Julia K Cole

Below is a short article written by Jan Brown which was posted as a reply to my article Domestic Violence: Taking it like a Man--the Untold Story   five years ago.  My article can can be found HERE.   October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and throughout the month domestic violence advocates and the media's attention will be focused on bringing more public understanding to and promoting the eradication of men’s violence against women. However, not all intimate partner violence (IPV) fits into this neat little package. IPV against men, especially against men by their female intimate partners, has always been a hot button issue. The mere mention of male victims in a gathering of traditional domestic violence advocates creates great controversy.  While domestic violence advocates may know men are victims they insist that their victims service agencies (over 2,000 of them in the US) should focus exclusively on ending violence against wome...

In Italy in the 1990s, an 18-year-old was raped by her 45-year-old driving instructor. The assailant was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to jail. He appealed the sentence, and the case made its way to the Italian Supreme Court. The Supreme Court released the perpetrator and dismissed all charges, on the grounds that “because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them... and by removing the jeans... it was no longer rape but consensual sex.”  Women in the Italian Parliament wore jeans in protest, and the California Senate and Assembly did the same. Denim Day was born. Source:   http://www.stsm.org/events/denim-day Denim Day is a campaign to prevent sexual violence through education and public awareness.  April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Denim Day is a call to action for all people to come together by wearing denim as a visible sign of protest against sexual violence. By participating in Denim Day this April, you c...

1 in 3 women die of heart disease and stroke each year. Celebrate National Wear Red Day with Go Red For Women on Friday, Feb. 6, 2015 to help save women’s lives.  CLICK HERE   to Learn how you can join the movement nationwide and how you can honor women like yourself on this important day! Why is the red dress the symbol of women and heart disease? In 2003, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the AHA and other organizations committed to women’s health joined together to raise awareness of women and heart disease. The NHLBI introduced the red dress as a national symbol for women and heart disease awareness and the AHA adopted this symbol to create synergy among all organizations committed to fighting this cause. By working together to advance this important cause, the AHA, NHLBI and other women’s health groups will have a greater impact than any one group could have alone. Read More

Domestic Violence Awareness Month may be coming to a close at the end of October, but we must not forget that every day men, women and children seek safety and justice inside America's courts. Sadly, from New York to California, victims of domestic violence are facing a rationing of justice. Court furlough days have resulted in backlogs and delayed temporary restraining orders. Crippling budget cuts mean courts must reduce their hours of operation or close altogether. Turned away at shuttered courthouse doors, victims of domestic violence are left to fend for themselves.  In Oregon, "Jane" had to wait three days to file a Family Abuse Prevention Act Restraining Order because Friday was a designated court furlough day. In New Jersey, "Joe" sat outside a courtroom door for nearly five hours waiting to be heard while the increasing backlog of cases ultimately suspended civil and family court trials and delayed temporary restraining orders. And in Mississ...

This is so innocent and sweet, it's impossible not to just love it to pieces. A 4-year-old little girl in Australia wrote a letter to the prime minister, Tony Abbott, asking him to "let boys marry boys and girls marry girls," in an effort to persuade him to recognize gay marriage Down Under. Sabrina Franco was inspired to reach out to the prime minister after learning that friends of her mothers, a gay male couple, had to go all the way to New York to be married -- because same-sex marriages are neither recognized nor performed in Australia. Read More

 A weight loss trend that involves eating cotton balls has health officials issuing warnings for parents. It seems Americans are obsessed with losing weight or wearing a smaller size, and images from the media reinforce a false perception of beauty. "I think, especially young girls, don't realize that those models are airbrushed," said Amy Garlove, a pediatrician at Norton Healthcare. "There's a lot of Photoshopping that goes into that." Young girls are trying to measure up to the glamorous women they see in magazines and on TV. Many times these models often go to extremes to stay thin. It's an unobtainable -- and dangerous -- goal, and Garlove says social media and websites can make things worse. "Now in this day and age, we have the added insult, essentially, of the Internet, and so girls can get these ideas from other girls," Garlove said. Some of those ideas are so disturbing, they're hard to comprehend. There are now repor...

To celebrate the American Cancer Society’s 100 th Birthday – along with 100 years of saving lives – I’m raising $100 in 100 hours, through Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. I’m asking for your help to reach my goal. Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is the largest network of breast cancer awareness events in the nation, uniting nearly 300 communities to finish the fight. Every breast cancer walk and event is an incredible and inspiring opportunity to honor those who have battled breast cancer, raise awareness about what we can do to reduce our breast cancer risk, and raise money to help the American Cancer Society fight the disease with research, information and services, and access to mammograms for women who need them.  One hundred years ago, the American Cancer Society started the fight of a lifetime – the fight against cancer. I’m working to reach my goal of $100 in 100 hours to help the American Cancer Society reach their goal to make this cancer’s last c...

Convicted serial killer Rodney Alcala was found guilty in 2010 of killing four women and a 12-year-old girl in Southern California in the 1970s. Alcala, 69, is a former photographer and a one-time dating-show contestant who has been behind bars since 1979.  Police in California previously released dozens of photos, including the ones seen here, taken from a storage space rented to Alcala. Recognize the people in this photo?  Please contact Huntington Beach, Calif., Police Det. Patrick Ellis at  714-375-5066  or  pellis@hbpd.org .  Click HERE to view All the photos Or copy and paste the URL below http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-504083_162-10006434.html

People are seeking loved ones from all over the world.  Someone out there knows something!  Could that someone be YOU? Below are just a few of the sites that have listings of Missing Persons from all around the world.    Thankfully, quite a few missing persons have been found safe!  But so many, many, many more haven't!    And then there's the cold cases, the unsolved deaths and murders, and so on!    If you have information on any of these cases...SHARE IT!  There is Hope your one small tip can lead to solving a mystery. The more people aware and looking--the better the chances are for our Missing!   Please be sure to Share the sites below on   ALL your  Social Networks!  PLEASE CHECK BACK OFTEN! I WILL BE ADDING ADDITIONAL SITES FROM TIME TO TIME! ~*~*~*~ *Outpost for Hope*   NEWLY ADDED http://www.outpostforhope.org/ Charley Project http://www.charleyproject.org/ ...

Domestic Violence does not discriminate against age, race, color, creed, gender or sexual orientation. The U. S. Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) defines domestic violence as a "pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner" .  The definition adds that domestic violence "can happen to anyone regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender", and that it can take many forms, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional, economic, and psychological abuse Our society, both here in the United States and world-wide, have been conditioned to think and believe that domestic violence only means women and children.   But the sad fact is, it also includes boys and men. “When we ignore male victims of domestic abuse, we also ignore their children, who continue to be damaged by witnessing the violence regardless of how severe it is. We cannot br...

Domestic Violence.   It's Everybody's Business! But how many turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to it?  Sadly too many to count. While the majority of such violence reported involved  women and children, an alarming number of men who are victims go unreported ...  even ignored. "... activists for “men’s rights” have suggested that policy-oriented efforts for women have been misplaced, because they focus entirely on women as the victims of domestic violence .  “men are the victims of domestic violence at least as often as women” (Brott, 1994). " [emphasis added] ( http://new.vawnet.org/Assoc_Files_VAWnet/GenderSymmetry.pdf ) *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* And we are not just talking about gay men in this regard.   Hetero-sexual men fall prey to domestic abuse as well.  You don't hear about it very often -- if at all .   Pride and shame prevent many of these men from coming forward.  Shame of not bein...