Honoring Jim Hopper

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Honoring Jim Hopper, PhD

Jim Hopper is a highly respected clinical psychologist, researcher and forensic consultant who has dedicated his life to helping survivors of child abuse for the last twenty years.  

Jim has intensively studied the psychological and biological aspects of trauma and addiction and their treatment. He provides training on the neurobiology of sexual assault and traumatic memories for victim advocates, investigators and prosecutors in the military and civilian agencies in states around the U.S.

Dr. Hopper was a founding board member of "1 in 6", a non-profit organization dedicated to helping men who've had unwanted or abusive sexual experiences as boys live happier, healthier lives, and since 2010 has been a board member of the organization "Stop It Now!  

In the mid 1990s Jim developed an amazing web page which includes all sorts of information in hopes of educating the public about child abuse, and he wrote most of the content on 1in6.org, a comprehensive website that also showcases Jim's sensitive use of language when reaching out to men who have had unwanted or abusive sexual experiences.

Honoring S4OS (Speaking for Our Selves)

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Honoring  S4OS 

Speaking for Our Selves

S4OS (Speaking for Our Selves) was the first newsletter created by and for survivors of child abuse who developed a multiple personality disorder.  It was formed in the early 1980s and closed in 1989.  

According to reports back in 1987 the organization had 691 members.

The groups headquarters was out of Long Beach, CA.  

Jewish Survivors' Network Formed back in the 1980s

Back in the 1980s, there were a few   self-help group was formed for Jewish survivors of child sexual abuse, primarily made up of incest survivors.  The organizations also offered a monthly newsletter.  If you have any more information about these groups please forward it to Vicki Polin.  The organization shut down many years ago, yet it deserves a place in our history books.

Jewish Survivors Network: A Network for Jewish Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

P.O. Box 1566

Philadelphia, PA  19104

Jewish Adult Survivor's of Childhood Abuse Newsletter

P.O. Box 15242

Fremont, CA 94539

A newsletter focusing on issues specific to Jewish survivors.

V.O.I.C.E.S. in Action, Inc. (Victims of Incest Can Emerge Survivors)

P.O. Box 1488309

Chicago, IL 60614

Was an international non-profit organization which provides information, referrals and resource.  The group had a special interest group for Jewish Survivors of incest and childhood sexual abuse, which operated as a pen pal group; and for many years was ran by Vicki POlin

In Memory of Lynn Wasnak

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

In Memory of Lynn Wasnak
(AKA: Lynn Iverne Koehler - Wasnak)

1945 - May 14, 2013

Lynn Wasnak (AKA: Lynn W.) has been a pioneer in self-help / anti-rape movement since 1989.  After a group called Speaking For Ourselves closed (which was the first newsletter for individuals with dissociative disorders) –– Lynn Wasnak picked up where they left off and she founded  the organization "Many Voices", which offers a bi-monthly newsletter, information and resources for survivors with dissociative disorders.

Lynn was a phenomenal writer and author of several books on dissociation.  Her books include "Mending Ourselves: expressions of healing & self-integration" and "Multiple Personality Disorder from the Inside Out".  

Lynn has been a loved and cherished friend to many for over a quarter of a century.

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“Lynn Wasnak died May 14, 2013 in her home in Cincinnati.” Lynn would have approved of that factual lead, believing it was better to come out and write what you mean rather than dance around a subject or doll it up. The problem is, that those who are her friends know that Lynn left a legacy that is truly alive, and will be as long as those who need her wisdom and help choose it to be, as long as there is a community of survivors willing to share.

The last few decades of Lynn’s life were focused on the organization for which she became executive director (and every other title at Many Voices Press). Certainly she continued her successful freelance writing career, but even the money earned from that went to subsidize her advocacy for those who suffer from abuse and trauma. At one point she decided to master the complicated world of nonprofits, and struggled to keep the organization financially afloat by using her own funds and those of special friends. A post office box full of reader submissions, and email overflowing with expressions of thanks and a need for information kept her going because it was confirmation that her efforts were needed.

Later, when Lynn was stunned to discover she had stage four breast cancer, she fought harder and more self-sacrificingly than anyone should be asked to do. But, she did so because Lynn really was the embodiment of “many voices.” When a friend commented that she couldn’t understand why Lynn fought so hard to live when she was suffering so much, daughter Diane had the answer: “She was unselfish.” 

