1. Push Crystal Wilson Dana Yarbrough

2. Purpose : To have a dialogue among African American females defining what abuse is and its effects in the black community Provide a safe space to talk about such issues Share knowledge of available resources Disclaimer

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqB2fKbflWw Questions Group Discussion: Examples of Abuse Could this be a real account of verbal abuse, or is this scene highly exaggerated? What are some stigmas associated with sexual and verbal abuse of the black community? Does abuse transcend cultural, economic, and social status? Can you give another example of abuse?

4. Activity: Personally Defining Abuse

5. General Definition & Statistics Sexual violence can come in many forms. In order to better understand the wide range of personal violences that can occur, we have included definitions of different types of rape and sexual violence, as well as other kinds of violence that often arise hand-in-hand with sexual violence. Click on the title below to read more about each type of sexual violence.

6. General Definitions & Statistics Rape Rape victims may be forced through threats or physical means. In about 8 out of 10 rapes, no weapon is used other than physical force. Anyone may be a victim of rape: women, men or children, straight or gay. Child Sexual Abuse Sexual violence of children often includes incest as a subset of this form of sexual violence. While there is a substantial amount of overlap in the two types of violence, for the purposes of this website we have separated them in recognition of the different needs that victims of each type of violence may have. Child Abuse Child abuse takes place when a child is harmed by someone else physically, psychologically, or by acts of neglect.

7. General Definitions & Statistics Incest Incest is the type of sexual contact that occurs between persons who are so closely related that their marriage is illegal (e.g., parents and children, uncles/aunts and nieces/nephews, etc.). Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that affects an individual's work or school performance.

8. General Definitions & Statistics Women 1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape) 17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape. 9 of every 10 rape victims were female in 2003. Children & Juveniles 15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12. 29% are age 12-17. 44% are under age 18. 80% are under age 30. 12-34 are the highest risk years. Girls ages 16-19 are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault. 7% of girls in grades 5-8 and 12% of girls in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused. Of these, 75% were girls. Nearly 30% of child victims were between the age of 4 and 7. 93% of juvenile sexual assault victims know their attacker. 34.2% of attackers were family members. 58.7% were acquaintances. Only 7% of the perpetrators were strangers to the victim.

9. Abuse in the African-American community 1.1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men report they were sexually abused as a child. 2.Many African Americans think that child sexual abuse is more typical among white individuals. Statistics show that blacks are sexually victimized in childhood at about the same rates as white individuals 3.Two-thirds of all victims of sexual assault reported to the police were under 18. In nearly 95 percent of the cases, the offender was a family member or acquaintance. 4.Poverty, which contributes to violence in many communities, is not seen as a risk factor for child sexual abuse. Abuse is more likely to be reported among low-income families, but is virtually undetected in families whose money or status shield them from authorities. 5.Race matters: African-American women are less likely than white women to involve police in cases of child sexual abuse. Fears about betraying the family by turning abusers into "the system" and distrust of institutions and authorities often lead blacks to remain silent about "family business.” 6.Cause and effect: Black women report being more severely abused with greater force. They also report "more upset, greater long-term effects and more negative life experiences" from sexual abuse than white women. Among the effects: post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse (drug abuse), self-mutilation and more. 7.Prolific predators: Child sex offenders tend to victimize more often than other sexual offenders. Seventy percent of child sex offenders had between one and nine victims; 23 percent between 10 and 40 victims. 8.Quiet as it's kept: Child sexual abusers operate in silence and isolation, the tools they use to target and control their prey. Few tend to be violent, which makes them difficult to catch and thwart.

10. How can we empower each other?

11. Famous Survivors Oprah Winfrey (media mogul) Laveranues Coles (football player) Dorothy Dandridge (actress) Antwone Fisher (author & subject of major motion picture) Mary J. Blige (singer) Iyanla Vanzant (motivational speaker) Donnie McClurkin (singer and preacher) Maya Angelou (author & motivational speaker) Gabrielle Union (actress) Jill Scott (singer) KEM (singer) Fantasia Barrino (singer) Missy Elliot (singer/rapper) Kenny Lattimore (singer) Tyler Perry (writer/producer/actor)

12. Resources Information on the resources available from APU: University Counseling Center some of the services they provide: Individual counseling Couples counseling Group counseling Crisis intervention Training and education workshop http://www.apu.edu/counselingcenter/about / Great organizations/resources from the power point: RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) The nation's largest anti- sexual violence organization. http://rainn.org/