Sexual Violence

As Thomas Kelly, principal of Stetser Elementary School, left his office and began walking toward a classroom, one of his young students stopped him. Standing on tiptoes, the small girl asked, "Are you done being busy yet?" Responding with a broad smile and a quick laugh, Kelly stopped and took time to address the student's concerns. "It's very important to make children aware there is someone they can come to," Kelly said. "Children need to know there is someone who will listen to them.

A few months ago, the heavy-metal band Guns 'n' Roses stopped over in Philadelphia during its largely sold-out, nationwide tour. Like all teen- oriented bands, it rakes in an enormous amount of revenue on accessories - posters, T-shirts, etc. On this tour, there was one particular item being sold, a standard black concert T-shirt displaying the tour dates, cities and the perfunctory artwork that is meant to be a small social synopsis of what...

Where the Founding Fathers met, about 150 women gathered in front of Independence Hall yesterday morning and held these truths to be self-evident: That "sexual and physical violence must end. " That "discrimination because of race, color, religion, age, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability or class must be eliminated. " That "choices of lifestyle and sexual preference must be supported. " That "reproductive rights must be guaranteed. " That "equality in law must be achieved.

An anthropologist at the University of Pennsylvania yesterday criticised fraternities for using their initiation rites to perpetuate what she described as a "phallo-centric sexual culture" that sanctions violence against women on college campuses. Peggy Sanday, a Penn anthropology professor, described a 1983 incident in which pledges at a Penn fraternity were blindfolded with a sanitary napkin, stripped naked, and forced to put a heat ointment on their genitals while other fraternity brothers urged them not to act like "fags" or "wimps.

The brutal rape and beating of a young woman who was left for dead by a teen-age gang was the most vicious in a series of assaults in Central Park on April 19. It was the only one involving sexual violence. Explanations that rely on race or class alone miss the key role gender played: The jogger was victimized because she was a woman, and the boys apparently acted out of a misguided notion of how to prove their manhood. Sexual violence against women is rampant. More than 3,400 women will report being raped this year in New York City, and thousands more will be raped and never report it. The Federal Bureau of Investigation says a woman is raped in the United States every six minutes; one of 10 women will be raped in her lifetime.

  The day seemed routine for Teri Wright, who came home from her job as a national operations manager in Center City, ate dinner, watched TV, and went to bed. But at about 2 a.m., she was awakened by four men who had broken into her house. They tied her up at gunpoint. Wright was raped four times. "I had a choice that night," said Wright, 48, of Edgewater Park, Burlington County. "I could have untied myself and laid in the bed" and kept a secret. Instead, she ran for help and reported the assault to police.

In some ancient cultures, a rapist who attacked his victim outside the walls of the city was stoned to death, according to Joyce Lukima, a training specialist for the Pennsylvanian Coalition Against Rape. But if the assault occurred inside the gates of the town and the victim later accused her attacker, both were executed, Lukima said. The common belief was that if the victim had resisted strenuously enough, her cries for help would have been heard. "She was seen not as a victim but a consensual adulteress," Lukima said.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) introduced legislation Thursday designed to reduce sexual violence on college campuses. The Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act would require colleges and universities to spell out their policies regarding sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. Casey said the bill would close a gap in federal law under which those policies need not be disclosed. "Sexual violence is a tragic and harsh reality on college campuses throughout the country," Casey said in a news release.

Directed by Chan-wook Park. With Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, and Matthew Goode. Distributed by Fox Searchlight. Running time: 1 hour, 52 mins. Parent's guide: R (violence, sexual violence, sex, profanity, adult themes). Playing at: Ritz East and Rave Motion Pictures/NJ.

Students at Swarthmore College say they plan to file a second federal complaint claiming that the school has not adequately responded to reports of sexual assault. A coalition called Swarthmore Assault Prevention and Survivor Advocates (SAPSA) said the new filing will allege that the college violated Title IX provisions by allowing a sexually hostile environment and denying women equal access to education opportunities. The Title IX law, commonly associated with funding for women's sports, also contains civil-rights regulations.

