Deaf Women Rights - No Means No

Deaf women have something to say to you in sign language.

Thank you to all the Deaf women who took part in this, you are all amazing and should be proud of what we have made today. The goal of sexual violence prevention is to stop it from happening in the first place. Learn how to deal with the trauma and regain your sense of safety and trust. When you see something that doesn't seem right, there are simple ways to step in and help a friend.

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Deaf Hope for Women:
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Deanne Bray's Rude Awakening
Deaf Women Rights - No Means No
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Judge Convicts Deaf Men For Girl's Rape

A Delhi court has convicted two hearing and speech impaired for offences which included committing unnatural sex on a five-year-old girl.

NEW DELHI, India -- Additional Sessions Judge Ashwani Kumar Sarpal held the duo guilty after finding that the duo had conspired with each other in kidnapping the minor for the purpose of illicit sexual intercourse. They also held that the victim was so young that she could not even save herself and resist the attackers.

The incident took place in 2012 when the girl and her family went to her maternal uncle Abdul Gaffar's house during Holi. On March 8, 2012 she went missing while playing outside the house. Following this, when Gaffar started looking for her at 5.45 am on that day, he found his niece with a person who ran away after seeing him.

When asked, the victim confided in her uncle that one of the accused, who was accompanied by another man, forcibly abducted her after closing her mouth. Thereafter she was given bites on her lips, cheeks and chest following which she was raped.

The victim became unconscious on the day of the incident and recorded her statement a day later.

One of the accused was arrested on March 9, 2012 and the 'Pajami' (lower) of the victim was recovered at his instance. Subsequently, the second accused was also apprehended on March 12, 2012.

The accused persons who recorded their statement through sign language stated that they being falsely implicated and were ignorant about the present case.

Appearing for the accused, their counsel contended that no witnesses were joined in the probe. However, the court quashed this argument and stated that non-joining of any public witness itself was not fatal to the prosecution's case because often the general public do not easily agree to join police proceedings for a number of reasons. These include going to police station or court, fear of accused, or to maintain good relations with the accused, and to avoid any confrontation with him.

"Public persons are ready to watch the 'Tamasha' at the spot by standing at some distance but do not become ready to co-operate with the police," the judge said.

The court added that the victim has already suffered lot of trauma and grievous injuries at the hand of the accused persons. Even if the victim had not complained to anyone when she was brought back to her house, it could not be said that she was lying.

"It cannot be expected from a child of five years of age who was subjected to various injuries and sexual assault to stop people on the way and make a complaint to passersby," the judge said in its order.

The court fixed September 12 as the date for arguments on the quantum of sentence.

SOURCE - Daily News & Analysis

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Deaf Teacher Arrested For Raping Toddler

Deaf teacher arrested for defiling 6-month-old baby in Nigeria.

DAMATURU, NIGERIA -- 40-year-old Deaf teacher, Shaaibu Yakubu Abdullahi, has been arrested by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC), for allegedly defiling 6-month-old baby in Potiskum, Yobe state.

According to the NSCDC Commandant, Muhammad Gidado Fari, the suspect was arrested after a non-governmental organization, National Council of Women Society (NCWS) reported him to the corps.

He said the Deaf teachers allegedly conspired with his 10-year-old student, (name withheld) who took the 6-year-old baby to him from her neighbor’s house, “He defiled the baby,” he said

The commandant said the suspect denied any knowledge of the case, but the 10-year-old student insisted that it was Shaaibu, pointing at him in a group picture of staff and students taken in the school.

He said that the matter was taken to the state’s Ministry of Justice for prosecution as the case needs a professional in sign language to interpret.

The President, National Council of Women Society, (NCWS) Halima Kyari Joda, said the Baby was taken to University of Maiduguri for treatment,

“She was attended by a consultant, she underwent two separate operations. But, we will continue to pursue her case until justice is served” she added.

SOURCE - DailyTrust

Deaf Paedophile Sisters Sexually Abused Boy

Deaf British paedophile sisters sexually abused boy over 10 year period from age of six.

WORCESTER, United Kingdom -- Sisters believed to be Britain's first Deaf female paedophiles have been told to expect "very significant sentences" for sexually abusing a six-year-old boy. Sick Julie Fellows, 30, and sister Jennifer, 32, repeatedly molested the youngster over a 14 year period. Worcester Crown Court heard the sisters first started abusing the boy when he was aged six in 2000.

