Sexual Violence Task Force of Tampa Bay

Florida State Representative Kathleen Passidomo has been expressing some dangerous and unacceptable viewpoints in the legislature and media. Here are some links to what she's been saying:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/16/texas-gang-rape-aftermath-florida-law_n_836841.html

In Our Own Backyard: Modern-Day Slavery in the US, Florida, and the Tampa Bay area

"I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more had they only known they were slaves." - Harriet Tubman

The term “human trafficking” tends to conjure up images of Asian girls smuggled into massage parlors or Russian mail order brides stashed in ...

2009-2010 Florida Legislative Wrap-Up

* There are many bills which may have a direct or indirect effect on sexual violence issues (ex. domestic violence bills, internet safety, elder abuse bills); this is simply a brief overview of more specific bills as they relate to sexual violence.

Not Passed:

• HB 799/SB 1302- Victim Advocate B...

August 2nd, President Obama signed the Tribal Law and Order Act into law.

And not a moment too soon. On August 3rd, a Long Island (Non-Native) man was arrested for killing his girlfriend's 17-month old son (Native) while babysitting him on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation. Pedro Jones is charged with 1st-degree manslaughter (which does not carry the same punishment as murder, many groups are pushing for an aggravated charge of hate crime) for allegedly hitting the inf...

"We don't carry rape kits on board."

"We don't know who the investigating authority is."

"Just forget about it and get on with your life."

(Statements made by a supervisor to a crew member raped by another employee)

“It’s not our jurisdiction - it happened on board. It’s the Coast Guard that should investigate.” 

“Since the investigating authority isn’t here to order it, you can’t have a rape kit.&#...

Sexual Assault on Campus: A Frustrating Search for Justice

**Our CHANGE segment is working on a bill regarding sexual violence on college campuses.**

http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/campus_assault/

3 questions for Jill Starishevsky, Bronx assistant DA

A new book, My Body Belongs to ...

**Major props to SVTF of Tampa Bay members, Becca & Kelly, for this wonderful article in St. Pete Times!**

St. Pete Times (Nov. 11, 2009)- Google serves as a path to information, a vehicle for answers, a portal for research. Yet Sabrina Sadler, a sexual assault victim, sought so much more when she logged on in the spring of 2007.

Sadler, then a student at Sacramento State University in the California capital, responded to the cris...

CBS News Report Finds Thousands of Rape Kits Untested, Rape Arrest Rates Low Nationally

Nov. 10, 2009- (CBS) The FBI says in 2008 the number of reported forcible rapes was the lowest in 20 years in 2008. However, alongside that seemingly encouraging news is another stunning statistic.

CBS News Chief Investigative Correspondent Armen Keteyian said on "The Early Show" nearly 90,000 women reported they were raped in the U.S. last year -- but there was...

WASHINGTON, DC (11/05/09) –Today, U.S. Senators Al Franken (D-Minn.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.), and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced the Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault Act of 2009. The House companion bill will be introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.). The legislation will work to reduce the national backlog of over 180,000 untested rape kits currently in police storage. It will also address several other problems that work to deny...