Lynn was a voice for living life with passion. She was a voice for the oppressed and suffering. She was an advocate for Alzheimer’s research after losing both her mother and sister to the disease. (Following her mother’s death, Diane was determined to navigate a complicated research donor process to honor Lynn’s desire to have her brain donated to Alzheimer’s research.)

While she was in the throes of a particularly difficult physical and mental period, Lynn amazed everyone by taking on the cause of a senior center that was closing in her area. (This was an organization she had no connection with previously.) She was tireless in her giving.

Lynn’s voices – all of them— resonated with both brilliance and passion. She tackled each challenge armed with reams of research and documentation. What must her oncologist have thought when she would arrive at each appointment armed with the latest studies and knowledge of all the intricacies of what she was experiencing! 

Now Lynn’s voice has been silenced by a body that simply could not keep up with her mind and her epic efforts. That is where the rest of the world must take up the songs she sung so eloquently and the debates she fought so well. While there will be no more newsletters, books or postings from this prolific writer, the issue of dissociative disorders and abuse remains. The suffering remains. Lynn was a conduit for disseminating information from those who survived abuse. It was her wish that someone would continue that role; but even without it, each and every one of those she touched can keep Lynn’s voice for healing alive. ManyVoicesPress.com will remain online. We hope you will write and create and share through this and the Many Voices Press Facebook page. The greatest gift to Lynn would be to know that she created a community that is united and able to sustain itself. 

Even if you are not comfortable posting anything, please visit these pages periodically to read messages from others and to see if Many Voices Press has found a new conduit leader. It’s the most meaningful way to honor the voice she used for so many so passionately. 

A special note: Lynn died without a will, believing her body would be disposed of after her brain was removed. Unfortunately, the way things work is that the body of the deceased research victim is returned to the family. Diane, who is struggling with the loss of her mother and financial shortages herself, asks anyone who would like to contribute to these arrangements to please send a check to her at Many Voices Press, Many Voices, PO Box 2639, Cincinnati Oh 45201

Honoring Bob Schwiderski

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Honoring Bob Schwiderski 

Since 1992, Bob Schwiderski has been an relentless and outspoken powerhouse when it comes advocating for the civil rights of adult survivors of sexual abuse.   

Besides being a Veteran of the Vietnam war, Bob is also a survivor of clergy sexual abuse by a priest.

Back in 1994, Bob was one of three former altar boys, who came forward and filed a civil suit against St. John's Catholic Church in Hector, MN along with the Dioceses of New Ulm, after accusing Rev. Wm. J. Marks of sexually abusing them.   Robert stated that his abuse began back in 1956 when he was 7 years-old and lasted until he was 13.

Honoring Jan Wohlberg

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Honoring Jan Wohlberg

For nearly twenty-five years Jan Wohlberg has dedicated a great portion of her life to helping others who have been sexually exploited by mental health professionals.

Back in 1989, the Boston Globe publicized two cases in which two prominent psychiatrists in the Boston area were allegedly sexually exploiting their patients.  After the exposé was published the survivors along with three other women who were also abused by therapists joined forces and formed the organization TELL (Therapy Exploitation Link Line).  Jan Wohlberg was one of these five brave women.

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Sex With Therapist: Silence is Broken
Associated Press - April 27 1992

BOSTON (AP) Jan Wohlberg said she was vulnerable after her husband was killed in 1973, and turned to a psychiatrist who later lured her into a 10-month sexual relationship.  As word spreads about such cases, more patients are going public with stories of having been coerced into affairs by therapists.

The man had impressive credentials and Wohlberg's husband, a Boston psychiatrist, had spoken highly of him.

Eventually she fought back by drawing attention to her case and to an issue that has dogged the medical community ever since, most recently with allegations that a Harvard psychiatrist had sex with a patient who later killed himself.

No one knows how widespread the problem is.  But a nationwide survey conducted by psychiatrist Nanette Gartrell in 1986 found 7 percent of male psychiatrists and 3 percent of female psychiatrists admitted having sexual relationships with their patients.  Other studies have found similar results.  

Since some psychiatrists refused to fill out the annoymous survey, fearing they would somehow be identified, Gartrell, a psychiatry professor at the University of California-San Francisco, believes there may be far more offenders.

Gartrell also found that nearly 90 percent of therapist-patient sexual encounters were between male psychiatrist ad female patients. But the latest Boston case is the reverse.