Julie was 14-years-old when she lured the boy into a petrol station toilets where she touched her private parts. On another occasion she performed oral sex on the youngster, the court heard.

Julie was found guilty following a trial of indecently assaulting a boy aged six to nine between October 2000 and April 2004 in Leominster, and sexual activity with a boy aged 14 -16 between October 2008 and October 2010 in Hereford.

Jennifer admitted indecently assaulting a boy aged six to nine between October 2000 and April 2004 in Leominster, and inciting sexual activity with a boy aged 14-16 between October 2008 and October 2010 in Kington.

Prosecutor Simon Phillips said: "The allegations date back many years and the more serious of them when Julie was 14 and the victim was six.

"The behaviour was so frequent it became routine and he thought it was the norm."

"Julie later moved in with her fiancé Adam and the victim was sitting on the sofa with Julie watching TV while Adam was asleep," the prosecutor continued.

"She started a conversation with him about what used to happen and she put his hand down her trousers. "She told him he needed to lose his virginity and said 'Who would you rather lose it to?'.

"She got him to get onto his knees and they had intercourse for a short period of time. She was between 22 and 24 and he was 14... Read The Full Story.

UPDATE:

Deaf Sisters From Kington Who Sexually Abused A Young Boy Escape Jail - Two Deaf sisters from Herefordshire who sexually abused a young boy over a period of 10 years have escaped immediate prison sentences after a judge said their condition would make them “completely isolated” in jail.

Their suspended sentences were given despite a statement to the court from their victim saying the sexual assaults had a “profound effect” on him, leaving him with flashbacks and nightmares... Read The Full Story.

Related Posts: #DomesticViolence - #SexAssault - #SexualViolence

It’s Why Deaf People Don’t Report To Police

When it comes to domestic abuse and sexual assault reporting, Deaf women are underserved by police in the United States.

NEW YORK CITY -- International Business Times: The abuse started with a few insults. When Wendy, a Deaf woman, met her college boyfriend, he was popular and attractive, so she put up with the harsh way he spoke to her. Then he gave her a black eye.

“I thought it was normal, and that that was love; that it was just a part of when you care about somebody,” Wendy, 38, who didn’t want to be identified by her real name because she has yet to go public with her story, said through a sign language interpreter. “Then the insults became a little bit physical, and then a cycle began.”

The cycle included her boyfriend holding her hostage in locked rooms after arguments, once almost forcing her to go to the bathroom in a bucket because she couldn’t leave. He beat her up on her 27th birthday, but she didn’t report it at least partly out of fear no one would believe her. She tells the story of a fellow Deaf friend who was abused by a significant other, and when police came to investigate, they didn’t believe the Deaf friend was abused.

“It’s why Deaf people don’t report to police,” Wendy, a Deaf community advocate in the central New York area, said. “It’s always ‘they won’t believe me.’ ”

Deaf women experience sexual and domestic abuse at much higher rates than women who hear, but are unlikely to report it. A new initiative announced last week from the Vera Institute of Justice, a New York City-based nonprofit, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime aims to change that by training police officers to facilitate communication with Deaf victims, such as teaching them how to find legitimate sign language interpreters. Activists say many law enforcement officials don’t know the best way to communicate with Deaf victims, discouraging the victims from reporting abuse.

“Now, they don’t have equal access to get the help they need,” Erin Esposito, a Deaf woman and executive director of the Rochester, New York-based Advocacy Services for Abused Deaf Victims, said of Deaf victims. “The goal is to create an atmosphere where Deaf people can feel confident to go into a police station and get help.”

The Translating Justice Initiative is a three-year program, funded with a $1 million grant from the U.S. Justice Department that will go toward virtual and in-person training sessions of police officers, prosecutors and court administrators to help them better communicate with the Deaf, as well as the hard of hearing and those with limited English proficiency. The training is intended to enable police agencies to look at their policies regarding Deaf victims, revamp them to better facilitate communication and show officers how to better use resources already out there to help the Deaf, said Susan Shah, one of the co-leaders of the initiative.

Officers will be instructed in telephonic interpretation services, finding interpreters in the community and ways to avoid outdated technology, Shah said. Another major part of the training is teaching police to reach out to the Deaf community so Deaf victims of domestic and sexual abuse can feel more comfortable coming forward.

There is no cookie-cutter training for every police agency as every one has different levels of how well they interact with Deaf people, Esposito said. While there have been localized efforts to fund programs for Deaf victims, this is one of the only national initiatives providing this type of training, activists said.

