
clients who are limited English proficient.
Gunjen Mittal is the Sexual Assault Prevention and Services Coordinator for Asian Family Support Services of Austin or
AFSSA. She’s also a Certified Yoga Therapist, Classical Indian Dancer and an Eco-feminist who has been working
towards ending violence for more than 10 years in Houston, India and now Austin.
***
April 23, 2014
For More Information go to
www.safeplace.org
IDVSA in Support of SafePlace Denim Day
From Left to Right
Caitlin Sulley, Karin Wachter, Didi Rodriguez
Noël Busch-Armendariz and Annell Neale
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IDVSA Project Updates
PRESENTATIONS
Doctoral student Karin Wachter presented “Preparing for the Congolese: Special Considerations for Women
and Employment Supervisors in San Diego, February 17.
Caitlin Sulley and Noël Busch-Armendariz presented “Engaging adult victims of sesual assault: A law enforcement toolkit” at the 32nd Annual Texas Association Against Sexual Assault Conference March 9-15 in Irving, Texas.
Caitlin also presented “Lessons from Houston’s untested Sexual Assault Kit initiative.
IDVSA, along with several other from the University of Texas School of Social Work, was well represented at the 21st Annual Emerging Scholarship in Women’s and Gender Studies Graduate Students Conference
March 20-21 at the University of Texas at Austin.
*Doctoral students Karin Wachter and Sanna Thompson’s poster, “Predictors of repeat offenses
among homeless young adults: Gender differences”, won an Outstanding Poster Award.
*Karin Wachter presented the poster “Ascribing identities: Congolese women’s bodies as refugees”.
*Doctoral student Laurie Cook Heffron presented the poster “Balancing physical safety and social
isolation: Resettlement of Congolese refugee women in the U.S.”.
Caitlin Sulley presented “From victim outcry to restoration: Lessons learned from Houston’s sexual assault kit
project”, at the Conference on Crimes Against Women in Dallas, April 1st.
Conference on Crimes Against Women
Presenters on Houston Sexual Assault Kit Project
(from left to right)
Caitlin Sulley, LMSW
Sonia Corrales, Houston Area Women’s Center
Sergeant John Colburn, Houston Police Department
Stacey Mitchell DNP, MBA, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P – Administrative Director, Forensic Nursing Services Harris Health System
Irma Rios, Director, Forensic Analysis Division, Houston Forensic Science Center
Jane Waters, Chief, Special Victims Bureau, Harris County District Attorney’s Office
Watch for upcoming reports on the Houston Sexual Assault Kit Project this Spring and Summer at
www.houstonsakresearch.org.
Noel Busch-Armendariz gave the keynote, "The inherent conflict in inter-professional work: Agreeing to take on,
understand and solve multiple conundrums in sexual assault crimes," at the International Conflict Conference, Austin, April 11.
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PUBLICATIONS
Laurie Cook Heffron and Noel Busch-Armendariz are the first two authors of “Giving sexual assault survivors time to decide: An exploration of the use and effects of the non report option”, published in the American Journal of Nursing. The article was also featured on the journal’s blog, Off the Charts.
IDVSA Staff Notes
Noël Busch-Armendariz has been named Associate Dean for Research in the Center for Social Work Research at the School of Social Work. Noel remains the director of IDVSA. Noël worked with an interprofessional team to open a new health clinic of human trafficking survivors. Noël and Dr. Melissa Hamilton have
taken the expert witness training on the road.
Laurie Cook Heffron is moving into her third year in the School of Social Work's doctoral program, slowly
inching closer to launching her dissertation research related to the role violence against women plays in migration
from Central America to the United States. Laurie is teaching an undergraduate course, Foundations of Social
Justice. Laurie continues to be actively involved in IDVSA' research fellows program related to human trafficking
in addition to the local and statewide responses to human trafficking. Together with the IDVSA team and collaborators across the country, Laurie has completed developing the Law Enforcement Toolkit related to non-stranger
sexual assault cases. She is also part of the team that just completed the multi-site project exploring the experiences of Congolese refugee women resettled to the United States.
The American Journal of Nursing has accepted for publication an article titled, "Time to Decide: Initial Verdict of
a Non-Report Sexual Assault Examination Policy," authored by Laurie, Noël B. Busch-Armendariz, Shetal VohraGupta, Regina Jones Johnson, and TAASA's Victoria Camp.
Caitlin Sulley,STAFF
LMSW is a Research
Project Director at for the Houston Sexual Assault Kit Action-Research
IDVSA
NOTES
Project. She looks forward to presenting on the project with members of Houston’s multidisciplinary team at the
National Sexual Assault Conference in August 2014 in Pittsburgh, PA. Since joining IDVSA on staff, she began to
serve on local and regional Task Forces on interpersonal violence, and has contributed to IDVSA’s grant writing
and project proposal development.
Karin Wachter is a doctoral student in the School of Social Work at UT and is enjoying her work at IDVSA.
Karin supports the Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work and helped to lead the study on the experiences of
Congolese refugee women resettled to the United States in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and a number of resettlement agencies.
