In this issue:
- ICESAHT Five-Year Report
- Human Trafficking Awareness Month
- Training and Events
- Anti-Trafficking Highlight
- Primary Prevention Highlight
- SART Highlight
- RCC Highlight
Welcome to ICESAHT’s first newsletter of the year. We intend for this to be a quarterly newsletter that will provide highlights from each program, updates on training and events, ongoing projects, and other important ICESAHT news. We can all agree that 2020 was one for the books – a year none of us expected. Yet, despite all we experienced with our communities, our families, our survivors, our partners/agencies, we continue to press on and continue to show up for those we serve. Thank you for all that you do, and we look forward to continued collaboration with all of you in serving survivors across the state.
ICESAHT Five-Year Report
In the fall of 2015, the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault started its work with a staff of two, a newly seated board of directors, a very small budget and the mission to empower Indiana communities to prevent sexual assault and serve those impacted by it through comprehensive training, advocacy, increased public awareness and coordinated sexual assault services.
January is Human
Trafficking Awareness Month
ICESAHT is pleased to share the 2020 Indiana State Report on Human Trafficking written in partnership with the Office of the Attorney General. While progress has been made in serving survivors and holding perpetrators accountable, there is still much more to do. We will stay intersectional, solution-focused, and center survivor experiences and wisdom.
Throughout the month of January and with our partners, there will be professional development opportunities, community trainings, and resource sharing offered every week this month.
Stay tuned!
Upcoming Trainings
Upcoming TrainingsJAN 15
Centering the Margins Facebook Livestream
JAN 22
Next Steps in Transforming Cycles of Violence Livestream Facebook Livestream
JAN 29
Labor Trafficking ½ Day Conference
FEBRUARY Black History Month
Virtual Book Club – Between the World and Me
(Collaboration with Teas Me Café and Indianapolis Central Library)
CORE 40
Registration Opens January 18
MARCH 9 and 11
MARCH 16 and 18
MARCH 23 and 25
For more information on trainings through ICESAHT, contact Minette Kamara at minette@indianacesa.org
Anti-Trafficking Highlight
2020 was a difficult year for survivors and anti-violence professionals. In anti-trafficking work, we watched survivors of trafficking suffer tremendously during the pandemic from lost job
opportunities, to relapse, to increased isolation and violence. But survivors of trafficking, by definition of their survivorship, are creative, resilient, and resourceful, and thus they continued to show anti-trafficking professionals that we too, can find creative solutions to difficult, painful, traumatic situations, and that is precisely what we did.
ICESAHT has partners across the state who have continued to rise to the occasion of finding exit pathways for survivors leaving trafficking, community for isolated survivors, and support for survivors experiencing mental, physical, sexual, and emotional trauma.
IPATH Taskforce members trained thousands of professionals in healthcare, behavioral and mental health, volunteer as CASAs, foster families, or mentors, or work for Child Advocacy Centers, DCS, law enforcement. ICESAHT provided training and technical assistance to our Rape Crisis Centers and other IPATH Adult Victim Services Committee member agencies to raise the capacity of anti-violence professionals with a background in domestic violence, homelessness, and sexual assault to competently and compassionately meet the unique needs of trafficking survivors. We have begun working with our SARTs to train on survivor-centered trafficking investigations, prosecutions, and supports.
We continue to struggle with a lack of shelter, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing options for survivors of trafficking and know this is a necessary resource for survivors of trafficking exiting violence.
Prevention Highlight
Prevention HighlightPreventing sexual violence is different from taking precautions to decrease your individual risk of sexual assault. We know that prevention needs to focus on potential offenders. Research shows that most offenders of sexual assault are men, yet most men are not offenders. Prevention begins by involving men and boys in ending sexual violence and addressing male, social and behavioral norms in our society that support or excuse sexual violence.
Through our Primary Prevention Program, Speak Up Speak Out Project (SUSOP), we work with boys and young men across the state to redefine masculinity and shift the social and behavioral norms that allow sexual violence to occur.
Learn more about the work we do through SUSOP
Upcoming Projects
We are excited to announce that ICESAHT has partnered with IUPUI Athletics to provide SUSOP to all male athletes, beginning this Spring. We will be working with the entire department, from student athletes to coaches, trainers and staff.
“This is something that we are very passionate about and very committed to; establishing a culture of respect, care and empathy.”
– Jaunelle White, IUPUI Athletic Director.
