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Shanda is leading her group of instructors through the Impact chapter development and instructor training process. Welcome - we are rooting for you!

How one self-defense class changed this woman's life forever Shanda Lynn Poitra was born and raised on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota. She lived there until she was 24 years old when she left for college at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks."Unfortunately," she says, "I took my bad relationship with me. At the time, I di...

yes to all!

Things to consider before calling the police, care of Surj DC.

communityresourcehub.org

"Cuomo insisted that he never crossed a line with any women, something at least 11 women have gone on record to disagree with. Cuomo did, however, say he didn’t realize “the extent to which the line has been redrawn.” The behavior described in the AG’s report involves kissing, groping, and making s*xually suggestive comments to female employees and other women. Those things have always been on the far side of the “line” and claiming otherwise is as disingenuous and manipulative as you might expect from a man who then launched into an extended “father of daughters” prattling."
https://www.themarysue.com/andrew-cuomo-resigns-bye/

Bye, Andrew Cuomo! New York Governor Resigns in Disgrace Disgraced New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gave a long and winding press conference today, eventually ending with the announcement that he would be resigning.

It's not a party without CAKE !!!!! This cake was part of our end-of-class celebration of the Series 1 Trans women and trans femme empowerment self-defense course. What an amazing group and so many people to thank - wonderful Facilitator E'jira, dedicated Suited Instructors Ben, Shep, & Tyrone, Rayne, and the entire amazing team from the CUNY Hunter GBV Lab!
We are building community and reducing isolation, building skills and reducing vulnerability, and co-creating a program.
Feel honored to be a part of it :)

"If we don't say yes authentically, we say yes resentfully ..."

That piece resonates for me!

https://prismreports.org/2021/07/19/are-journalism-programs-properly-training-students-to-navigate-harassment/ Prepare is honored to be part of the education of journalists to help them deal with uncomfortable or dangerous situations and to be better allies to each other as well.

Are journalism programs properly training students to navigate harassment? | Prism Some student journalists say they don’t feel they’re being prepared for the harassment they’ll inevitably face when they enter the profession full time.

Prepare, a member organization of Impact International, is pleased to be a sponsor for this upcoming panel, "What Constitutes "Self-Defense" for Black Trans Survivors? Please join us for this important conversation!

https://tinyurl.com/ESDStudy
Empowerment Self-Defense for trans women and trans femmes Series One got off to a great start yesterday - so many amazing individuals! If you missed it, or dates didn't work for you ...
the second series begins September 19th and is half-way full already. There will be a third series beginning November 14th.

*xedsaveslives
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/07/style/a-private-school-s*x-educator-defends-her-methods.html

A Private-School S*x Educator Defends Her Methods After nine years at Dalton, why was Justine Ang Fonte suddenly being pilloried by parents?

Some great grassroots programs initiated by teens for teens. Great!

How Teens Are Working to End Relationship Violence Young people across California are sparking conversations in their schools and communities about what healthy relationships look like and how to recognize abusive behaviors.

"I am THAT girl." - Sha'Carri Richardson.
Living for that talent and that confidence.
Growing up, That Girl was Marlo Thomas. Move over Marlo, here comes Sha'Carri!

Many reasons!
"National S*x Education Standards ... for grades K-2 are heavy on teaching kids respect for boundaries, how to communicate their own boundaries clearly, and, poignantly, being able to articulate what makes a good friend. " Sounds like a job for Prepare and all of Prepare's Impact and ESD colleagues!

Here's Why S*x Ed Should Begin As Early As Possible Forget the myths: children should learn about s*x education in school and at home. Experts explain why it should begin early and offer tips for parents.

https://tinyurl.com/ESDStudy
Are you interested in a specifically tailored empowerment self-defense class for trans women and trans femmes? Use this link to begin the process - for the August dates below or the September or November cohorts. Spots are filling as the word gets out so please don't miss your chance to find out if this course is right for you :)

How do we frame this time period of Covid? Do you relate to the idea of languishing or the idea of being dormant?
I think its a bit of both!

I’m not languishing, I’m dormant - Austin Kleon The reason that so many of us feel like we’re languishing is that we are trying to flourish in terrible conditions.

Let's remember - its up to the individual to decide when, if, and how to: name their aggressor, report, access physical and mental health care, talk about it publicly or privately, and how to feel about it all. Survivors are in charge of their choices.

No, Lady Gaga Doesn’t Need to Name Her Ra**st Treating survivors as a monolith only perpetuates further violence against them.

