Ortner Center on Violence & Abuse

New book by Center Director Susan Sorenson

It's the only book out there for
--students who are deciding whether and what to tell a parent about their assault, and
--parents who are trying, often with limited knowledge and little support, how best to help.

Available at amazon.com as of June 10, 2021

Thank you to the students, mothers, fathers, and campus staff members who spoke with me. The book is full of their quotes. Follow

A data-driven approach to understanding domestic violence during the pandemic | Penn Today

Domestic violence during COVID-19 - more complicated than first thought. New research from the Ortner Center, in collaboration with community partners.

penntoday.upenn.edu Four takeaways from Penn researchers show there’s more to learn to protect those at risk for intimate partner violence.

13 Black-owned Businesses We Love In Our Communities and Beyond

Go Lisa Quattlebaum! Founder & CEO of Homesteadista, Lisa is a graduate of our 2019 Executive Program and a teaching fellow with our 2020 cohort. https://thriveglobal.com/stories/black-owned-businesses-to-support-community-allyship/?fbclid=IwAR2DDmicJ6_g4YMYfZef4Qa_CjWWTNfdQoc2e-FINyNsMhJlpyGly3nj024

thriveglobal.com From online brands to local bookstores and coffee shops, here are some of the Black-owned companies that continue to bring us joy.

AOC Gave The Most Important Feminist Speech In A Generation

huffpost.com Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's remarks were an eloquent dismantling of the playbook men have used to keep women in their place for centuries.

Richard J. Gelles, professor of social policy at the University of Pennsylvania, dies at 73

Richard J. Gelles, founding director of the Ortner Center on Violence & Abuse, advocate for children, distinguished professor & dean, author, baseball fan, and cherished colleague. He will be missed.

inquirer.com Dr. Gelles’s 1974 book, The Violent Home, was the first systematic investigation of family violence. It has been a building block for the academic field of social policy.

The Confederate Flag Represents S*xual Violence

truthout.org The topic of s*xual violence is often left out of the history of chattel slavery.

EXCLUSIVE: The Winners of the 32nd Annual Lambda Literary Awards

Congratulations to author, documentary film-maker, and Ortner Scholar Aishah Shahidah Simmons Cultural Worker on winning the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBQ Anthology! Vanity Fair published an exclusive article about the history of the awards.

Watch her 1-minute acceptance video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Whg2SqwpL9U

vanityfair.com In the aftermath of the pandemic, the organization is renewing its commitment to promoting LGBTQ writers with a series of virtual pride events.

NSVRC

Intimate partner violence is an ongoing epidemic — but stay-at-home orders have aggravated cycles of abuse.

The Institute to Address Commercial S*xual Exploitation at Villanova Law

Follow the link to download the Commercial S*xual Exploitation in Pennsylvania report for 2020. Important updates on the efforts to stop and prevent human trafficking and s*xual exploitation. https://cseinstitute.org/our-work/data-gathering/

We are thrilled to announce that the fifth edition of the annual CSE Institute Report on Commercial S*xual Exploitation in Pennsylvania (May 2020) is now available. The Report includes 2019 data and statistics that illustrate who is being charged with selling s*x or buying s*x throughout the Commonwealth, as well as the number of criminal charges brought to date under Pennsylvania’s anti-trafficking statute.

Today is the International Day of Families, and tomorrow is the International Day of Living in Peace. Living in Peace takes on a new meaning for us this year, and we hope families everywhere are safe, healthy, and .

Learn more about Title IX rule changes - End R**e on Campus virtual town hall at 2 p.m. (eastern) on Friday, May 8th.

Join End R**e on Campus + It's On Us for a virtual Town Hall on Friday, 5/8 at 2 PM, ET.

Receive Action Alerts + Join their Email List: http://endrapeoncampus.org/receive-action-alerts

Domestic violence and gun sales in the time of COVID-19 | Penn Today

Gun sales, IPV, & su***de during a pandemic, Ortner Center director and University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice professor, Susan B. Sorenson discusses the latest uptick in cases.

penntoday.upenn.edu In a Q&A, School of Social Policy & Practice researcher Susan B. Sorenson describes new challenges surrounding intimate partner violence and the uptick in gun purchases since this crisis began.

NPR's Marketplace Morning Report with David Brancaccio - Ortner Center Director and University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice professor Susan B. Sorenson is quoted about gun sales, IPV, & su***de.
April 13: Tracking those $1,200 checks
https://npr.org/podcasts/381444599/marketplace-morning-report

Global Lockdowns Resulting In 'Horrifying Surge' In Domestic Violence, U.N. Warns

This is so sad. Horrifying. Expected. Unplanned for. Thank you UN Secretary-General Guterres!

npr.org United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said that reported cases had doubled in some countries "as the economic and social pressures and fear have grown."

What The Coronavirus Means For Domestic Violence Cases

IPV & increased gun sales in the time of coronavirus.

gunsandamerica.org “People are urged to stay home and to practice social distancing to protect themselves and others from being exposed to COVID-19. Unfortunately, home is not a safe place for many women,” said Susan B. Sorenson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Ortner Center on Vi...

Found on a kids' music class FB page, great advice for all.