No one event spawned the project, which has been in development with the Justice Department and other agencies, such as Advocacy Services for Abused Deaf Victims and the National Center for Victims of Crime. The Office for Victims of Crime said in a statement that inroads had been made in recent years to serve victims who have disabilities or limited English proficiency, and that the program came about to bring together local efforts to help Deaf victims.... Read More.

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Deaf, Gay and Angry - Do Not Call Cops

Deaf Woman Allegedly Raped By Two Irish Men

Profoundly Deaf woman allegedly raped by two men in caravan through a social media site in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

BELFAST -- A profoundly Deaf woman was allegedly raped by two men in a caravan after arranging a meeting over social media, a court heard today.

Police claimed one of the pair had manipulated and coerced her into getting a taxi to the traveller site in west Belfast. The woman has also alleged her drink may have been spiked during the incident on the Glen Road early last Friday.

David Spence, 18, and Francis Gavin, 23, appeared before magistrates in the city accused of carrying out the sex attack. Both men deny charges of rape, insisting all contact with the woman in her thirties was consensual.

Spence, a trainee joiner from Ardcaoin Avenue in the Dunmurry area, was granted bail on conditions that include a ban on accessing computers. But Gavin, of Glen Road Heights in Belfast, remains in custody while checks are carried out on proposed addresses.

A judge was told the woman had been in contact with Spence through a social media site before a meeting was arranged. Describing her as vulnerable, an investigating detective said she made it clear that she was not interested in having sex at the encounter.

The officer claimed Spence had ignored requests to come to her house, instead arranging for a taxi to bring her to the Glen Road traveller encampment. Following the alleged attack he said she left the caravan and walked a quarter of a mile down a lane in the dark before reporting the incident at the first house with lights on.

Defence barrister Tom McCreanor, for Spence, put it to the officer that his client and the woman had "intimate and suggestive" social media exchanges before meeting.

The detective replied: "She does mention she likes sex. However, she is saying that's within a long-term relationship." Photographs were also sent between her and Spence, the court heard. Asked if the woman's vulnerability related to a hearing issue, the officer said: "This lady is profoundly Deaf."

He also claimed: "From the content of text messages there was bit of manipulation or coercion." But Mr McCreanor argued that his client had been in "consensual and encouraged communication" with the woman.

He told the court she willingly got a taxi to the caravan and was never prevented from leaving.

Granting bail for Spence to return to court in four weeks, District Judge Fiona Bagnall ordered him to live with his parents under curfew. He was banned from using mobile phones, computers and accessing social media sites, and must not go near either the alleged victim's home or the traveller site.

Gavin also faces unrelated charges of common assault, criminal damage to a window and possession of a knuckle duster over an incident on January 25.

Defence solicitor Eamon O'Connor stressed his client is not accused of making any of the arrangements to meet the alleged rape victim.

"He was at the site when the alleged injured party arrived," Mr O'Connor said. "He made the case in ten interviews that any contact between himself and this lady was entirely by consent."

During cross-examination the detective confirmed the woman claimed her drink may have been spiked. Forensic tests are still being carried out to establish if there is any substance to her concerns. But with police claiming Gavin has used six addresses in the last five years, his bail application was adjourned for further checks on where he might live if released.

SOURCE - BELFASTLIVE

Deaf Students Abused By Priests Win $30-Million

Deaf News: Deaf students abused by priests at Clercs de St. Viateur win record $30-million settlement in Quebec, Canada.

MONTREAL, PQ -- For the 150 victims, Deaf and severely traumatized, it took decades to come forward with their accounts of sexual abuse at the hands of the Clercs de Saint-Viateur.

But they finally named the 33 priests and religious staff and five lay people who they say abused them at the Montreal Institute for the Deaf, a boarding-school for young boys run by the Clercs, and on Wednesday they were awarded $30 million – by far the largest settlement for sexual assault in Quebec history.

At the top of the list is Father Anthime Paiement, accused of sexual assault by 24 young boys at the Institute. Most of the boys were around 10 or 11 years old at the time; some were as young as seven. Paiement’s obituary in 1998, at the age of 91, said he devoted his entire life to the Deaf, as a teacher and chaplain at the Institute, among other places.

Then came Brother Philippe Paquette, who 10 victims said repeatedly assaulted them, in the dormitory or the classrooms or priests’ quarters, where he lived from 1949 to 1984.

According to his obituary, his tasks included teaching the “little ones,” surveillance, cinema, and discipline. He died in 2009 at the age of 82.