The family of Paul Lozano, a Harvard medical student, claims that Dr. Margaret Bean-Baylog had a sadomasochistic sexual relationship with him, and that he killed himself with an overdose of cocaine after she ended therapy.

Ben-Bayog flatly denied the claims.

In Memory of Diana Carson

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

In Memory of Diana Carson

Founder of VOICES In Action, Inc.
(Victims of Incest Can Emerge Survivors)

Back in the late 1970s Diana Carson was watching the first episode of The Phil Donahue Show, in which an adult survivor of child sexual abuse was speaking out about her abuse as a child.  The woman was sharing her story of incest.  

After several phone calls and letters to Phil Donahue, Diana gathered a group of women founded one of the first survivor based organizations called VOICE in 1980, which name was later changed to VOICES In Action, Inc. (Victims Of Incest Can Emerge Survivors). 

VOICES was in operation for nearly 30 years and helped hundreds of thousands of survivors internationally.  The organization offered Special Interest Groups (SIGS), an annual international conference along with a newsletter.

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Honoring Rick Springer

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Honoring Rick Springer

Back in 1992, at the age of 55, Rick Springer joined forces with LinkUp, (which was originally called VOCAL - an acronym for Victims of Clergy Abuse Linkup) started speaking out as a Catholic survivors of clergy sexual abuse. 

According to the  Chicago Tribune article "Silence is Broken", Rick Springer was quoted as stating:  "I knew that what he (his offender) was doing was wrong". . . "But I couldn't tell my family, which was alcoholic dysfunctional. I told leaders of my church, who said the archbishop of Chicago would be informed.  At the time Springer was studying to become a priest.  "But nothing happened. I was told to leave the seminary because I was not a good candidate for priesthood. That's the way it stayed for 31 years."

Since 1992, Rick has become a strong activist for hundreds of other adults survivors of sex crimes, and has been co-leading a self-help group with the Chicago based group called LinkUp ever since.

Honoring Laurieann Chutis

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Honoring Laurieann Chutis

Laurieann Chutis is a Licensed Certified Social Worker who was pioneer in the anti-rape movement when it came to the creation of self-help groups for adult survivors of sex crimes.  Laurieann was the long time Director of Consultation and Education Services 

Ravenswood Community Mental Health Center.

Back in the early 1980s Laurieann saw the need for survivors to network and share their personal experiences with each other in a safe manor.  She got to work and created the first train volunteers in how to run safe self-help groups for those dealing with all sorts of issues out of Ravenswood Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago; which lead to her authoring a booklet entitled "How To Start A Self-Help Group".  Her work was internationally known and was highly respected.

Laurieann is also the author of numerous articles, including her most famous guide sheet entitled "FLASHBACK", which was also developed back in the early 1980s.  

ALSO SEE:

1. FLASHBACK (1984)
2. FLASHBACK Trauma signals the start of healing  (10/08/1989)

Honoring Roland C. Summit, MD

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Honoring Roland C. Summit, MD

Dr. Roland Summit was a blazing pioneer in the anti-rape movement when it came to protecting children, along with adult survivors of child abuse.  He was both highly respected and shunned for speaking out for both child and adult survivors when no one else was willing to put their reputations out on the line.  

Roland C. Summit was the medical director of the Community Consultation Service, Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA; along with being the author of the historic document: "The Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome", along with being the author of numerous articles and books on the topic of child abuse.  Dr. Summit was a founding member of the boards of directors of Parents Anonymous and the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. Dr. Summit founded the Los Angeles County Child Sexual Abuse Project and the UCLA Family Support Program.

Back in 1981 Roland Summit was quoted as saying "As much money must be spent on the victims of child abuse as is spent by society to incriminate and punish those who abuse the youngsters", at a conference in California. 

He also stated that "For centuries, sexual abuse of children was treated as a myth, said to be exaggerated or even blamed in some cases on the children themselves".

Dr. Summit continued by saying ''We are seeing sexual child abuse in a radically different light than we did 10 short years ago. In a way, we're discovering it now - we believe it now.'' 

''The difference is that a few years ago children would encounter sexual abuse and would find nobody in the adult world who understood them when they attempted to make their problems known.'' He said "statistics show that most adults who abuse children sexually are neither mentally nor emotionally ill".

