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Study: Rape Prevention Training Works, Cuts Sex Assault Risk

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In this Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014 file photo, Texas Tech freshman Regan Elder helps drape a bed sheet with the message "No Means No" over the university's seal at the Lubbock, Texas campus to protest what students say is a "rape culture" on campus. A picture of a banner at a Sept. 20 Phi Delta Theta fraternity gathering, briefly posted online, read, "No Means Yes," followed by a graphic sexual remark. A study by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the University of Windsor published on Wednesday, June 10, 2015 found that a program that taught college women ways to prevent sexual assault cut in half the chances they would be raped over the next year. It was the first large, scientific test of resistance training, and the strong results should spur more universities to offer it, experts say. (AP Photo/Betsy Blaney)

In this Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014 file photo, Texas Tech freshman Regan Elder helps drape a bed sheet with the message “No Means No” over the university’s seal at the Lubbock, Texas campus to protest what students say is a “rape culture” on campus. (AP Photo/Betsy Blaney)

MARILYNN MARCHIONE, AP Chief Medical Writer

A program that taught college women ways to prevent sexual assault cut in half the chances they would be raped over the next year, a Canadian study found. It was the first large, scientific test of resistance training, and the strong results should spur more universities to offer it, experts say.

Five percent of freshman women who went through the four-session program said they had been raped during the following year, compared to 10 percent of others who were just given brochures on assault prevention. Attempted rapes also were lower — about 3 percent in the training group versus more than 9 percent of the others.

The results are “startling,” said a prominent researcher on sex assault with no role in the study, University of Arizona psychologist Mary Koss.

“Universities should move right away to figure out how they can implement a program like this,” she said. “We don’t have to look at women as being so helpless and vulnerable. There are tools to empower women that can dramatically cut their risk of rape.”

The study involved about 900 students, ages 17 to 24, at the universities of Windsor, Guelph and Calgary. It was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the University of Windsor. Results are in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine.

THE PROBLEM

Researchers say as many as 20 percent of women are sexually assaulted during their college years with the risk greatest the first year. Women who have been assaulted in the past are more likely to be again, and about a third of the women in this study had such a history, partly accounting for the high rate of rape at one year.

Some universities try various rape prevention or self-defense programs, but many have not been tested and some that were tested didn’t help.

THE TRAINING

The study’s leader, psychologist Charlene Senn at the University of Windsor, developed the program — four, three-hour sessions on recognizing danger, resisting pressure to have sex, and physical self-defense.

As opposed to strangers, “known men are responsible for 90 percent of the rapes on campus,” from dates to casual acquaintances, she said.

Women were randomly assigned to get either training or the kind of advice and brochures many colleges provide.

MEASURING SUCCESS

One year after training ended, participants took an online survey largely developed by Koss, the Arizona researcher, and widely used by other researchers.

“It’s the best measure because it doesn’t label, it doesn’t say, ‘have you been raped,’ but asks about experiences such as penetration against the person’s will,” Senn said.

Responses were grouped as completed rape, attempted rape, sexual coercion, attempted coercion or nonconsensual sexual contact.

RESULTS

All types except coercion were lower in the group given training. Only 22 women would need to take the program to prevent one additional rape within a year, the researchers calculated.

WHAT WOMEN IN THE STUDY SAY

Bonita Loki Teixeira, 24, now a senior at the University of Windsor, said “knowing the cues, how to avoid being in situations where there can be the possibility of harm,” and tips like keeping a close eye on any drinks she has at a party, were helpful. The program also stressed “it’s OK to say ‘no,'” and that sex isn’t owed if a date buys dinner.

Jenna Harris, 21, a senior at the same school, said parents and others warn about assault, “but it’s not really something you think about. This program was in your face, like, ‘this is real. This stuff does happen,'” she said.

NOT THE WHOLE ANSWER

Recent data show that among women who were raped, 40 percent were raped before age 18, Kathleen Basile of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention writes in a commentary in the journal.

“We must start younger,” and target prevention efforts at men, too, she wrote.

___

Online:

Study: http://tinyurl.com/of9rmr2

___

Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Community

Calif. Dept. of Public Health: Got Milk Allergies? Don’t Eat Dave’s Bakery Cornbread

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a warning on Jan. 26, instructing consumers with milk allergies or “severe sensitivity to milk” in the state to not eat Dave’s Bakery Corn Bread due to “risk of illness.” The CDPH warns that consumption of the corn bread manufactured by a Gardena-based company — with expiration dates up to June 18, 2024 — may lead to “life threatening” reactions.

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Dave's Bakery Corn Bread, 9 pack/net wt. 21 oz (595g) (Courtesy of CDPH)
Dave's Bakery Corn Bread, 9 pack/net wt. 21 oz (595g) (Courtesy of CDPH)

By California Black Media

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a warning on Jan. 26, instructing consumers with milk allergies or “severe sensitivity to milk” in the state to not eat Dave’s Bakery Corn Bread due to “risk of illness.”

The CDPH warns that consumption of the corn bread manufactured by a Gardena-based company — with expiration dates up to June 18, 2024 — may lead to “life threatening” reactions.