Brother Gérard Barrette, meanwhile, was accused by seven plaintiffs in the class action suit of anal rape, among other things. Perhaps he is still alive.

The abuse spanned from 1940 to 1982. Some of the victims were abused over the Christmas holidays. Some were abused throughout their first year at the school on St-Laurent Blvd. in Villeray in 1962. Others were assaulted on a regular basis, over their entire stay – up to seven years’ time.

The list of abusers also includes the director of the institute, the nurse, the dormitory supervisor, and the priest at the confessional. According to one victim, the boys soon stopped going to confession. Another said he was abused by a priest, and when he sought help at the infirmary, he was assaulted there too.

For Robert Kugler, who has represented the victims since the class action lawsuit was launched in 2010, the amount of the award reflects the extent of the abuse and the vulnerability of the victims.

“All the victims were handicapped – they were Deaf and had difficulty communicating. They were stuck,” said Kugler, of the firm Kugler Kandestin. “It’s simply tragic.”

While no amount of money can replace what the victims lost in their lives, Kugler continued, it can help them move forward, get therapy and improve the rest of their lives.

The Clercs de Saint-Viateur du Canada will pay $20 million, while the Institut Raymond-Dewar – the new name for the Montreal Institute for the Deaf, as of 1984 – will pay $10 million.

If divided equally among the 150 victims, the $30 million would amount to $200,000 each.

But Kugler expects more victims will likely come forward, now that they have reason to believe it will lead to compensation. And an adjudicator, former Court of Appeals Judge André Forget, will be tasked with interviewing the plaintiffs, in private, to determine whether they deserve the base amount of compensation, 25 per cent more, or 50 per cent more, depending on the gravity of the abuse, and the gravity of the consequences of the abuse.

In 2011, the Congrégation de Sainte-Croix accepted to pay $18 million to former students who were sexually abused between 1950 and 1991 by members of the order in various schools, including Notre-Dame College in Montreal.

Read The Full Story.

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Maryland Court Reverses Deaf Sex Conviction

WATCH: Deaf News: Court reverses conviction of man accused of sexual abuse at Maryland School for the Deaf.

FREDERICK, MD -- The state's second-highest court reversed the conviction of a Deaf man accused of sexually abusing two girls at the Maryland School for the Deaf because he wasn't able to question the interpreter's translation of his responses during a police interrogation.

The Court of Special Appeals said Clarence Cepheus Taylor III, 40, was denied his constitutional right to confront and cross-examine the interpreter during his trial in Howard County Circuit Court in November 2013, the opinion said. Taylor said an interpreter who translated during his five-hour interrogation with a Howard County police detective had incorrectly interpreted his sign-language statements.

"It becomes kind of a game of telephone. A lot can be lost in those steps," said Taylor's attorney, Brandon Mead. He said Taylor's family has suffered, and his client has maintained his innocence.

Howard County state's attorney's office spokesman T. Wayne Kirwan said the office intends to appeal.

Taylor, who worked as a school aide, was sentenced to seven years in February 2014 after being found guilty of sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl at the Columbia campus.

Read The Full Story

Related:
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Deaf Church Treasurer Charged In Sexual Assault

Deaf News: Deaf church treasurer, sex offender, charged with molesting disabled churchgoer in Kansas.

OVERLAND PARK, KS -- A Deaf church treasurer, who is a convicted sex offender, is in jail after he was accused of molesting a church goer who has disabilities.

Rodney Sexton is charged with aggravated sexual battery. He is accused of molesting a 31-year-old man, who is Deaf and functions like an 8 year old.

Sexton made his first court appearance on Monday. A judge set his bond at $100,000 cash only.

Sexton is treasurer at Deaf Liberty Baptist Church in Overland Park, Kansas. It's unclear if his convictions from the mid-1980s for sex crimes were known.

Sexton is on the roster to teach sign language at Maple Woods Community College in January and he has apparently taught at the Metropolitan Community College in the past, according to online records.

Because of the Christmas holiday, KCTV5 could not reach community college representatives for comment.

The mother of the 31-year-old victim is heartbroken and angry. She wants to know whether church leaders knew about Sexton's background.

"I think people knew," the mother said. "This should never happen to another family."

In the mid-1980s, Sexton faced six felony sex charges involving a child. He was convicted on two counts and served time in a Kansas prison. He is not listed on the Kansas Sex Offender Registry because his convictions occurred before 1994.

