Southside Center for Violence Prevention, Inc.
Madeline’s House ~ Piedmont Crisis Center
March/ April 2015
Understanding sexual violence
Officers
Scott Edwards
President
Tessie Bacon
Vice President
Lynda Farrell
Secretary
Barbara Rutherford
Treasurer
Board Members
Abigail Barnes
Nancy Essig
Christine Hasbrouck
Jean Morris
Terry Royall
Melissa Wood
Staff
Emily Marshall
Executive Director
Kandy Freeman
Domestic Violence Program Director
Mary Winn
Sexual Assault Program
Director
Sexual violence is a widespread issue that impacts everyone. These facts provides information about
how parents and caregivers can play a role in preventing sexual violence and supporting survivors. Together we can create safe and respectful communities.
What is sexual violence?
Sexual violence is a broad term and includes rape, incest, child sexual abuse, intimate partner violence,
sexual exploitation, human trafficking, unwanted sexual contact, sexual harassment, exposure, and voyeurism.
Sexual violence occurs when someone is forced or manipulated into unwanted sexual activity without
their consent. Reasons someone might not consent include fear, age, illness, disability, and/or influence
of alcohol or other drugs. Anyone can experience sexual violence, including children, teens, adults, and
elders.
These crimes are widespread and occur daily in our communities, schools, and workplaces, but sexual
violence can be prevented. Community members can work to prevent sexual violence by establishing
healthy and positive relationships that are based on respect, safety, and equality.
Sexual violence at a glance
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One in six boys and one in four girls will experience a sexual assault before the age 18 (Dube et al.,
2005).
One in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives (Black et al., 2011).
Annual Spring Campaign Begins
(Continued on pg 3)
If you would like to contribution to the Madeline’s House – Piedmont Crisis Center Annual
Spring Campaign, please complete the donation form on Page 5 of this newsletter.
Check off “Other” and fill in “Campaign” in the bottom right corner of this form. Mail your
donation and this form to SCVP, P.O. Box 487, Blackstone, VA 23824.
Kristin Davis
Program Assistant
Joy Long
Resident Services/
Outreach Coordinator
Diane Mitchell
Resident Assistant
Connie Holte
Office Assistant
A Great Time Was Had By All…
On February 14th, Valentines and their sweeties came out to celebrate at the first Taste of Chocolate. This benefit for Madeline’s House – Piedmont Crisis Center was held at the Officers’ Club on
Fort Pickett in Blackstone. There were chocolates, coffees and wine tastings, scrumptious foods
and desserts, fun photos, flowers, music, silent and live auctions, raffles of all kinds of things to do
with this day of hearts and chocolate for all to enjoy. Over $10,000 was raised to support programs
and services provided to victims of domestic and sexual violence by MH-PCC. This agency is
charged with providing critical, life-saving services to 12 counties in south central Virginia. We are
grateful to our sponsors, including corporations, small business and many individuals who support
our mission. Major sponsors for the 2015 Taste of Chocolate event were Southside Electric Cooperative and Benchmark Community Bank. Many, many thanks go to each and every one of you. A
list of all sponsors can be found on page 2 of this newsletter.
Southside Center for Violence Prevention, Inc.
Page 2
2015 Taste of Chocolate Sponsors
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Access Realty
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Wellvilla Construction
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Boswell & Williamson
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Bank of McKenney
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Sam Winn Insurance
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Bank of Southside Virginia
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Blackstone Family Practice / Bon
Secours
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Blackstone Animal Clinic
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Lone Oak Baptist Church
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Stewardship Solutions
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Commonwealth Vision
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Harris, Matthews & Crowder
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Edgerton’s Flowers
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Paisley & Sage
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Pepsi
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Southside Area Community Theater
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Bevell’s Hardware

