Check out this great stalking awareness campaign called Stalking: Know It. Name It. Stop It. Not only do they have promotional materials to raise awareness about stalking, there are also numerous resources related to safety planning, outreach materials, and information specific to responders like law enforcement and prosecutors.
Last year, the Men’s Anti-Violence Council developed a workshop about commonly exploited technology used to stalk and harass individuals. It has been extremely popular and we have presented it at numerous conferences and workshops. We’ll be presenting it next month at The Big Ten Counseling Center conference regarding how this topic relates to counseling centers and college students. Stay tuned for when we upload the Power Point from that presentation.
From 2008 to 2010, William Cassidy harassed Alyce Zeoli through Twitter sending her over 8,000 tweets. He criticized her looks, made fun of her religion, described graphic ways in which she could die, and repeatedly told her to commit suicide. Zeoli blocked his accounts but Cassidy just created another one. In 2010, Zeoli reported the harassment and the FBI pressed charges against Cassidy for stalking Zeoli and causing her “substantial emotional distress.”
However, this week federal judge Roger W. Titus, dismissed the case stating, “while Mr. Cassidy’s speech may have inflicted substantial emotional distress, the government’s indictment here is directed squarely at protected speech: anonymous, uncomfortable Internet speech addressing religious matters.” Apparently Judge Titus doesn’t really understand what Twitter is. He compared it to a colonial bulletin board where if you didn’t like something, you don’t read it. News flash Judge Titus, Twitter is no different from a text message, email, or phone call. It is direct contact through electronic means with another individual. Just telling someone to “ignore it, turn it off, or don’t look it” is about as good as telling a stalking victim to just block the phone number, quit their job, or simply ignore the animal head left in a box on the front porch. The message this sends to victims is ridiculously callous, “If you don’t like it, too bad, just ignore it.”
However, there was some protection from harassment and stalking enforced this week. A judge in Minnesota ordered a man to take down his “revenge” blog about his ex-girlfriend because individuals have a “right to be free from harassment”and instated a 50 year restraining order! But wait, isn’t a blog is like a colonial bulletin board? No, no it’s not.
Anyone in a position of enforcing or creating rules/laws/policies about harassment, stalking, bullying, or any other inappropriate conduct through electronic/Internet/technological means should have a basic understanding of what the Internet is and how social media services on it function. People should be protected from those who intimidate, threaten, harass, monitor, record, impersonate, and stalk them regardless of the method.
The Office of the Vice President and the White House Office of Science and Technologyjust announcedthe winners of the Apps Against Abuse challenge. The two apps are called Circle of 6 and On Watch. TheCircle of 6app was created by by our very own friend of MAC, Nancy Schwartzman over atThe Line!
The Circle of 6 app lets you designate six individuals to be in your “circle.” Once you have selected your six allies, you can select different ways to ask for their support. If you tap the car icon, a text message to come and get you along with your GPS location is sent. Tapping the phone icon sends a message to call the sender to interrupt the current situation. The chat icon connects the sender with their circle so that they can get advice about a situation. A danger button automatically calls a national safety hotline. Once it is set up, it would take a user two taps in the app to get help. Take a look at some of the screen shots below. This looks like a great way to stay connected and get help in a dangerous or potentially dangerous situation.
The app is a prototype and is set to be released on the app markets across a variety of operating systems in January, 2012. You can support and stay updated about the app on their Facebook page.
MAC member, Derrais Carter has created a new project for the Men’s Anti-Violence Council called Mobile Masculinities. The goal is to create a critical discussion about masculinities and anti-violence work through online videos.
During the University of Northern Iowa’s Men’s Institute last week, Derrais got the opportunity to ask the keynote speaker, Jackson Katz a few questions. As many of you know, Dr. Katz is an expert in the movement to get men involved in reducing gender violence. He wrote The Macho Paradox and was responsible for creating the first film I ever watched about masculinity, Tough Guise. See the video below for the first installment of Mobile Masculinities with Jackson Katz!
Well, the title pretty much gave away the story, but I’ll tell it anyway. Fernando Patolsky and Michael Ioffe, both scientists at Tel Aviv University, have developed a straw that will alert the user if a date rape drug is present in their beverage. If the straw detects the presence of ketamine or GHB, the sensor in the straw will glow red. The straw can be used multiple times until it detects the presence of either drug.