Also see:

1980s

1. Spend same on abused, abuser, MD says (11/17/1982)
2. The Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome (1983)
3. A Mute Girl's Story: Child Abuse and the System  (05/02/1984)
4. Experts on sexual child abuse try to defuse the time (01/27/1985)
5. The Stigma Being Wrongly Accused of Child Sex Abuse  (02/02/1985)
6. No One Invented McMartin `Secret' Techniques Were Right Ones to Get at Facts, Help Victims  (02/25/1986)
7. Study Focuses on Sexual Abuse of Boys Males May Be Victims in Up to 25% of Cases  (10/28/1986)
8. Sex offenders often victims of abuse  (07/18/1987)
9. Youth Groups Fear Specter of Sexual Abuse  (09/28/1988)

1990s

1. New Puzzle: High-Tech Pedophilia Technology: Computer disks confiscated in Glendora arrest contain sexually explicit material involving young boys. Police say the greater use of such equipment is more difficult to track down  (03/05/1993)

2000s

1. Scientific studies dispute writer's claim  (11/08/2004)
2. New Rule For Priests Avoids Facing Problem  (12/12/2005)

Honoring Barbara Engel

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Honoring Barbara Engel

Barbara Engel is a pioneering hero in both the anti-rape movement and in the domestic violence field.  

Over thirty-five year she was the director of one of the first rape crisis center, battered women’s program and child sexual abuse treatment and advocacy center  in the Chicagoland area.  

Ms. Engel initiated counseling and healing work with survivors, created the first sexual assault prevention programs for the Chicago public schools, while challenging institutional responses by law enforcement, the courts, and the medical and mental health systems. She co-authored protocols for the treatment of rape survivors and battered women in hospital emergency rooms and developed a protocol for Chicago police department response to rape survivors that is now promulgated as a national model.

Barbara embraced the importance of working in coalitions and was co-founder of the Chicago Sexual Assault Services Network and the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network and was active in the early development of the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and the Illinois Coalition of Women Against Rape (later renamed Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault) and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

In 1983 Barbara co-authored the Illinois sexual assault legislation and assisted in a statewide public education and action strategy that led to the model legislation’s passage. Since 1991 Barbara has been re-appointed by every Illinois Governor to the board of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority where she serves as a public voice for victim services issues helping distribute federal funds and coordinate criminal justice policy and program initiatives.

In 1993 Barbara was asked by Mayor Daley to chair the task force that wrote the innovative sexual harassment policy for the city of Chicago and developed an implementation strategy and office to work towards harassment free workplaces.

Barbara has also been involved at The Chicago Foundation for Women and as board member for the National Network of Women’s Funds/ Women’s Funding Network.

Barbara graduated with honors from the University of Chicago in 1975, received a Masters in Public Health and an honor citation from the University of Illinois School of Public Health in 1976. She has received numerous awards and recognition for her many decades of service.

Honoring Lucy Berliner

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Honoring Lucy Berliner

Lucy Berliner, MSW is an internationally recognized for her pioneering work in the assessment and treatment of sexually abused children.  Dating back to the 1980s, Lucy Berliner has written numerous books and articles on the topic along with consultant with various organizations and governmental agencies.  

Currently, Berliner is the director of the Sexual Assault Program at Harborview Hospital in Seattle, WA; and is also a clinical associate professor, at the University of Washington School of Social Work and Department of Psychiatry ad Behavioral Sciences. 

Honoring Beverly Engel

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Honoring Beverly Engel

Beverly Engel has been a psychotherapist specializing in working survivors of sexual abuse and women's issues for over thirty years. She is the author of over twenty self-help books and has been a keynote speaker at conferences in the United States and Canada.  

Honoring Nancy Mayer

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Honoring Nancy Mayer, RSW

Nancy Mayer is a registered social worker based out of Toronto, Canada; who has dedicated her life to assisting both and adults and child survivors of sex crimes to heal.

Over thirty years ago, Nancy started working in the anti-rape field working as a child and youth worker –– after being a foster parent for several years.  Nancy is highly regarded as an expert witness in cases involving both adult and child survivors of sex crimes, including those who were sexually manipulated by members of the clergy from various religions.

Mary Poppins On Protecting Kids

APRIL IS SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH

Mary Poppins On Protecting Kids

In Memory of Sophia Chamys

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

In Memory of Sophia Chamys

Lodz, Poland

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sophia Chamys was an extremely brave teenager, and someone who should never be forgotten.  Sophia was one of four women back in the late 1800s who were fighting for the civil rights of teenage girls and women who were kidnapped and prostituted in an international human trafficking ring back called the Zwi Migdal Society.  

