Margaritas Mexican Restaurant, 390 Western Avenue in Augusta, ME on Tuesday, May 1 from 4:00 to 10:00pm.

Margaritas will host a Noche Mexicana Fundraiser and donate 15% of pre-taxed food and beverage sales from participating families, friends and supporters to the Sexual Assault Crisis & Support Center. Guests can choose items from any of their menus.

Be sure to mention the fundraiser to your server.

WE are offering a raffle for a NEW KAYAK!

Raffle winner picked on May 5th.  You do NOT need to be present to win.

$1 each or $5 for 6!

Click below to purchase tickets online

$1 -1 ticket

$5 -6 Tickets

$10 – 12 Tickets

$20 – 24 Tickets

Lets do it again! Every dollar makes a difference.

April 3, 4 &5 at Ruby Tuesday’s in Augusta & Waterville you’ll have your chance!  Bring in the flyer (you can download below) to your lunch and dinner on either of these 3 days, and Ruby Tuesday’s will donate 20% of your purchase!  For every $20 you spend we will receive $4!

Download your flyer here:

History of Cinco De Mayo:

http://www.mexonline.com/cinco-de-mayo.htm

Mexican Costumes:

• http://www.buycostumes.com/browse/Adult-Costumes/Cinco-de-Mayo/_/N-3iZ1z141q8/results1.aspx
• http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&x=0&ref_=nb_sb_ss_i_1_25&y=0&field-keywords=mexican%20dresses%20for%20women&url=search-alias%3Dapparel&sprefix=mexican%20dresses%20for%20women
• http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&scn=727627011&redirect=true&ref_=sr_nr_scat_727627011_ln&keywords=Serape&qid=1286273276&h=bad101f2bb5dc5866219b67249dfec683c9c702c&rh=n%3A727627011%2Ck%3ASerape
• http://www.squidoo.com/mexican-female-dress
• http://womens-fashion.lovetoknow.com/Traditional_Mexican_Clothing_for_Women
• http://voices.yahoo.com/ideas-mexican-halloween-costumes-6955406.html

Do It Yourself costumes:

• http://www.ehow.com/how_5932360_make-homemade-mexican-costume.html
• http://www.buzzle.com/articles/mexican-costume-ideas.html
• http://whatiwore.tumblr.com/post/217233966/what-i-wore-halloween-guide-frida-kahlo

“All you need is love.”

 - John Lennon (1940-1980)

Facts about Tweens and Teen and Dating Violence

Prevalence of Violence in Tweens

• Approximately one in three adolescent girls in the Unites States is a victim of physical, emotional, or verbal abuse from a dating partner.
• In a national online survey, one in five tweens – age 11 to 14 – say their friends are victims of dating violence and nearly half who are in relationships know friends who are verbally abused.
• A survey found that one in four 7^th grade girls (24.9 percent) and more than one in five boys (21.2 percent) reported perpetrating physical violence in a dating relationship in the past year.
• Boys are more likely to inflict injuries as a result of perpetrating dating violence than girls. This trend – where girls slap and push and boys hit and punch – continues into adulthood.

Prevalence of Violence in Teens

• Nationwide, nearly one in ten high-school students (9.8 percent) has been hit, slapped, or physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend.
• Teens in same-sex relationships experience rates of violence and abuse similar to rates experienced by teens in heterosexual relationships. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health finds that nearly one in four teens and young adults (ages 12-21 years) in same-sex romantic or sexual relationships reported some type of partner violence victimization in the past year-and-a-half. One in ten reported experiencing physical violence by a dating partner. Females were more likely to report victimization than males.
• Nearly one in ten 15-year-old girls disclosed experiencing physical dating violence and one in four disclosed experiencing psychological abuse.
• Nearly one in three sexually active adolescent girls in 9^th to 12^th grade (31.5 percent) report ever experiencing physical or sexual violence from dating partners.
• One in four teen girls in a relationship (26 percent) says she has been threatened with violence or experienced verbal abuse, and 13 percent say they were physically hurt or hit.
• One in three teens reports knowing a friend or peer who has been hit, punched, kicked, slapped, or physically hurt by a partner.

Teen Dating Violence Facts vs. Myths

Myth

Teen dating violence rarely happens.