“This warning applies only to the Corn Bread produced by Bake R Us, DBA Dave’s Baking Company and distributed to schools, retail facilities and in vending machines primarily in southern California,” the DCPH statement reads.

“This product should not be confused with other similarly named companies with national distribution,” it continues.

 According to the CDPH, although the corn bread product contains whey, which is a milk allergen, there is no allergy warning label on the packaging, though it is required by state law.

So far, authorities say, no illnesses have been reported in the state, but if anyone finds the products on sale anywhere in the state, they should call the CDPH complaint hotline at (800) 495-3232 or file a report online at CDPH.ca.gov

The CDPH is also recommending that people who have eaten the product and are experiencing any reaction or ill effects should consult their health care provider.

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Bay Area

East Bay Regional Park District Issues Rattlesnake Advisory

The East Bay Regional Park District released an advisory today on rattlesnakes, which emerge from winter hibernation in early spring and become more active. Warm weather can bring more potential for rattlesnake encounters with humans and dogs, particularly along trails and roads.

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The Northern Pacific rattlesnake is the species found in East Bay Regional Parks. Courtesy photo.
The Northern Pacific rattlesnake is the species found in East Bay Regional Parks. Courtesy photo.

The Richmond Standard

The East Bay Regional Park District released an advisory today on rattlesnakes, which emerge from winter hibernation in early spring and become more active.

Warm weather can bring more potential for rattlesnake encounters with humans and dogs, particularly along trails and roads.

Visitors are encouraged to avoid hiking alone in case of an emergency, to scan the ground ahead as they walk, jog or ride, stay on trails avoiding tall grass, and to look carefully around and under logs and rocks before sitting down. Keep your dog on your leash to be extra safe, park officials said.

If you encounter a rattlesnake, leave it alone – it is unlawful to capture or harm one. Move carefully and slowly away or around it and give it plenty of space, park officials said.

Those who are bitten by a rattlesnake are instructed to stay calm by lying down with the affected limb lower than the heart, then having someone call 911.

Getting medical attention is critical.

Those bitten should not use tourniquets, “sucking,” or snake bite kits. If you are by yourself, walk calmly to the nearest source of help to dial 911, do not run.

If bitten by any other type of snake, wash the wound with soap and water or an antiseptic and seek medical attention.

Not sure what bit you? Check the bite for two puncture marks (in rare cases one) associated with intense, burning pain, which is typical of a rattlesnake bite. Other snakebites can leave marks without associated burning pain.

The Northern Pacific rattlesnake is the species found in East Bay Regional Parks. Snakes are important to the natural environment, helping to control rodents and other reptile populations. But enjoy them from afar.

For more information, download the Park District’s Common Snakes brochure or watch our Gopher Snake or Rattlesnake video to learn how to tell the difference between rattlesnakes and gopher snakes. Additional information is available at ebparks.org/safety/wildlife-encounters.

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Alameda County

A Safe Place, Bay Area Domestic Violence Community Organization, Opens New Service Center in Oakland

Oakland-Bay Area non-profit, A Safe Place, announces the grand opening of its newly purchased building in Oakland that will be a service center for families that have suffered from domestic violence. The new, two-story building has over six new service rooms for counseling, mental health support groups, legal services, children’s treatment, safe space for community engagement, and partnership activities.

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Façade of the new community center for A Safe Place opening on May 10 in Oakland. Courtesy photo.
Façade of the new community center for A Safe Place opening on May 10 in Oakland. Courtesy photo.

By Courtney Slocum Riley

Special to The Post

Oakland-Bay Area non-profit, A Safe Place, announces the grand opening of its newly purchased building in Oakland that will be a service center for families that have suffered from domestic violence.

The new, two-story building has over six new service rooms for counseling, mental health support groups, legal services, children’s treatment, safe space for community engagement, and partnership activities.

Domestic violence occurrences and offenses account for a considerable amount of all violent crimes in Alameda County. A Safe Place is attempting to provide a safe place for families to heal. A Safe Place is the only comprehensive domestic violence assistance program including a safehouse, in Oakland.

The grand opening celebration will also serve as a fundraiser to build out healing, therapeutic spaces for children and adult victims and survivors and survivors of domestic violence (male and female).

The new service center will expand the work of the organization, founded in 1976 when a group of women working in San Francisco came together to address the urgent need for a shelter in the East Bay. A year later, they founded A Safe Place (ASP) in Oakland. Run solely by volunteers, they set up a crisis line to offer crisis counseling and information to battered women and their children.

The organization serves over 500 adults and children annually through a host of services including crisis counseling via 24-hour crisis line, emergency motel and safehouse sheltering, mental health services (counseling and support groups).

Under the leadership of Executive Director, Carolyn Russell, the organization has grown from a single program into the comprehensive domestic violence and assistance program. ASP strives to meet the growing and diverse needs of our growing community.

The organization hopes to complete all the upgrades and therapeutic room improvements by August 2024. The public is invited to donate to the effort by using the website at www.asafeplace.org/donate. The organization also accepts in-kind gifts as well as items from the organization’s Amazon Wishlist.

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