Community Solutions to Sexual and Domestic Violence: VIRGINIA

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Now Available: 2013 Family and Intimate Partner Homicide Report

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner announces the release of the 2013 Annual Report on Family and Intimate Partner Homicide: A descriptive analysis of the characteristics and circumstances surrounding family and intimate partner homicide in Virginia.

This report contains an overview of 2013 data from the Family and Intimate Partner (FIP) Homicide Surveillance Project.  Highlighted findings include:

• 36% of all homicides in 2013 in Virginia were attributed to Family and Intimate Partner Violence (FIPV).  While the overall number of homicides has decreased since 2009, the proportion of deaths attributed to FIPV remains stable at one in three or higher.
• Firearms were used in 57% of FIP Homicides, a 21% increase from 2012.
• Despite the majority of FIP Homicide victims being white and female, the highest death rate was among blacks (2.9), with black males dying at a higher rate than any other group (3.1).
• The highest number of FIP Homicides occurred in the Eastern Health Planning Region (39); Richmond City had the highest number of deaths (10) for any one locality.

We invite your review of the full report, which is available at: http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/medExam/documents/pdf/2013%20FIPS%20Report.pdf.

Out of the Shadows: An Analysis of Sexual Harassment Charges Filed by Working Women

In order to paint a clearer picture of workplace sexual harassment, the National Women’s Law Center analyzed sexual harassment charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by women in the private sector between 2012 and 2016. Although an estimated 87 to 94 percent of those who experience sexual harassment never file a formal legal complaint, during fiscal year 2016 alone, nearly 7,000 sexual harassment charges were filed with the EEOC, and 82 percent of those sexual harassment charges were filed by women. This report features an intersectional analysis of the charge data by race, additional bases of discrimination alleged, and age; and an analysis of the charge data by industry and size of employer. This analysis establishes a critical baseline for evaluating the impact, if any, of the MeToo movement on filings with the EEOC in future years.

PREA Part 7: KEY REPORTS & RESEARCH: Useful reports and research to support your work

PREA is the first United States federal law dealing with the sexual abuse/assault of people who are incarcerated. The PREA Resource Bank, which offers a collection of essential PREA resources, research, toolkits, templates, and training, is divided into 7 sections.

Part 6, Key Reports and Research, is a collection of data, research, and reports that are essential reading for both advocates and correctional facility staff.

Pregnancy Associated Deaths in Virginia: New Report

"Ten Year Trends in Pregnancy-Associated Death in Virginia" is a new report using data from the Virginia Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Surveillance System.  The full report can be found here.

Preventing Sexual Violence in Latin@ Communities: A National Needs Assessment

A significant proportion of people living in the United States are of Latin@ origin – about 16%, or 50.5 million, as of 2010 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). But the few existing studies on sexual violence against Latin@s have shown a lack of culturally relevant services for Latin@ survivors to be a substantial need. One in six Latina women report sexual victimization in their lifetime (Cuevas & Sabina, 2010). Latin@s encounter more barriers to seeking services than non-Latin@s, especially if they are immigrants (Ingram, 2007). Latin@s are also less likely to report rape victimization (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000).  

Therefore, the purpose of this needs assessment was to guage the following:

1. Who are the key groups/organizations engaging in and/or supporting sexual violence prevention and intervention in Latin@ and/or Spanish-speaking communities?

2. What are the resource needs of advocates, counselors, and other professionals in the field engaging in sexual violence prevention and intervention in Latin@ and/or Spanish-speaking communities?

3. What is the cultural competency and Spanish-language capacity of programs and organizations to serve Latin@ and/or Spanish-speaking communities?

4. What is the most effective role of the NSVRC in supporting advocates working with Latin@ and/or Spanish-speaking communities?