Apologies for being absent yesterday, but a trial out of town makes it virtually impossible to get much else done. I’m back for the rest of the week, though, and preparing for what is naturally (because I’m in DC) being called Snowquestration. We haven’t had a real snow storm here in a couple years, so we’ll see. I guess I need to wear my pajamas inside out so that we end up with a snow day tomorrow. Oh, wait–I work for myself. No snow day. My boss sucks.
There are some great online trainings coming up to discuss. For instance, the Battered Women’s Justice Project is hosting a webinar March 20th, 11:30-1pm Central Time: Intimate Partner Sexual Assault–Research and Advocacy. This is a good opportunity to get better acquainted with some of the science around this issue: the two speakers (Walter DeKeseredy and TK Logan) are well-known for their research on IPSV. Don’t let the advocacy part of the title deter you, healthcare people. I assure you, this is relevant to our practice, as well.
From the site:
Intimate partner sexual abuse includes a broad range of sexual conduct, illegal and legal. Sexual conduct that is illegal (e.g., rape, attempted rape, involuntary deviate sexual acts, sex trafficking) is a limited set of the full range of sexual abuse inflicted by intimate partners. [356] The spectrum of sexual acts that are abusive include: unwanted, nonconsensual or coerced sex acts; forced or denial of contraception and abortion; sex after childbirth or during illness; unwanted intercourse during menstruation; sex during sleep; sexual humiliation and degradation; sexually proprietary behaviors (e.g., jealousy, nagging about sex and accusations of infidelity); “make up” sex following physical assault or perceived infidelity; virginity and vaginal inspections; commercial sexual exploitation of partners; infibulation and other mutilation; sex through trick, fraud or misrepresentation; sexual abuse by proxy or viewing/acting out pornography; exposure of children to sexual acts; economic support conditioned on sex; nonconsensual sex with 3rd parties, animals, or objects; and more.
Faculty will review the extant research on IPSA, and the implications of IPSA for advocacy, litigation and victim services will be discussed.
Registration closes 3/19/13.