Blackstone Antique Mall

Citizens Bank
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Lynda Farrell

Cary Bowen

Amy and Scott Burnette

Tom Wilkinson
Southside Center for Violence Prevention, Inc.
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Page 3
A majority of women who reported being raped at some point in their life (79.6%) experienced their first rape before the age
of 25, and 42.2% experienced their first completed rape before the age of 18 years (Black et al., 2011).
More than 25% of male victims in a national sample reported their first rape was when they were 10 years of age or younger
(Black et al., 2011).
Rape is far more extensive than reported in official statistics, and the majority of rapists are never apprehended (Carr & VanDeusen, 2004).
Your role in prevention
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You can play a role in changing the attitudes and culture that promote sexual violence. Traditional gender roles, power imbalances, and victim-blaming all contribute to sexual violence. Be a part of the solution:
Be a role model for respectful behavior to those around you.
Talk with your children about healthy sexual development and personal boundaries.
Intervene and speak up when you see inappropriate behavior. To better equip yourself in these situations, practice what you
might say or do.
Talk to someone from your local sexual assault center for more information. Invite them to speak in your schools, faith communities or workplaces.
Learn more about sexual violence and share information with others. Know how to report suspected child abuse. Take action
if you or someone you know suspects a child may be being abused.
How you can help
Parents and caregivers are uniquely positioned to assist children and teens experiencing sexual violence, as they often see the
warning signs — sudden changes in behavior or mood, lower grades, social withdrawal — before others.
Children and teens may turn to you to discuss what is happening. All adults are responsible for keeping children safe and protecting them from harm.
If you suspect a child is being abused, contact the police or your local child protective services agency, the ChildHelp National
Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453), or your local sexual violence program; Piedmont Crisis Center (1888-819-2926),
How to offer support
Survivors of sexual violence have experienced trauma, and each person reacts differently to trauma. Some disclose immediately,
but many never talk about what happened to them, or wait years to talk about it.
When someone discloses sexual abuse, appreciate their resilience, strength, and bravery. Be mindful of your own response:
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Create a safe place for the child or teen to talk and share. Allow them control over the environment as much as possible.
Listen and allow them to share the information that they are comfortable sharing. If a survivor wants to share with you, allow them to do so in their own way, words time frame.
Believe them. Survivors often struggle with disclosing abuse because they fear they won’t be believed. It takes immense
bravery for them to trust you and share the details of what happened.
Be open and honest about your responsibilities. Children and teens have a right to be safe, valued and respected. Connect
them with community resources or trained professionals to provide continued support.
Southside Center for Violence Prevention, Inc.
Page 4
Child Abuse - The Hidden Bruises
The statistics on physical child abuse are alarming. It is estimated hundreds of thousands of
children are physically abused each year by a
parent or close relative. Thousands actually die as a result of the
abuse. For those who survive, the emotional trauma remains
long after the external bruises have healed. Communities and
the courts recognize that these emotional “hidden bruises” can
be treated. Early recognition and treatment is important to minimize the long term effect of physical abuse. Whenever a child
says he or she has been abused, it must be taken seriously and
immediately evaluated.
Children who have been abused may display:
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a poor self-image
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sexual acting out
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inability to trust or love others
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aggressive, disruptive, and sometimes illegal behavior
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anger and rage
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self-destructive or self-abusive behavior, suicidal thoughts
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suicidal thoughts
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passive, withdrawn or clingy behavior
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fear of entering into new relationships or activities
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anxiety and fears
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school problems or failure
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feelings of sadness or other symptoms of depression
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flashbacks, nightmares
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drug and alcohol abuse
sleep problems
Often the severe emotional damage to abused children does not
surface until adolescence or even later, when many abused children become abusing parents. An adult who was abused as a
child often has trouble establishing lasting and stable personal
relationships. These men and women may have trouble with
physical closeness, touching, intimacy, and trust as adults. They
are also at higher risk for anxiety, depression, substance abuse,
medical illness, and problems at school or work.
Early identification and treatment is important to minimize the
long-term consequences of abuse. Qualified mental health professionals should conduct a comprehensive evaluation and provide treatment for children who have been abused. Through
treatment, the abused child begins to regain a sense of selfconfidence and trust. The family can also be helped to learn new
ways of support and communicating with one another. Parents
may also benefit from support, parent training and anger management.
Physical abuse is not the only kind of child abuse. Many children
are also victims of neglect, or sexual abuse, or emotional abuse.
In all kinds of child abuse, the child and the family can benefit
from evaluation and treatment from a qualified mental health
professional.
Volume 1, Issue
Page 5
Urgent:
On-Call Child Care Volunteers for Working Mothers
Two of the most important jobs the residents have is to find a
job and then housing. If the resident has children, child care
becomes a problem when she first gets a job. She hasn't
worked long enough to be able to pay for child care, so we
need loving, reliable volunteers to be available for these residents until they get established with their new jobs. Madeline's House wants to develop a list of on-call, short-term volunteer child care providers for this purpose. Most child care
assignments would be 2-3 weeks in length, long enough for
Resident A to make other arrangements, get 2-3 paychecks
and re-establish herself financially. Our goal is to have 5 or
more child care volunteers so that if you are unavailable
when called, the resident has other options.
If you have the desire to help victims of domestic and sexual
violence become survivors and regain her independence, call
Emily, Kandy or Mary at 434.292.1077 for more information.
Because you would have direct contact with residents, there
is a training requirement made convenient by CD and handbook that can be reviewed at home.
Events
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March 24, 25,26 Longwood University Clothesline Project in Student Union Ballroom
April 18th 8-3 Brunswick Festival
May 2nd Heart of Virginia Festival in Farmville
May 9th 9-5 Amelia Day Festival
Remember that you can always help by volunteering. SCVP is currently looking for volunteer drivers,
babysitters and outreach volunteers please fill out an application online at www.madelineshouse.org .
Southside Center for Violence Prevention, Inc. (SCVP), P.O. Box 487, Blackstone, VA 23824 (434)292-1077
Madeline’s House – Piedmont Crisis Center
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SCVP, Inc.
P.O. Box 487
Blackstone, VA 23824
Permit # 40
Hotline: 1-888-819-2926
Phone: 434-292-1077
Fax: 434-292-1078
E-mail: [email protected]
Or Current Resident
SCVP Wish List
These are current items that are needed at the shelter:
Walmart Gift Cards
Disinfectant Wipes,
Clothes Detergent
Fabric Softener,
13 gal. Trash bags
Cleaning supplies with bleach,
Cleaning supplies for wood or laminate floor
Pantry Items,
Donate to our electricity fund to help with cost of upcoming
heating and air conditioning.