Annell Neale is currently helping to coordinate and plan for the 2014 CJD Full Court Press Expert Witness
Training as well as working on the grant to fund the 2015 Advance Expert Witness Training. She also maintains
the web site and our database of IDVSA contacts that allows us to send targeted messages by interest, such as
human trafficking, domestic violence, etc.
Deidi Olaya-Rodriguez is our intern and MSW student currently doing her final field placement at IDVSA
where she assists the team on the NIJ sexual assault kit project. Upon graduating in May, she will continue chasing
her dreams of pursuing doctoral studies on the prevention of interpersonal violence. Before coming to the U.S.,
Deidi worked in women’s rights and equality in her native Colombia for more than a decade. Her work in Colombia included training, policy advocacy, and psychosocial support for survivors of violence.
IDVSA
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Mark Your Calendars
APRIL IS SEXUAL ASSAULT
AWARENESS MONTH
For more information see Noël’s article “A Shared Vision”
and Caitlin’s article “Voices from IDVSA”
and www.utexas.edu/ssw/cswr/institutes/idvsa/
***
You can also check out the
National Sexual Violence Resource Center:
http://www.nsvrc.org/saam/sexual-assault-awareness-month-home
As stated in their website: The month of April has been designated Sexual Assault
Awareness Month (SAAM) in the United States. The goal of SAAM is to raise public awareness about sexual violence and to educate communities and individuals on how to prevent
sexual violence.
By working together and pooling our resources during the month of April, we can highlight
sexual violence as a major public health, human rights and social justice issue and reinforce
the need for prevention efforts.
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Transitions
A Note from Annell Neale
Education, Communications and Research Coordinator, Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual
Assault
My husband and I have decided to retire and move to Rockport, Texas. We’ve found a wonderful
home there and plan to move in July. My last day of work with IDVSA will be July 3 rd. I have wonderful relatives in Corpus Christi, which is just a few miles up the road, and I’m hoping to be of
some help to them and also, just to enjoy their company. I’ve lived far enough away that I generally only see them at holidays and I’m happy that, at this point in my life, I can change that.
I began with IDVSA in November, 2012. When my friend Karen Kalergis found out that I was
amenable to working part time she told me they needed someone with my particular skill set
here. I interviewed with Noël and the rest, as they say, is history. What a wonderful group of people I found when I came to work here, supportive not only of me but of each other and, indeed,
the world in general. The IDVSA staff, as well as those in the Center for Social Work Research
and the School of Social Work, I count as some of the loveliest people of my acquaintance. They
have been generous with their friendship, their time and their guidance every day.
As with so many of the people I have met in my time at IDVSA, I brought a personal knowledge of
family violence and sexual assault. I took a different path and ended up here more by serendipity
than by design. I wanted to take these few words just to say thank you. Thanks to all of you who
are working to make the world a better place one survivor at a time.
I’ve met and corresponded with many of you reading this newsletter only by phone or email or
briefly in passing. Please know that I am proud to have been a part of the wonderful work you all
do every day.
***
Deidi Olaya Rodriguez, our intern, graduates in May but
plans to stay with IDVSA through at least the summer.
IDVSA
VOICE
It is the vision of IDVSA that its multi-disciplinary, researcher-practitioner, collaborative approach will
enhance the quality and relevance of research efforts and their application in service provision.
That vision has been realized in our recent research focus in the areas of human trafficking,
sexual assault, domestic violence intervention and resiliency.
Visit us at www.utexas.edu/
research/cswr/idvsa/
Our efforts are supported through generous contributions from the RGK Foundation, the
Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, the Shield-Ayres Foundation, Alice Kleberg Reynolds
Foundation, The University of Texas School of Social Work and the School of Law.
CONTRIBUTORS
IDVSA STAFF
Noël Bridget Busch-Armendariz, PhD,
Co-Principal Investigators
LMSW, MPA
Director, IDVSA
Director and Principal Investigator
Regina Jones Johnson, Dr PH, MSN, RN
nbusch@austin.utexas.edu
The University of Texas at Austin
School of Nursing
Laurie Cook Heffron, LMSW
Associate Director for Research
lcookheffron@austin.utexas.edu
Caitlin Sulley, Research Project
rjohnson@nur.utexas.edu
Bruce Kellison, PhD
Laurie Cook Heffron, Associate
Director for Research, IDVSA
Karin Wachter, Project Director,
IDVSA
Associate Director
Kelsey McKay, Assistant District
Karin Wachter, MEd
The University of Texas at Austin
Attorney in Travis County
Project Director
Bureau of Business Research
karin.wachter@utexas.edu
IC2 Institute
Gunjen Mittal, Sexual Assault
kellison@ic2.utexas.edu
Prevention & Services Coordinator for
Caitlin Sulley, MSSW
Research Project Director
csulley@gmail.com
Annell Neale
Education, Communications and Research Coordinator
aneale@austin.utexas.edu
Jeana Lungwitz, JD
The University of Texas at Austin
School of Law
jlungwitz@law.utexas.edu
Asian Family Support Services of
Austin