Another date rape drug, Rohypnol, will be added to the sensor soon. The straw is scheduled to be available commercially within in the next year. While it is not a solution to the problem, it is another interesting and potentially helpful tool.
George Bronk just received a four year prison sentence for stalking and harassing women through Facebook and email. George would search Facebook profiles for information to assist him in hijacking email accounts to search for nude or provocative pictures. George would then distribute the pictures to everyone on their contact list and in some cases, blackmail the women to gain additional pictures. When contacted by a victim about why he was doing this, George responded, “Because it’s funny.”
George plead guilty in January to computer intrusion, false impersonation and possession of child pornography. He received four years in state prison for the Facebook and email charges and an additional eight months for the child pornography charges, which requires him to register as a sex offender. 46 women across 17 states came forward in this case as recipients of his illegal behaviors.
This case highlights the importance of taking online precautions but also being aware of security measures. You can create a formidable password, but pay attention to password recovery options. If the information needed to answer generic password recovery questions is available online throughout your social networks, it creates vulnerabilities. A lot of people may know where you went to grade school or your mother’s maiden name. This case also highlights the significance of electronic and Internet-based stalking and harassment. Numerous victims I have worked with dismiss the behaviors because they are afraid no one will take them seriously. “It’s just emails and text messages or comments on Facebook,” is something I hear frequently. 47 states have electronic and Internet-based language in their stalking and harassment laws. It doesn’t matter the means. These behaviors are illegal whether they happen in person or online. Cases like this set a precedent for future prosecution.
Do you have software development skills and a passion for anti-violence initiatives? If so, we have found the perfect challenge for you!
Yesterday, Vice President Joe Biden, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius launched a technology challenge called the “Apps Against Abuse.” It is a national competition to develop new apps to help prevent sexual assault and dating violence. You can view the full press release here.
Click here to register. Registration is free. Submissions are already being accepted and the deadline is October 17, 2011. Winners will be announced at the end of October.
Hollaback! just launched a new campaign called I’ve got your backaimed at engaging bystanders to be active when they witness street harassment. Hollaback! has been working for six years to empower individuals to speak out against street harassment. To this point, the main focus has been on supporting and encouraging recipients of harassment to speak up about the situation and their experience. However, Hollaback! director Emily May wants to involve bystanders. “When we see a parent with a baby struggling to enter a building, we open the door for them. When someone drops their hat, we pick it up and give it to them. So why when we see someone being harassed do we look the other way?”
However, the new campaign offers several ways for you to get involved in speaking out against street
harassment and providing helpful interventions:
New, free Hollaback! iPhone and Droid apps so that bystanders can tell their stories
Bystander stories will be mapped with green dots alongside stories of harassment represented by pink dots- highlighting the problem and solution
A “We’ve got your back” button similar to the Facebook “Like” button. At the end of the day the person who was harassed will get an email saying that hundreds of people support them and have their back.
Partnering with Nancy Schwartzman, director of The Line, to create a short documentary that profiles a young man who tries to stand up for his friends when they are harassed.
Click on the picture below to watch the I’ve got your back video on Vimeo.
After much hard work by the folks over at theIowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence(ICADV) and Iowa MAN members, the official Iowa MAN website launched. The website looks great. The most important thing about this event is that it signifies a statewide effort to engage men about the issues related to eliminating violence and creating safer communities.
Below are Iowa MAN’s vision and mission:
VISION
We envision a community where men are actively engaged in confronting men’s violence against women and girls and all its forms, and where all members of society are engaged in promoting healthy, peaceful, and respectful relationships.
MISSION
As an organization, we will eliminate men’s violence against women and girls by pursuing knowledge from those most affected by it. As a call to action, we will work to inspire all men of Iowa to partner with women to promote healthy and respectful relationships in their homes, neighborhoods, and the community, to model peaceful and respectful behaviors with each other, and to empower our youth with similar tools and skills necessary to live and expect a lifestyle free from abuse.
You can visit the Iowa Men’s Action Network websitehere.
