Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Several troubling patterns emerged in existing coverage of child sexual abuse:

The language used to describe the abuse was often vague and inconsistent. Many articles contained ambiguous phrases, such as "sexual acts," "inappropriate sexual behavior," and "lewd and lascivious acts with a child." Such imprecise language limits the public's understanding of the issue and disguises its severity.

Nearly three quarters (73 percent) of stories were tied to a criminal justice news hook such as an arrest or trial that related to the aftermath of the abuse. This type of coverage puts the emphasis on the perpetrator instead of on the impact the abuse has on victims, their families, and the wider community. Such coverage also portrays child sexual abuse as an isolated event, ignoring its larger social context.

Prevention was rarely mentioned. Less than one-third (30 percent) of stories discussed solutions. Of those, the overwhelming majority focused on interventions to address abuse after the fact, while only a handful looked at preventing future abuse.

"This report makes it clear that we need to make prevention visible and generate stories of the possibility for social change," Cordelia Anderson, director of Sensibilities Prevention Services and president of National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse & Exploitation, said.

Friday, May 20, 2011

does no one find it a bit crass for feminists to use the slur motherf***er?

Thursday, May 19, 2011

incredible. from huffingtonpost:

BERLIN -- A man who was separated from his mother at the end of World War II and raised in New Zealand is meeting his German family for the first time after discovering his true identity.

The International Tracing Service in the town of Bad Arolsen says it helped 69-year-old George Jaunzemis find his family, 66 years after he was separated from his mother at a Belgian displaced persons camp and adopted by another woman.

Jaunzemis' mother searched for her lost son for years, but he was living in New Zealand with a Latvian woman who found him in the camp and spirited him away from authorities.

Jaunzemis stumbled across his story while trying to trace his family's Latvian roots. He is meeting his family in Germany this week and receiving his 150-page file at the ITS on Thursday.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

made me laugh today:

"I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok." -Shaquille O'Neal