Students at Swarthmore College say they plan to file a second federal complaint claiming that the school has not adequately responded to reports of sexual assault. A coalition called Swarthmore Assault Prevention and Survivor Advocates (SAPSA) said the new filing will allege that the college violated Title IX provisions by allowing a sexually hostile environment and denying women equal access to education opportunities. The Title IX law, commonly associated with funding for women's sports, also contains civil-rights regulations.

Violence against women is a profoundly serious and disturbing problem throughout the world. Daily we are reminded that global leaders have failed to address or find adequate remedies for the horrific tragedies that befall women and girls. Many of the victims are doing little more than trying to survive and provide stable lives for themselves and their children. We like to think it is different here at home. We expect women will be safe and treated fairly. We assume that no political party or partisan agenda will stand in the way of ensuring the safety of our grandmothers, our mothers, and our daughters.

Directed by Chan-wook Park. With Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, and Matthew Goode. Distributed by Fox Searchlight. Running time: 1 hour, 52 mins. Parent's guide: R (violence, sexual violence, sex, profanity, adult themes). Playing at: Ritz East and Rave Motion Pictures/NJ.

Sen. Levin says this term is last WASHINGTON - Michigan Democrat Carl Levin announced Thursday that he would not run for reelection in 2014, adding to an exodus of experience in the Senate. Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said his decision would free him to serve his state and nation best by "doing my job without the distraction of campaigning. " In a statement, he cited four issues he wanted to focus on in his remaining time in office: tax reform, American manufacturing, campaign finance, and military readiness.

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with employees who combat sexual violence, Gov. Corbett visited Philadelphia on Thursday to highlight a proposed $700,000 increase in state funding to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, one of the state's leading advocacy groups for victims of sexual assault. During a news conference at the Center City offices of Women Organized Against Rape (WOAR), a crisis center that receives funding from the coalition, Corbett said the additional money, included in his budget proposal last month, would represent a 10 percent increase for the agency, and help it and its affiliated crisis centers fight sexual violence and advocate for victims.

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with employees who combat sexual violence, Gov. Corbett visited Philadelphia on Thursday to highlight a proposed $700,000 increase in state funding to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, one of the state's leading advocacy groups for victims of sexual assault. During a news conference at the Center City offices of Women Organized Against Rape (WOAR), a crisis center that receives funding from the coalition, Corbett said the additional money, included in his budget proposal last month, would represent a 10 percent increase for the agency, and help it and its affiliated crisis centers fight sexual violence and advocate for victims.

THE VICIOUS attacks on two women in India and Pakistan are grim reminders that violence against women is still common currency in much of the world. In Delhi, the barbaric rape committed by six men on a bus against a 23-year-old woman was so brutal that she was nearly eviscerated and later died of internal injuries. In Pakistan, a 15-year-old schoolgirl who advocated for the education of women was shot in the head and neck by the Taliban. She survived and is facing a long, anguished recovery.

A YOUNG WOMAN is savagely gang-raped and beaten one December evening on a moving bus in New Delhi. Hordes of protesters gather in India's capital and demand that the six perpetrators be hanged or at least castrated. India's electronic media offer continuous coverage of the sort once reserved for important cricket matches. The woman, a medical student, suffers infections in her lungs and abdomen and an injury to the brain, and is flown to a hospital in Singapore, where she later dies.

SOME PEOPLE DREAD turning 40 if they've got nothing but wrinkles to show for it. The same might be said for advocacy operations facing that milestone anniversary. Longevity is great, but it's even better if the organization has managed to transform the cause that stirred it to life in the first place. So it is with Women Organized Against Rape on the eve of its 40th birthday. Its advocacy has so changed the way victims of sexual violence are treated by law enforcement, the courts and the medical establishment, it's a shock to realize what life was like for victims before WOAR roared into existence in 1973.

THE ARCHDIOCESE of Philadelphia announced Sunday that another priest is unsuitable for ministry. But it is not clear exactly what the Rev. Geraldo Piñero, who was known as "Father Jerry," did. Piñero, 47, was involved in various online-marketing ventures, including selling candles, but the Archdiocese in a statement pointed to a website dealing with standards of behavior involving children and youths as the reason for his being unfit...