Sophia was from an extremely poor Jewish family, living in small shtetl outside of Warsaw, Poland.  In the early 1890s her father "sold" his thirteen-year old child to Isaac Boorosky for eight rubles –– under he pretense of working as a maid in his widowed mother's kitchen.  Instead of working as a maid, Boorosky transported her along with several other teenage girls to Buenos Aries Argentina where they were prostituted.  At one point Boorosky married Chamys.  The marriage was one in which she was subjected to extreme forms of domestic violence.  Back in the 1880s, a woman was considered property, needless to say being married to a pimp, meant she was brutally raped by several men along with money exchanging hands.  

Sophia Chamys lost her life five years later, at the young age of eighteen from Yellow Fever.  Reports stated there were scares al over her body, where her husband Isaac had harmed her during his fits of rage.  

Prior to her death, Sophia shared her story with the local police.  Many knew she wanted it documented.  

Stop blaming parents, survivors and children

Stop blaming parents, survivors and children

In Memory of Jan Hindman

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

In Memory of Jan Hindman

Click on the image to enlarge

Case of David Mandel

Case of David Mandel

(THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

CEO of Ohel Family  Services

David Mandel has a long history of enabling sex offenders and allegedly helping to cover up sex crimes.  Even though his organization receives both State and Federal funding, the long time policy of Ohel is not to report suspected cases of sex crimes directly to law enforcement agencies.  Instead they bring the suspected cases to their rabbis to determine if a hot-line report should be made.  

David Mandel has also been promoting himself as an expert in cases of child abuse and neglect even though he does NOT have the appropriate education and training to do so.

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Table of Contents:

1997

1. Michele Miltz tells her horror story of how a sudden attack on the job at Ohel Family Services (02/21/1997)

1999

1. Victims Learn Kid Sex Offender Served No Time (09/12/1999)

2007

1. Child Molestation - David Mandel and Ohel Children's Home and Family Services (10/09/2007)

2008

1. We Must Feel The Pain And Anguish - By A Member of the Baltimore Community (03/16/2008)
2. Vicki Polin responds to Phil Jacobs article - Yisroel Shapiro Isn't Shackled, His Survivors Are (03/23/2008)
3. Is David Mandel a Mandated Reporter?  (09/21/2008)
4. Rabbinic Molesters Issue Moving Agudah (09/24/2008)

2009

1. "Saying it Like it is" - Bullying, Intimidation, Extortion Attempts (04/17/2009)
2. Should we be shocked that David Mandel Would Oppose the SOL bill in New York?  (04/26/2009)
3. Regarding David Mandel Opposing the SOL bill in New York (04/28/2009)
4. David Mandel Enabler of Sex Offenders on the Markey Bill (04/30/2009)
5. David Mandel on the SOL Bill: Once again putting offenders and orthodox agencies before the needs of survivors of sex crimes ]  (04/30/2009)
6. WARNING: Ohel's Support Group for Frum Survivors (10/13/2009)
7. David Mandel - An Expert On Abuse? I don't thinks so  (11/04/2009)
8. CALL TO ACTION: Demanding The Immediate Removal of David Mandel as CEO of Ohel (12/07/2009)

2010

1. HUGE PROBLEM: OHEL Training YU - Rabbis in Training Receive Lessons in Real-Life Traumas  (02/09/2010)
2. New Square appoints Vaad to deal with sexual abuse  (04/22/2010)

2011

1. Ohel: What do you say to the children who were abused that you neglected to report to CPS? (02/06/2011)
2. Call for OHEL Leadership Change - Ohel Jewish Children's Home and Family Services (02/27/2011)
3. Religious Women Protest Against Henna White and Ohel Family Services (02/26/2011)
4. Do you believed you were abused at Ohel or feel they mishandled your case? (03/03/2011)

2012

1. Mandated Reporting in NJ: Dr. Pelcovitz, what are you thinking?  (05/06/2012)

2013

1. Case of OHEL Children's Home & Family Services (01/10/2013)

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Also See:

• Case of Simcha Adler
• Case of Rabbi Moshe Eisemann
• Case of Kal Holczer
• Case of David Pelcovitz, PhD
• Case of the Unnamed Rabbi: Principal who impregnated a girl with learning disabilities

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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead

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