2008 Woodie Awards
County to host sexual assault awareness conference
Ann Koblenzer
Issue date: 4/22/08 Section: Community
April is national Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and the Butler County Rape Crisis Program is encouraging the community to use the event as an opportunity to have an open discussion about the violence of sexual assault.
"Sexual assault is an issue that is gradually becoming more accepted in terms of being able to talk about it in the community, but it is still a taboo subject," said Becky Perkins, director of the Butler County Rape Crisis Program. "The more it is kept in the dark the harder it is for victims to come forward and for us to have an honest discussion on how we can stop the violence and prevent it from happening. (SAAM) is a nice nationally sanctioned excuse to bring attention to something that really needs the attention."
The Butler County Rape Crisis Program is holding a conference, titled "Sexual Trauma Victims & Offenders," April 30 for citizens, students and professionals to raise awareness and knowledge on the issue.
The conference will host a variety of speakers on topics such as the science of trauma, the truths about sex offenders and understanding victim response.
"We tried to come up with a lot of different topics for the conference that would appeal to community members, students and professionals in the field," Perkins said.
The conference will also recognize local agencies and professionals in the area for their work with victims.
Among those receiving accolades will be two Miami University Police Department members, Chief John McCandless and Captain Jason Willis.
"I'm very proud of what we do and how we handle that type of crime," McCandless said.
Last year MUPD, working with Butler County Rape Crisis Program, created a room for victims of sexual assault to be interviewed with comfortable sitting, lamps and prints on the walls.
"We wanted to have place for people who are victims of those types of crime to have a more comfortable environment to talk in," McCandless said.
"Sexual assault is an issue that is gradually becoming more accepted in terms of being able to talk about it in the community, but it is still a taboo subject," said Becky Perkins, director of the Butler County Rape Crisis Program. "The more it is kept in the dark the harder it is for victims to come forward and for us to have an honest discussion on how we can stop the violence and prevent it from happening. (SAAM) is a nice nationally sanctioned excuse to bring attention to something that really needs the attention."
The Butler County Rape Crisis Program is holding a conference, titled "Sexual Trauma Victims & Offenders," April 30 for citizens, students and professionals to raise awareness and knowledge on the issue.
The conference will host a variety of speakers on topics such as the science of trauma, the truths about sex offenders and understanding victim response.
"We tried to come up with a lot of different topics for the conference that would appeal to community members, students and professionals in the field," Perkins said.
The conference will also recognize local agencies and professionals in the area for their work with victims.
Among those receiving accolades will be two Miami University Police Department members, Chief John McCandless and Captain Jason Willis.
"I'm very proud of what we do and how we handle that type of crime," McCandless said.
Last year MUPD, working with Butler County Rape Crisis Program, created a room for victims of sexual assault to be interviewed with comfortable sitting, lamps and prints on the walls.
"We wanted to have place for people who are victims of those types of crime to have a more comfortable environment to talk in," McCandless said.
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