Fact

Teen dating violence is as common as domestic violence in adult relationships. A 2001 study of high school students conducted by Harvard University found that one in five teenage girls had been physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.

Myth

Teen girls are as abusive as boys.

Fact

Research shows that teen girls are not as likely to be as abusive as teen boys. Teen boys are far more likely to initiate violence and teen girls are more likely to be violent in a case of self-defense.

Myth

Some victims of teen dating violence or sexual assault provoke the violence committed by their dates by making them jealous, acting mean, or teasing them into thinking they want to have sex.

Fact

Dating violence is NEVER a victim’s fault. There is no such thing as victim precipitated violence.

Myth

Teen dating violence is just arguing. It’s not dangerous like domestic violence in adult relationships.

Fact

Teen dating violence can be very dangerous – sometimes lethal. Results of teen dating violence and sexual assault include serious physical harm, emotional damage, sexually transmitted disease, unwanted pregnancy, and death.

Myth

Teen dating violence only occurs between boys and girls.

Fact

Teen dating violence and sexual assault is estimated to occur between lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth at about the same rate as in straight teen relationships. (NCAVP, 2001; Dahir, 1999) However, LGBTQ youth are even less likely than heterosexual youth to tell anyone or seek help, and there are fewer resources for these teens.

Myth

Teens experiencing dating violence usually tell a trusted adult.

Fact

Teens experiencing dating violence usually tell no one. When they do tell, they usually tell another teen. One study found that only 6% of girls and 11% of boys told anyone about the abuse that they experienced (O’Keefe and Treister, 1998).

Myth

Alcohol and drugs can cause teen dating violence and sexual assault.

Fact

Alcohol and drugs can and do exacerbate violence, but they are NEVER the cause of violence (Bennett, 1997; Schechter and Ganley, 1995).

Myth

Sexual assault rarely happens to teens, and when it does, it is perpetrated by a stranger.

Fact

Middle school, high school, and college age women experience a higher rate of rape than any other group. Rape is most likely to be perpetrated by someone the victim knows, such as a friend, an acquaintance, a date, a family member, or a partner (Silverman, Raj, Mucci, and Hathaway, 2001; Warshaw, 1988; Haplem, Oslak, Young, Martin, and Kupper, 2001).

Myth

Some teens like to be abused that’s why they stay in the relationships.

Fact

No one likes to be controlled or abused! There are many reasons youth stay in abusive relationships. These include:

1. Having a boyfriend or girlfriend is very important to a youth’s social status;
2. Wanting to be loved and needed;
3. Believing the abuser’s apologies and promises to never do it again; and
4. Peer pressure.

Television, music, movies and other forms of media normalize violence (Aldridge, Friedman, and Occhiuzzo Giggans, 1995).

Dating Abuse Statistics

Too Common

• Nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year.
• One in three adolescents in the U.S. is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds rates of other types of youth violence.
• One in 10 high school students has been purposefully hit, slapped or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend.
• One quarter of high school girls have been victims of physical or sexual abuse.

Why Focus on Young People?

• Girls and young women between the ages of 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence — almost triple the national average.
• Violent behavior typically begins between the ages of 12 and 18.
• The severity of intimate partner violence is often greater in cases where the pattern of abuse was established in adolescence.
• About 72% of eighth and ninth graders are “dating”.

Long-lasting Effects

• Violent relationships in adolescence can have serious ramifications by putting the victims at higher risk for substance abuse, eating disorders, risky sexual behavior and further domestic violence.
• Being physically or sexually abused makes teen girls six times more likely to become pregnant and twice as likely to get a STI.
• Half of youth who have been victims of both dating violence and rape attempt suicide, compared to 12.5% of non-abused girls and 5.4% of non-abused boys.

Dating Violence and the Law

• Eight states currently do not include dating relationships in their definition of domestic violence. As a result, young victims of dating abuse often cannot apply for restraining orders.
• New Hampshire is the only state where the law specifically allows a minor of any age to apply for a protection order; more than half of states do not specify the minimum age of a petitioner.
• Currently only one juvenile domestic violence court in the country focuses exclusively on teen dating violence.