He was released from prison in 1989 and released from probation four years later.

The victim's mother said her son loves his church and trusted Sexton. She said Sexton pressured her son to keep the molestation secret.

"This shouldn't happen to anybody sitting in a church or at school. This needs to be stopped," the mother told KCTV5. "My boy deserves to be protected."

People with special needs are four times more likely to be abused because they often don't realize they are being abused or they cannot articulate about the abuse.

SOURCE - KCTV

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Deaf Riverside School Sex Club - Rape Victim

Deaf students allegedly raped as part of Riverside school sex club.

LOS ANGELES, California -- Phobias, nightmares and acting out. That's how baffled parents described the behavior of their once joyful 13-year-old boy. He is Deaf and could not explain. Then came the call from his school.

"My son was raped. He was forced to participate in oral sex," his mother Geneva White-Sosanya said.

She and her husband Tunde Sosanya have filed a lawsuit claiming negligence.

Watch closed-captioning on KABC NEWS.

They had enrolled their son at the California School for the Deaf in Riverside, an institution that brings special-needs students from across the state to live on campus. Supervisors used computerized surveillance to help monitor students, especially at night.

"My son was bullied. He was forced. He was drug from his bed at night and this happened while the randomized computer checks were in place," said the distraught mother.

The parents were especially disturbed by how long the school waited to notify them of the attack. They were contacted three months after it happened and had not been present to comfort him when he was questioned by investigators. The school told the parents that seven other students were also involved.

"Gut wrenching," the boy's father Tunde Sosanya said. "I was with my wife when we got that news. My wife broke down crying."

Because the state operates the school, the California Highway Patrol and Child Protective Services were called to conduct a criminal investigation into what the Sosanya's attorney says was a sex club... Read The Full Story on ABC News.

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Deaf Student Charged For Sexual Conduct

South Carolina School for Deaf and Blind student faces sex charge.

SPARTANBURG, SC -- A Columbia teen is facing a criminal sexual conduct with a minor charge in connection with an incident at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind in Spartanburg, according to a sheriff's office report.

Deputies said they were contacted by a school official about a student who sneaked into a female dorm and, once inside, convinced a 12-year-old girl to have sex, according to the incident report.

The report said the incident occurred between Jan. 5 and Jan. 9.

Deputies said 18-year-old Montravious Jamal James is charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

The school released the following statement to FOX Carolina:

Our first priority is always the safety and security of the students. We immediately contacted the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office upon learning of these allegations and have fully cooperated with them throughout the investigative process.

Mugshot Info: Montravious Jamal James Mugshot

SOURCE

Related Posts: #WTF

Girl & Deaf Grandparents Killed In House Fire

Girl and Deaf grandparents killed in house fire hours before rape trial in the small town of Ohio.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- A northeast Ohio prosecutor says a 10-year-old girl died in a house fire early Monday morning, hours before a man suspected of raping her was scheduled to go on trial.

A total of three people were reported dead by the Youngstown Fire Department after the blaze on the city’s south side.

Neighbors in the 3600-block of Powers Way say they heard a loud explosion around 3:30 a.m.; moments later, they saw flames rip through the two-story home. “I looked out the window and the fire broke out from the bottom of the basement, just whoosh. And it was totally on fire.”

Dozens of firefighters were needed to control the flames. When it was out, firefighters found the bodies of two adults and their 10-year-old granddaughter. The adults are identified as Billy and Judy Schmidt, both in their 60s.

“Everybody who knew Billy loved him. He had friends all over the United States, he could probably go anywhere in the country and probably run into somebody that he knew,” said Connie Glozier, the victim’s sister.

The Schmidts, who were both Deaf, were raising their granddaughter. Neighbor Pamela Jones says the girl played with her grandchildren.

“I just can’t believe that something like this would happen,” said Jones. “I’ve been crying all day.”

Adding to the tragedy of this fire, the 10-year-old girl was the victim of an alleged sexual assault. The suspect, identified as 45-year-old Robert Seman, appeared in court this morning.

“On literally the eve of trial, hours before this trial was supposed to begin, this victim dies in a fire under suspicious circumstances, at the very least,” said Mahoning County Assistant District Attorney Stephanie McLaughlin. “Only 10 years old, somebody who did not deserve these things that happened to her.”

Seman has not been charged in connection with the fire, but his bond was revoked and he was taken to jail. If convicted on the rape charges, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison... Read The Full Story.