*xEdSavesLives Jennifer Hirsch, author of S*xual Citizen, adds her voice to the growing chorus of educators, researchers and violence prevention experts to say, yes, your children do need age-appropriate, medically accurate, comprehensive s*xuality education. We agree.
" Our job in public health is prevention — and sometimes it can be hard to see prevention working. ... It takes time and research to measure the assaults averted, the pregnancies that didn’t happen, or the instances in which young people felt good about a choice they made about s*xual intimacy because they had the information necessary to make it and felt like it was theirs to make."

Grandpa’s hugs & your child’s body The headline in a recent piece of New York Post scandalmongering blared “Dalton parents enraged over ‘masturbation’ videos for first graders.” The story quoted an anonymous mother: “I’m paying $50,000 to these a--holes to tell my kid not to let her grandfather hug her when he sees her?.....

Empowerment Self-Defense for Trans Women and Trans Femmes - 20 hour Basics course July 11, 18, 25, Aug 1 & 8.
Please share widely with your networks for this NYC-based program!
Pre-screen here: https://tinyurl.com/ESDStudy
Prepare is so pleased to be working in collaboration with the Hunter College Gender-Based Violence Lab and so many wonderful community partners. We can't wait to begin the first of the three courses.

A college student dusts off an old Kansas law that says citizens can convene their own grand jury when prosecutors refuse to take their case. What a journey taken by Madison Smith, survivor, to fight for some measure of justice. Her bright future includes graduate school for nursing and accreditation as a s*xual assault nurse examiner.

A prosecutor says no to a r**e charge, so a college student calls her own grand jury Kansas is among six states with century-old laws allowing citizens to pursue indictments on their own.

Tarana Burke - still working for survivors, talks about the launch of We, as Ourselves and more. https://weasourselves.org/

Tarana Burke Is Just Trying to Do Her Work A long talk about Black women, Me Too, and intentions with the activist and founder.

When you look at someone through rose-colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags.

Wrapping our course for 7th graders at IS 392 BK and here's what they had to say about what they will take away from their Prepare experience. Everyone loved either watching or doing the role-plays! Thank you to the entire IS 392 team for welcoming us to your school and to Vision Ed for funding.

WE NEED EACH OTHER

From my friend Justine Fonte's April 29, 2021
Commencement Address to Columbia University's Public Health Students of Color:

"In our world, White supremacy is when health is declared a human right but only some have access to it. Responsible public health interrogates how identities and systems impact access. We know that from Crenshaw’s intersectionality teachings and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of health. Physicians alone can’t deliver health. Public health alone can’t deliver health. We need each other. This collective ideal is contrary to White supremacist tenets of objectivity, individuality, and power hoarding. We need biostatiscians, environmental scientists, sociomedical researchers, epidemiologists, policy makers, population and family health professionals to deliver health.

But when public health works, no one knows about it. You made the decision before COVID-19 to be an unsung hero. It’s this virus that proved to the whole world why we’re needed and why public health professionals of color are especially needed. We were impacted by this pandemic professionally and personally. "

Yes!!!

Thank You - International Anti-Street Harassment Week 2021 | Stop Street Harassment Scores of groups in at least 30 countries, on six continents, joined us in raising awareness about street harassment during the 11th annual International Anti-Street Harassment Week. Thank you so much for joining us. Here’s a list of participating groups and a photo album documenting much of what ...

Yesterday's guilty verdict would not have been possible without the video - credit to Darnella Frazier who continued to record despite threats from the police as she did so. She and her 9 yr old cousin had to witness this murder in real time (along with others also present), so the world could witness it later. When our students ask, "Can taping really help?" the hard truth is not always. This time, yes it did.

Meg Stone, Impact Boston E.D., looks at the sometimes uneasy, problematic, even abusive relationship between police and s*xual assault and domestic violence advocates. Funding dependency adds to the mix of challenges, yet advocates are finding their way to new priorities and ways to serve those they represent.

Who Is Serving and Protecting Assault Victims? | Dame Magazine Most r**e crisis and domestic-violence programs wouldn’t survive without government funding that ties them to the police—and it’s left advocates trapped in…

New course date added and now open for registration at prepareinc.com/register/

What if ... lying to gain consent of your partner became criminal? Check out the terms of the proposed NYS law and let us know what you think.

Deceiving Your S*x Partner Would Be a Crime Under Bill Backed by New York Democrats Plus: Tennessee tries to micromanage media, Biden's ATF nominee worked Waco case, and more...