Survivors News and Reviews

Saw this news release in an email this week and thought I would share. Don’t know much more than this, so if you do, be sure to leave us a comment with any information you might have.

The movie Boys and Men Healing, which has been screening in various places, and gotten pretty rave reviews from the male survivor community, is now available on DVD. You can order it over on the Big Voice Pictures website.

If you’ve seen the movie, or get the DVD and watch it sometime soon, let us know what you think!

Got an email from the admin about a new site specifically for male victims of childhood sexual abuse, Betrayed Boys. Looks like they are just getting started over there, but if you’re interested, go check it out!

http://betrayedboys.com/

Cynthia Cox was kind enough to let me know that her new novel about surviving childhood sexual abuse, The I in Me, will be available for free starting Aug. 1. You can go check out her website for more information.

Since I’ll be traveling at the time, if you get a copy and want to let us know what you think, feel free to leave a comment!

From my email today, thought it might be of interest to our UK readers:

Tackling Child Abuse Conference
Prevention, Investigation and Prosecution
Monday 27th September 2010 – Central London

http://www.capitaconferences.co.uk/public-sector-conferences/police-criminal-justice/full-conference/article/tackling-child-abuse-conference.html?code=MKRG

The police and partner agencies are under heightened pressure and scrutiny to effectively crack down on child abuse following a series of damaging high profile cases. Capita’s Tackling Child Abuse Conference is tailored to address the needs of those working in, and with, criminal justice agencies to ensure the safety and protection of all children.

This event takes a holistic view of the pressing issue of child abuse, from prevention to investigation, prosecution and multi agency learning. With input from the key stakeholders including the Association of Chief Police Officers, Police Forces, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, the agenda will cover crucial issues including:

•Joined up working to identify and manage risk
•Engaging local communities to raise awareness and prevent harm
•Detailed guidance on investigating child homicide
•Insight into the forthcoming changes affecting the prosecution of child abuse
•Embedding learning to improve processes and enhance partnerships

This conference provides essential guidance on collaborative working between agencies within and outside the field of criminal justice work to prevent children from experiencing abuse. Safeguarding children is a priority across all agencies in the public sector. Ensure that your organisation is best equipped to meet your duty to protect.

For more information please visit the website: http://www.capitaconferences.co.uk/public-sector-conferences/police-criminal-justice/full-conference/article/tackling-child-abuse-conference.html?code=MKRG

Or contact richard.goddard@capita.co.uk or  44 (0) 20 7960 7719

I received this email earlier, and thought I would go ahead and post it here. Obviously, being in the US, this isn’t something I can take part in myself, but I thought I would pass it along to any of you in Australia who might be interested!

Hi.

I just want to let all those interested know that a group of people
called FAVAG (Forgotten Australians Victoria Action Group)has been
protesting each week…

Sunday morning 10am – 12pm outside St Patricks Cathedral, Cnr
Gisbourne St & Cathedral place, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

We are protesting against former and current child abuse from the
catholic church.

Crimes committed unto children are the worst crimes.

The catholic church is the richest church, and is the one church who
refuses to prove that they are sorry for their sins unto children, and
pay for their crimes, as other churches are beginning to.

They must be also brought to the table!

I believe if we are truly concerned about child abuse, then we should
do all we can to stop it happening at all!

While people, especially the churches and government get away with it
and allow crimes like abuse to happen to children, it will continue to
grow!

The churches and the government are huge powerful influences in this
country, and they should not be permitted to set bad examples to the
people of this land.

We must show them that this is not acceptable.

We hope that maybe members of your group will be able to join us,
or in the very least forwarding this information to anyone who may be
interested in attending, we would be so grateful!

After the next month or so, protests may be likely to change venue,
for more information pleas go to the FAVAG website:
http://forgottenaustralians.com/

Thankyou for your time.
yours respectfully
Sherrin Caird

Nathan from DadWagon sent me a note today to let me know about an interview they did on the site with Joel Johnson. Joel is a gadget geek, and has worked on such well-known blogs as Gizmodo, and BoingBoing. Recently, he posted on his personal site about having grown up a victim of sexual abuse and how that has affected him into adulthood. You can read the interview over at DadWagon, and here’s the link to his original piece, which may be a bit graphic for some.

With all of the celebrity suicides in the news recently, John Grohol took advantage of the uptick in people looking for information about suicide and untreated depression to give a brief glimpse into the risk among young adults, and some of the warning signs to look for in this post today. I’m copying the important bullet points under how you can help, but read the whole thing to truly get all the information:

Every single day, another 11 young adults will choose death by suicide.

What You Can Do To Help

It’s important to recognize the warning signs of a teen or young adult who may be thinking about suicide:

• Talking about suicide or death or “going away”
• Talking about feeling hopeless or guilty
• Pulling away from friends or family
• Losing the desire to take part in normal activities
• Having trouble concentrating or thinking clearly
• Exhibiting lots of self-destructive behavior (drinking alcohol, driving too fast)
• Giving away prized possessions or their stuff
• Big changes in their eating or sleeping habits

Experts recommend that, if you’re an adult in a teen’s or young adult’s life, to stay involved:

• Watch and listen for warning signs
• Keep lines of communication open and express your concern, support and love
• If your teen doesn’t want to talk, suggest a more neutral person such as a relative, clergy member, counselor or doctor
• Ask questions, even tough ones, such as if he or she has had thoughts of suicide
• Get psychological help if your child is thinking about suicide
• If your teen is in a crisis situation, your emergency room can conduct an evaluation and refer you to resources
• Make sure you keep an appointment with a mental health professional — even if your teen says he or she is feeling better

Saw this announcement over on the Pysch Central blogs and thought I would pass it along for any survivors who are familiar with the community over there:

It’s a proud day for our Psych Central family. Today, we officially announced the creation of the Psych Central Community Connection, Psych Central’s new non-profit arm.What is the Psych Central Community Connection?

The Connection is our non-profit that makes micro grants (also called personal grants) available to Psych Central members in emergency financial need. These micro grants (of $500 or less per individual) are for immediate personal/family need that might make the difference between homelessness and staying in one’s home, heat in the winter or freezing cold, or keeping the electricity turned on.

A couple of new ways, and a reminder of the other ways you can get new posts from the site without actually having to visit the site and check for new entries. Of course, you are always encouraged to come to the site and leave comments!

For the Child Abuse Survivor Blog, you can

Subscribe by email

Subscribe in an RSS Reader

Subscribe to Comments in an RSS Reader

For the Survivors News and Reviews blog:

Subscribe by email

Subscribe in an RSS Reader

Subscribe to Comments in an RSS Reader

You can also get notified on the SurvivorNetwork Twitter account for new entries to both blogs, or the brand new fan page on Facebook.