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The Sexual Abuse of Deaf Women in Philippines

The sexual abuse of Deaf women: a human rights scandal in the provinces of Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines -- According to the former Philippine Deaf Resource Center (PDRC), one out of every three Deaf women in the Philippines is sexually harassed or raped. Half of the cases happen in the victim’s own home, with neighbors and even family members being the most common perpetrators. Despite the general decrease in rape cases throughout the country, rape remains the most widespread crime against Deaf women.

Imagine living in a home that is also, strangely, a foreign country, where you can neither fully understand what is going on, let alone be understood. Now imagine your life was like that 24 hours a day every single day. This is the plight of women like Anica and Diane, two Deaf women in their 20s, who like many other Deaf women have been sexually abused.

Anica, born Deaf, is a petite woman with a bubbly disposition. But behind the sunny demeanor lies a deep scar. During her teenage years, she was sexually molested by an uncle. The case remains unreported because she is too afraid to file a report.

Living in the same compound as her uncle, she harbors a terrible fear not only of family retaliation but also of being misunderstood by the police, given a lack of trustworthy interpreters. She has little motivation to push through with her case.

Many abused Deaf women share Anica’s plight. Desperate, they feel there is nowhere to turn for help. Most are hesitant to confide in family members because of long-standing communication barriers.

Diane, both taciturn and mercurial, is another survivor. Linguistically isolated since early childhood, she can only communicate through gestures and drawings. Her chronicle is heart wrenching: she was trafficked from her rural hometown to a large city, where she was forced to work in the sex trade, from which after several harrowing experiences she finally escaped.

Then she went through what the system had to offer: Diane was shuffled from one government agency to another; lived in a shelter for women and children; was put into foster care for one and half years before her family was found and she was eventually returned home.

Tragically, these are not anomalies. Indeed, the numbers in this context are genuinely disturbing: according to the former Philippine Deaf Resource Center (PDRC), one out of every three Deaf women in the Philippines is sexually harassed or raped. Half of the cases happen in the victim’s own home, with neighbors and even family members being the most common perpetrators. Despite the general decrease in rape cases throughout the country, rape remains the most widespread crime against Deaf women.

To press charges against her traffickers, Diane would have needed an accredited interpreter to give her testimony (otherwise, the authorities might deem it hearsay), but she was not provided with one. Indeed, throughout her entire stay at the shelter, she had no access to any interpreters at all.

Diane also appears to be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but has never been diagnosed or treated because her deafness makes communication a constant challenge.

In a 2012 report by the PDRC, it was noted that a lack of awareness and sensitivity in dealing with disabled persons continuously bogs down our legal and judicial systems. For example, the inappropriateness of assigning male interpreters for female victims of rape and sexual violence may cause further trauma...

Read The Full Story.

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Deaf Teacher Aide Sentenced 10 Years For Sexual Assault

Deaf News: Teaching assistant gets 10 years for sexually assaulting Deaf student in Hawaii.

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- A state judge sentenced former Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind teaching assistant Alfie S. Lumabas to 10 years in prison Tuesday for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old student at the school.

State Circuit Judge Rom A. Trader declined the city prosecutor's request to impose restitution to pay for the girl's counseling because that expense is covered by a settlement to a separate federal lawsuit.

Lumabas, 38, agreed to serve a full 10-year prison term when he pleaded guilty in January to two reduced counts of second-degree sexual assault in a deal with the prosecutor. Ten years is the maximum penalty for second-degree sexual assault.

A September 2013 indictment charged him with two counts of first-degree sexual assault, which each carry a mandatory 20-year prison term.

Lumabas is legally Deaf. Through a sign-language interpreter, he declined to make a statement Tuesday before Trader handed down his sentence.

His victim, now 24, and who is also legally Deaf, had plenty to say through her own sign-language interpreter.

SOURCE

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Sex Offences Claim At School For Deaf Children

Sex offences claim at Donaldson's school for Deaf children in Scotland.

LINLITHGOW, Scotland -- Police are looking into claims sexual offences were carried out at the national school for Deaf children.

Donaldson's School in Linlithgow has been given a week to come up with a plan to deal with serious concerns about the way the school is being run.

Police are also assessing allegations. It is understood they relate to claims of serious sexual offences and how some people at the school responded to them. The school said it was unable to comment at this time.

A spokesperson said: "This is a sensitive matter and with internal investigations ongoing, we are unable to comment on the names, job titles or any other specifics of this case".

