Thursday, February 19, 2009

Rapelay Game Pulled From Amazon.com

Rapelay is a "game" in which the player is supposed to gang rape a group of women. The player is then supposed to force the woman to have an abortion. This sick game was released in 2006 in and was made available for purchase on Amazon.com before a slew of complaints got it off the website. The game is one of many developed by Illusion that is sexually violent. It's a little unnerving to try and think of who plays this game...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/4611161/Rapelay-virtual-rape-game-banned-by-Amazon.html

Now Facebook Removes Sex Offenders

Since May of 2008, 5,500 convicted sex offenders have been removed from Facebook. Recently, MySpace announced it had removed more than 90,000 sex offenders so it's nice to know that Facebook has followed suit. Out of 175 million users, it's hard to say if 5,500 is a strong number, or if there are many more to be found. Facebook's policy is said to state that "no convicted sex offender be allowed to keep a facebook page", which is a great start in keeping sexual predators off of the site. All of the networking sites have to do their part to keep their site safe. They are praised for keeping people connected, but have all been in trouble with the public and sometimes the law. The more they can do to keep their sites user friendly, the better.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29289048/from/ET/

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Happy Birthday PAVE!

Today marks PAVE's 8 year anniversary. As PAVE and other organizations like it continue to raise awareness and "shatter the silence", we have slowly seen more incidents reported, more support from society and less tolerance for sexual violence. We have learned that sexual violence doesn't discriminate between men and women, age, race, social class or any other factor. PAVE has come a long way, but sexual violence is still a major problem. As much work that has been done to bring awareness to this issue, there is always more to do, more to say, more to fight for.

It used to be a more "private" matter that wasn't talked about with the public, or sometimes even family. Now, we ask that you speak out and stand up for yourself and what is right. We want to know what happened, and how we can try to prevent it from happening again. We want other survivors of sexual assault to know that they are not alone, and that someone understands. We want to see perpetrators punished for their crimes and not be allowed to make someone else their next victim. We want the legal system to do their part and protect the ones who are not at fault. We ask that the media reports its' stories in a fair manner, using appropriate language and terms that aren't victim blaming. These are all things we hope to accomplish with organizations like PAVE.

The unfortunate thing is that when I am looking for stories for this blog, I am never at a loss. There is always an abundance of stories in the news from the entire United States, and around the world. Even when I am not looking for something new, someone emails me a disturbing story or video. I am not sure how to sort through all of these sometimes, and try to find stories with the most information, or even one with an aspect of sexual violence that hasn't been discussed or brought up in a while. Even in my personal life, I am still amazed at how many people I know or who I have met who have been victims of sexual violence. I meet others who have been affected because they are close to a victim or even a perpetrator. I believe this makes them a victim also, just in a differnt sense. I hope that with the support of the public, continued donataions, and the hard work of PAVE leadership and friends, PAVE can continue to be the voice for victims of sexual violence. Happy birthday to PAVE. It can help take you from victim to survivor.

Sad but true. When I said I am never at a loss for stories, look at what I found in an hour....

Police: Suspect Has Molested Children For Decades
Jeffersonville police have arrested a 50-year-old man who they said has been molesting children for decades.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28801100/from/ET/

Former HCSO Detective Accused Of Molesting Child
A former detective is in custody, accused of assaulting a girl multiple times, KPRC Local 2 reports.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28814555/from/ET/

Deputy Accused Of Child Sex Assault Warned To Stay Away
A former detective accused of sexually assaulting a child is told by a judge to not have any contact with the girl, KPRC Local 2 reports.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28814562/from/ET/

Port St. Lucie Father Arrested In Sex Sting
A Port St. Lucie father is accused of trying to trade his 2-year-old daughter for sex.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28794803/from/ET/

Roseburg man convicted in 2001 sex attacks
An Oregon man has been convicted of sexually assaulting two teenage girls in an Orange County home eight years ago.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28794448/from/ET/

Child Sex Convict Won't Be Called "Predator"
71-year-old Eugene W. Vahlenkamp, from Waukesha, was convicted in state and federal court in the early 1990s of sexually assaulting two brothers from the Green Bay area. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28815478/from/ET/

Saturday, February 7, 2009

90,000 Sex Offenders Removed from MySpace

MySpace has identified and removed over 90,000 sex offenders from their site. Although people of all ages seem to be on MySpace, young people are online more than anyone and are the most vulnerable. Most everyone knows what MySpace is, or has at least heard of it. MySpace is a social networking site that has over 100 million users around the world. Sites like MySpace and Facebook allow users to communicate with each other, share photos, music, videos, and have access to personal information. This is a great way to form relationships and network, but it can also be dangerous for some. Even PAVE has reached out to people via Facebook, and it brought more attention to our cause. For years we have heard about online relationships gone wrong (and yes, sometimes right) and the stories where false information was given. The stories where someone was lead to believe the person they "met" is entirely different in real life. We are told to be aware of what you read and who you "meet" online. Have you heard the Brad Paisley song? "I'm so much cooler online...." He has this awesome persona on the internet, but in reality he lives in his parents basement and is an overweight geek. Social networking sites are responsible for making sure their site is safe for everyone, but especially for the young people who are the most active users. MySpace is using a database called Sentinel SAFE which keeps track of the names, descriptions and other characteristics of registered sex offenders. This database can help identify the sex offenders so that they can be tracked and removed from the site. MySpace helps us connect with people all around the world and keep in touch with friends and family. It has been a huge stepping stone for people, businesses, and causes. For all the good it is doing, we must always be aware of the people who will use it with bad intentions. Thank you to MySpace for getting rid of the sex offenders. Let's hope you continue to keep an eye for them and that other sites like Facebook will follow suit.

To read more on this story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28999365/from/ET/