We are also excited to announce our ongoing partnership with Kiwanis International. Last Fall ICESAHT and Kiwanis worked together to develop Creating a Culture of Care (CCC). CCC is an intentional and thoughtful look into cultivating a healthy and safe community for all Key Club members, as well as surrounding communities. CCC aims to help students develop the mentality that true leaders listen, recognize, and empower others around them.
Lastly, ICESAHT is proud to announce a new partnership with the SAFE Bar Network. SAFE Bar Network engages bar owners, managers, and staff in continued conversations about sexual violence, active bystander skills, and their responsibility to take action when someone is uncomfortable or unsafe. We look forward to working closely to amplify this message upon the reopening of alcohol serving establishments.
SART Highlight
Greetings Sexual Assault Response Teams!
Now that we are back from the holidays, it is time to have a fresh and motivating start to 2021.
Last year, we all experienced several challenges and changes that impacted the work we do to support survivors of sexual violence across the state. Over numerous statewide SART Leader calls, it was made clear that COVID-19 changed routines, the way we provide services, and even the way we reach survivors of sexual violence. Thanks to each of you for continuing to show up, adapting, and taking on COVID-19’s impacts.
Although 2020 left many of us saying “what a year,” there were many things that we can celebrate as accomplishments. Here is a snapshot of some of those accomplishments:
- This past fall, ICESAHT trained a new regional SART team to join the amazing work going on throughout the state—Fountain/Warren County SART! This team participated in a one-day ICESAHT training where they discussed the creation and implementation of their team protocols and strategically planning their next few months of development. Welcome, Fountain/Warren County SART!
- We are also excited to announce two great things from Jefferson/Switzerland County. For one, they officially signed their SART Agreement in December of 2020! In addition, they have been working with the local hospital, King’s Daughters’ Hospital, that are now preparing to have trained SANEs in their hospital! This is a great accomplishment and will enhance the SANE services for survivors in those counties. Great work you all!
Release of the ICESAHT SART Toolkit!
We are excited to announce the release of the ICESAHT SART Toolkit! Thank you to all of those who supported this project and helped us accomplish this project. This toolkit details the steps and tools teams across the state of Indiana need to have an effective representation of a multicultural and multidisciplinary collaboration. The SART Toolkit provides access to information, resources, and insight into technical assistance needs as you constantly seek to improve your services. There is great content within the toolkit, and we hope each team finds the information beneficial in the work you do the address sexual violence in your communities.
Each team was sent a hard copy of the toolkit to a member of their team.
Support Reminder!
As a reminder, as a result of the SAKI Webinar last year, ICESAHT has been working with SARTs in hosting strategic planning sessions for teams! Now is a great time to revisit your purpose and plan for addressing sexual violence in your county, and these can be done virtually! The meetings focus on the development of goals, discussion of funding, and reviewing the last year of work your team has accomplished. f you are interested in hosting a strategic planning meeting, or if you are interested in a specific topic training, please feel free to reach out to Morgan Whiting (Rumple) at morgan@indianacesa.org.
RCC Highlight
Hello RCC staff!
I hope you all had a chance to rest, reflect, and find joy in the holiday season. 2020 was a strange, challenging year that required us to adapt in many ways- but we did it! I want to sincerely thank you all for your hard work and tenacity in coming up with creative solutions to serve survivors. From Zoom support groups to outdoor gardening projects to medical advocacy via FaceTime, our rape crisis centers and advocates worked creatively to empower and support
survivors in Indiana. Thank you.
As we enter 2021, let’s keep up this momentum! The continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic will require us to remain flexible and creative to meet the needs of our community. Please continue sharing your thoughts and ideas at our quarterly RCC calls; these spaces offer an opportunity to grow, share, and learn from one another. Let’s continue to work together to prevent and end sexual violence in our communities, and to empower the individuals impacted.
We are all in this together.
Technical Assistance and Training
ICESAHT will continue to offer virtual training and technical assistance until it is safe to return to in-person events. Look for training announcements on our social media, listserv, and in your email. As Rape Crisis Center Coordinator, I am here to provide resources, guidance, or support wherever possible. If you or your team needs assistance in strategic planning, capacity building, and program expansion, or even just identifies a training need, please feel free to reach out to me at haleigh@indianacesa.org. We will continue to host statewide RCC calls, our virtual Survivors in the Field Support Group, and regular meetings with our RCC’s to stay connected in our virtual world.