BBC Scotland understands some allegations are historical in nature.

Insufficient progress: Donaldson's is a grant-aided special school (GASS) supported by the Scottish government.

Local authorities from all over Scotland and the north of England refer pupils there and fund their placements. The notice calling for an improvement plan within a week is the first of its kind to be issued for 15 years.

A report from Education Scotland last year criticised leadership at the school - and a follow up report said insufficient progress was being made putting things right.

The school has stressed its first priority is always the safety and wellbeing of pupils and a new principal was recently appointed. Work is underway to come up with the improvement plan before the deadline.

SOURCE - BBC

Related Posts: #SexAssault - #SexualViolence

Gallaudet Sees Rise In Reported Sexual Assaults

Statistics Report - What we know about the data on college sexual assaults, surprisedly Gallaudet University the 1st ranks in the U.S.

WASHINGTON, DC -- This blog focuses on the news out there on internet about Gallaudet University being No. 1 on the list with highest numbers of rape reports.

For Gallaudet, a college for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the answer might simply be that campus officials speak sign language. As one Gallaudet offical told Emily Shire at The Daily Beast: “Our students are more likely to go somewhere on campus and report assault than go to a hospital because they have direct access to someone who speaks American Sign Language.”

Ricky Taylor also known as Ridor9th's vlog explains about the Judicial Affairs & Honor Codes in colleges & universities, plus Gallaudet's community at large. Plus, Taylor was sexually assaulted, too in 2002. Not many people knew of that as well - only 8 or 10 knew the truth.

The rise in reported sexual assaults on campus may be attributable to more awareness and, importantly, better procedures. College rankings are a pernicious business particularly so if you’re looking at sexual assault statistics.

Thanks to the 1990 Clery Act, colleges are required to report data on campus crime every year, including the number of incidents (or attempted incidents) of rape or sexual battery. But it’s pretty obvious that this number depends not only on the prevalence of sexual assault on campus, but also how diligently the college handles allegations of rape. As Nick Anderson reported recently, there are pending investigations at 89 colleges over how these schools dealt with reports of sexual violence.

A quick glance at the colleges with the most per-capita reports of sexual assault shows that they tend to be small, liberal arts colleges. (We’ve averaged the data for 2011 and 2012 to get a smoother picture.) It’s possible that Gallaudet, Grinnell, and Reed are the most sexually violent campuses in the nation, but it’s more plausible that these campuses have cultivated an environment where survivors feel more comfortable speaking out... Read The Full Story.

The Gallaudet students and Deaf community concerns and responses has reacted to a video showing, Tommy Korn #CarryThatWeight #EndDVSV #EndRapeCulture

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Deaf Girl Forced Into Sex Trafficking

Two people were found guilty of trafficking a Deaf girl into a brothel and handed 15-year jail sentences at Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday handed down a 15-year sentence to a woman convicted of taking a Deaf, HIV-positive 13-year-old from the organisation that was housing her and forcing her to have sex with an old man in a Phnom Penh brothel last year.

Presiding judge Taing Sunlay said that 44-year-old defendant Em Sophea, a reputed casino gambler also known as Je Srey, was also obligated to pay some $2,000 in compensation to the victim after being convicted of selling, buying or exchanging a person with intent under Article 15 of the anti-human trafficking law.

“Based on the hearing, and after clearly considering this case according to the laws, the court has found that Em Sophea is guilty,” he said, adding that Sophea had the right to appeal.

The conviction came after a decision in February to reinvestigate the case based on the defendant’s claim that she had been at NagaWorld at the time of the events in question.

Sophea was arrested on July 15, 2013, by the Ministry of Interior’s Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department based on a complaint from New Hope for Cambodian Children, an NGO that assists HIV-positive children, Sunlay said.

Sophea had taken the girl from the organisation’s premises in Kandal province’s Takhmao town, he continued, and forced her to have sex with an old man in a brothel located in the White Building, a slum in Phnom Penh’s Tonle Bassac commune, on June 16, 2013... Read The Full Story.

Related Cambodia:
Cambodia: Being Deaf, A Punishment
Deaf Cambodian Frees From ‘Prison’
Deaf Girl Forced Into Sex Trafficking
National Geographic - Deaf Culture in Cambodia

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Sexual Assaults in Deaf Catholic School

Pope resigns without apologizing to Deaf victims from St. John’s school.