Lack of Awareness

• Only 33% of teens who were in a violent relationship ever told anyone about the abuse.
• Eighty one percent of parents believe teen dating violence is not an issue or admit they don’t know if it’s an issue.
• A teen’s confusion about the law and their desire for confidentiality are two of the most significant barriers stopping young victims of abuse from seeking help.

Teen Dating Violence Resources

Futures Without Violence

LoveIsRespect.org

Love Is Not Abuse

National Domestic Violence Hotline

National Network to End Domestic Violence

Nicole Brown Foundation

Information from this page comes from:

The Facts on Tweens and Teens and Dating Violence

Between Friends – Building A Community Without Domestic Violence

Lets do it again! Every dollar makes a difference.

February 22, 23 & 24 at Ruby Tuesday’s in Augusta you’ll have your chance!  Bring in the flyer (you can download below) to your lunch and dinner on either of these 3 days, and Ruby Tuesday’s will donate 20% of your purchase!  For every $20 you spend we will receive $4!

Download your flyer here:

RT7291_giveback_Dining to Make a Difference_2012 2-22.23.24

February 13th, Maine General Waterville Seton unit, 5th floor, 12 noon. (Click to enlarge)

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Stalking Awareness Month 2012

In January 2004, the National Center for Victims of Crime launched National Stalking Awareness Month (NSAM) to increase the public’s understanding of the crime of stalking. NSAM emerged from the work of the Stalking Resource Center, a National Center program funded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice, to raise awareness about stalking and help develop and implement multidisciplinary responses to the crime.

Stalking is a crime that occurs more than people may think.

In the United States,

• 3.4 million people over the age of 18 are stalked each year, and out of those 3.4 million, 3 in 4 are stalked by someone they know.
• 30% of stalking victims are stalked by a current or former intimate partner. 10 % are stalked by a stranger.
• 81% of women stalked by a current or former intimate partner are also physically assaulted by that partner. 31% are also sexually assaulted by that partner.
• Persons aged 18-24 years experience the highest rate of stalking.
• 87% of stalkers are men.
• 46% of stalking victims experience at least one unwanted contact per week.
• 1 in 4 victims report being stalked through the use of some form of technology (such as e-mail, text messages, or instant messaging).
• 10% of victims report being monitored with global positioning systems (GPS), and 8% report being monitored through video or digital cameras, or listening devices.

What to Do if You Are Being Stalked?

• If you are in immediate danger, please call 911.
• Trust your instincts. If you feel unsafe, call for help.
• Always take threats seriously.
• Do NOT return calls or respond to attempts from the stalker to contact you.
• Talk with your local law enforcement. It is important to notify them of what is happening. The stalker may have broken other laws by stealing or vandalizing your property.
• Document the conduct. Keep an incident log. Document each time the stalker contacts you and your response. Give police a copy of your incident log with dates and times. This report might become public so use a postal box address to protect privacy.
• Keep evidence when stalking occurs. This can include things as simple as keeping emails, phone messages, and letters that the stalker has sent to you.
• Tell people about the stalking and seek out support. Be sure to notify any security at your workplace or school. Do not be afraid to ask them to watch for this person or walk you to your car.
• Call for help. Advocates can help design a personalized safety plan, give information on laws and provide options and advice on places to go to seek help.

In the News:

“Stalking can cause medical and psychological issues for its victims”

Pulaski County Daily News

Help for Victims:

Stalking Resource Center – Stalking Safety Planning

Stalking Resource Center – Incident and Behavior Log

Stalking – A Handbook for Victims

Stalking Resource Center – Address Confidentiality Programs

Outreach Materials:

Are You Being Stalked?

Stalking Resource Center – Stalking Fact Sheet

Stalking Legislation:

Maine Criminal Stalking Laws

More Information on Stalking:

Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report – Stalking Victimization in the United States

The Model Stalking Code – Responding to the New Realities of Stalking

Model Campus Stalking Policy

Resources:

Help is available to any victim through the local domestic violence projects and sexual assault support centers. You do not have to be a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault to seek help.

Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence

Helpline: 1-866-834-HELP

Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault

Sexual Assault Crisis & Support Line: 1-800-871-7741

Sexual Assault Crisis & Support Center

Sexual Assault Crisis & Support Line: 1-800-871-7741

(Information gathered by Nathan Mitchell, Community Outreach Intern)