April is sexual assault awareness month, and we cannot turn our backs on the shocking numbers that the Bureau of Justice Statistics has reported for 2008. In the United States alone, an estimated 222,000 rapes or sexual assaults of individuals 12 or older had occurred, and these are the cases that were reported. Even more startling is that studies indicate 18% percent of women in this country will be raped over the course of their lifetimes. This information is a frightening wake-up call, and every woman and girl must meet reality head on and devise a personal safety plan that... Continue reading

After Gardner’s release from only five years in prison where he was charged with molesting and assaulting a minor in 2000, two years later John Gardner was discovered to be illegally living half a mile from a daycare center. Instead of being thrown back in jail for violation of parole, he remained free. Gardner violated his parole at least five other times, his last encroachment happened less than 3 weeks before his parole supervision ended and his GPS bracelet removed from his ankle. If the law officials did their job and thrown this sex offender back in jail where he... Continue reading

Chelsea King is a beautiful, 17 year old girl with her whole life ahead of her. Chelsea is an honor student at Poway High and a member of the San Diego Youth Symphony. She is a cross country runner, a talented musician and well liked among her peers. Chelsea was in the midst of choosing a college after her graduation in May of this year but suddenly, she was gone. One day after school Chelsea decided to take a run alone on the trails of Rancho Bernardo Community Park near Lake Hodge. She has not been seen or heard from... Continue reading

Phoebe Prince was a 15 year old immigrant from Ireland whose family recently moved to Massachusetts. Phoebe, a red-headed beauty, appeared to be happy and stable during her transition into a new life far away from her Emerald Isle home. But underneath Phoebe’s cheery facade, the freshman was being persecuted relentlessly by her schoolmates. The taunts were endless, and “Irish slut” and “whore” became her nicknames. Phoebe never discussed her anguish with anyone, not even with her close friends. Then the horrendous ridicule slithered its way from beyond the walls of her High School and into the black hole of... Continue reading

Mary is a single mother and has been raising her seventeen year old daughter, Jill, by herself. Lately, Jill has been coming home from school every day in a bad mood. The old Jill would bolt into the house, throw her books on the table and give her mom a big hug. Now she goes directly to her room and locks herself away for hours. Jill’s puzzling behavior worries Mary. Her daughter has always been a happy, energetic girl who engaged in sports; managed straight A’s in school and a very popular student among classmates and teachers alike. But in... Continue reading

Lillian's evening economic class was about to wrap up, and she was looking forward to getting back to her dorm. It's been a long day of classes, and all Lillian wanted to do is get a good night's sleep. She walked out the door with some other students, and they quickly went their own way. The winter night air was colder than usual, and Lillian wrapped her coat tighter around her body. The campus seemed endless as she walked toward where her car was parked. Lillian thought she heard footsteps behind her, and she looked over her shoulder and spotted... Continue reading

Why does she stay? Why does he hit? In many cases low self esteem is a factor, and HE knows it. It's also about power, control and male egos - a deadly combination when the man has emotional and anger issues. The woman becomes his punching bag, and it makes him feel that he is in charge. The woman becomes more afraid and shrinks under the man's rage, and it goes on and on like a nightmare she can’t wake up from. Women need to be educated that there are resources available to help them and even provide shelter if... Continue reading

There are many factors that contribute to the increasing numbers of women being violently assaulted. The economic decline, foreclosures, and the highest unemployment rates in years have all triggered an atmosphere of anger, desperation and hopelessness. The entertainment industry, in some respect, exploits the profusion of murder, sex, and rape that is happening in today's society. Consequently, these images may trigger violent reactions in certain individuals. Realistically speaking, however, we cannot entirely fault the media as a major contributor to the violence that is happening to women. Preventing violence against women starts within the family unit, and parents need to... Continue reading

The Dark Side of Dating The room is dark, and her clothes are scattered about the small, seedy space. She is groggy, disoriented and has no idea where she was and why she was naked in a strange bed. She was alone but felt strangely violated. She rakes her hands through a tangled mess of hair trying to remember what happened the night before. The evening started off pleasant enough when her date, a guy she just met at school, picked her up after class. He was extremely polite and movie star handsome, and she couldn’t believe how lucky she... Continue reading

The holidays are right around the corner, and it's the time of year that we have to pay close attention to what is going on around us. Immediately following Halloween, Christmas tunes are being played in the stores to match the display of holiday decorations, lights, Christmas trees and gift sets that all seem to miraculously appear overnight. For many of us, the Continue reading

Rape victims are being put through the excrutiating procedure of obtaining DNA after an sexual assault has occurred. Continue reading