Ortner Center faculty fellow, Lyle Ungar offers some positive steps we can take to stay healthy during social isolation. https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/five-tips-stay-positive-and-healthy-during-social-isolation

UPDATE: Changes to the executive program convening, and FGM/C panel discussion postponed. Details here:
https://mailchi.mp/602f9b4762ab/event-updates-from-the-ortner-center

Violencia machista en Estados Unidos: el peligro de las armas de fuego - RTVE.es

WATCH: Michelle Hickman Harrington, 2019 grad of the exec. prog. for leadership strategy in violence & abuse prevention, Dr. Renee Norris-Jones, and Ortner Center director, Susan B. Sorenson talk about gun violence and violence against women with reporter Sara Rancaño.

rtve.es Violencia machista en Estados Unidos: el peligro de las armas de fuego. La 2 Noticias online, completo y gratis en A la Carta. Todos los informativos online de La 2 Noticias en RTVE.es A la Carta

We honor women around the globe today and every day.

Six Philly police were quietly fired, charged with abuse last year. Many will likely get their jobs back

C'mon Philadelphia PD - and the entire Philadelphia criminal justice system - you can do better.

inquirer.com The Philadelphia Police disciplinary code does not list domestic violence as a punishable offense.

Do more than talk about the Weinstein verdict - learn about strategies from activists to take meaningful steps to end s*xual harassment and assault in the workplace, via
Futures Without Violence.

https://checkyourworkplace.com/activist-guide/

Women Who Don't Wear a Hijab Will No Longer Be Arrested in Tehran

globalcitizen.org Police in the Iranian capital will relax the strict Islamic code.

Lyle Ungar, UPenn engineering professor, Ortner Faculty Fellow, and Twitter researcher extraordinaire, is named one of the AAAS - The American Association for the Advancement of Science Alan I. Leshner Leadership Institute Public Engagement Fellows for his work in AI. https://medium.com/penn-engineering/lyle-ungar-named-aaas-leshner-public-engagement-fellow-e74d0369c6dd

Advancing into the New Year with the Ortner Center on Violence & Abuse. Read the latest newsletter here - https://mailchi.mp/8c32f6d85427/advancing-into-the-new-year-with-purpose

Ortner Center on Violence & Abuse's cover photo

A Brain Link to STI/HIV S*xual Risk: Young women with Low Condom Use During S*x Find Visual S*xual Cues Less Pleasant and Less Evocative

Ortner Center Faculty Fellow, Anne Teitelman, CRNP, PhD, FAAN looked at how the brain factors in risky s*xual behavior in young women, in this article published by Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.

nursing.upenn.edu Data show that young adult women in the United States have high rates of s*xually transmitted infections (STIs) that increase their risk of HIV. Though ep...

Accused domestic abusers in Pa. are supposed to turn in their guns in 24 hours. Hundreds in Philly haven't.

Glad to see the news media highlighting one way to increase peace and safety.

inquirer.com Since the law took effect in April, 574 accused domestic abusers in Philadelphia were ordered to hand over their weapons, but only 62 of them complied.

Action Collaborative on Preventing S*xual Harassment in Higher Education - 2019 Public Summit

Make change! Register for a spot at this important public summit, either November 19 or 20.

eventbrite.com The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Presents: Action Collaborative on Preventing S*xual Harassment in Higher Education What: Satellite Meeting (Webcast Event) When: November 19-20, 2019 Where: University of Pennsylvania *More information to follow once registration is closed...

It’s a full house at the day-long conference organized by Aishah S. Simmons. Powerful speakers all morning and the afternoon promises more of the same. Watch the livestream here - asc.upenn.edu/live

Violence against Women and the U.S. Military. Co-sponsored by the Provost’s Office, the Trustee’s Council of Penn Women, and Penn Law. Discussion with distinguished panelists was livestreamed and the video posted online, visit ortnercenter.org for details.

Panelists:

Melissa Dichter, Ph.D., Temple University,
conducted multiple studies on violence against women service members


Andrea Goldstein, MALD, Senior Policy Advisor to the new Women Veterans Task Force, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and former Special Operations Forces troop commander

Andrew Morral, Ph.D., RAND Corporation, who authored several reports to Congress on s*xual assault and harassment in the military.

Emily Rothman, Sc.D., Boston University and, for 2019-2020, is with the Department of Defense, who just completed s*xual assault prevention study in the Navy.

Moderator:

Kathleen Brown, Ph.D., Penn Department of History and Director of Gender, S*xuality, and Women's Studies

University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice professor & Ortner Center director, Susan B. Sorenson spoke at the YWCA Greenwich event on Oct. 15, where they are making strides to increase awareness of domestic violence & create a safer community. Pictured w/Mary Lee Kiernan & Meredith Gold.

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio

UPenn professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice and Ortner Center director, Susan B. Sorenson was quoted in this article from WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio.

Women in the United States are more than twice as likely to be shot and killed by their male partners as they are to be killed in any other way by a stranger according to research.

These are some of their stories.

Ways & Means Oversight Subcommittee Hearing - September 26, 2019

View the hearing - https://youtu.be/IUe1ZN3LkU4