MILWAUKEE, WI -- The spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI, surprised the world Monday, February 11th by saying he will resign at the end of the month “because of advanced age.” It’s the first time a pope has stepped down in nearly 600 years. Many on Monday, reacted to the news including SNAP, the Survivors Network for Those Abused by Priests.

In a statement, entitled “Pope resigns without ever apologizing to Milwaukee’s Deaf victims from St. John’s school,” John Pilmaier, SNAP Wisconsin Director said: “It is difficult today, with the announcement that Pope Benedict XVI is retiring this month, not to think of the many victim/survivors of sexual abuse from St. John’s School for the Deaf.”

According to SNAP, it was Benedict, as Cardinal Ratzinger in his previous post running the powerful Doctrine for the Congregation of the Faith CDF), who was in charge of the fate of the notorious Fr. Lawrence Murphy.

Murphy, Ratzinger knew, had sexually assaulted at least 200 children at the boarding school in Milwaukee. Ratzinger ordered that Murphy be left in ministry, unpunished and unprosecuted, undetected to the public, and remain a priest, with all the rights, honors, and power which the church grants only to ordained clerics, right up until his death.

In its statement, SNAP says: “Benedict never once contacted, spoke to, or apologized to the Deaf victims from St. John’s.”... Read The Full Story.

Related Milwaukee’s Deaf Victims:

MILWAUKEE, WI -- Movie about Catholic priest sex abuse scandal makes US premiere in Milwaukee. The controversy over the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal hits the big screen. Five Deaf men who led the first known public protest against clerical sex abuse in the United States.

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence In The House Of God.

Not only that, but Friday night is the US premiere of the film. It's called Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence In The House Of God a documentary focused on the sexual assaults within the church right here in Milwaukee and with bright lights, ticket lines, even a red carpet, the event had all the trimmings of a blockbuster premiere... Read More at Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence In The House Of God.

Related Deaf Catholic School:
Catholic Nun Helping Priests 'Rape' Deaf Kids
Deaf Children Sex Abuse By Argentine Priests
Priest Admitted Deaf Child Abuse In Confession
Montreal Institute For The Deaf Ex-Students Allege Horrific Abuses
Sexual Abuses Children At Montreal School For The Deaf
Sexual Assaults in Deaf Catholic School
Mea Maxima Culpa Silence In House Of God
Deaf Students Abused By Priests Win $30-Million

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Sex Assaults Lawsuit Involving Deaf & Blind Students

Settlement reached in lawsuit involving Hawaiian Deaf & Blind students.

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- A multi-million dollar settlement has been reached in a sex assault lawsuit involving Hawaii Center for the Deaf and Blind. It's been a year and a half since the State was sued by a group of students at the school. The students alleged they had been sexually abused by other students.

Friday, the attorney representing the group announced that a multi-million dollar settlement has been reached. A spotlight was cast on the Hawaii Center for the Deaf and Blind in the Kapahulu area in 2011, after police started investigating allegations of widespread sex abuse between classmates.

In August 2011, Honolulu attorney Michael Green filed a lawsuit against the state, on behalf of 50 to 60 students.

"What we found out was, and I never thought about this, that we had children who were the aggressors, we're talking about sodomizing boys, boys on boys, boys on girls, girls on girls, in the bathroom, on school buses, in the bushes, that because no one seemed to care it seemed like it was okay. So people who were victims became aggressors. And you know that part that maybe affected me the most aside from the fact it's happening to young people, and people that have disabilities is that if you cry out who can hear you? If you have blind students who can see it?" said Green.

The State has now agreed to pay $5M to settle the lawsuit - money that'll go to the victims, and to pay for counseling and treatment... Read The Full Story.

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Deaf Boy Sexually Assaulted In Florida

Mom says she caught suspect raping son inside abandoned house.

Jose Macias, 63, raped 13-year-old Deaf boy, police say. A woman tells WPBF 25 News' Angela Rozier she caught a man, later identified as Jose Macias, sexually assaulting her Deaf son inside an abandoned house in Fort Pierce.

A 63-year-old Fort Pierce man was in jail Thursday, accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy. The boy's mother told WPBF 25 News the incident happened Wednesday afternoon inside an abandoned house located at 202 N. 28th St.

She said she saw her son walk off with a man on a bike. By the time she caught up with them, she discovered them inside an abandoned house.

"(I) kind of caught them in the act," said the boy's mom.

According to a police report, the 13-year-old boy identified Jose Macias in a photographic lineup as the person who took him into the vacant house and sexually assaulted him... Read The Full Story.

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