April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Fear and stigma can be tremendous barriers for survivors seeking support.  Survivors often worry that no one will believe them.  This is why sexual assault is one of the least reported crimes.  They may feel ashamed or embarrassed as to what happened to them.  They may feel partially responsible.  They may ask themselves what they did to cause their sexual assault.  Some survivors have heard their friends and family say things like, "you should be over that by now," or "why did that happen to you."  These barriers have only intensified in recent years.  These barriers could be particularly significant for male survivors of sexual assault.  

One fabulous resource is the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center.  You can call or text them at (216) 619-6192 or (440) 423-2020.  Sometimes survivors find it easier to text than call.  The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center has confidential services and community educational programs that are dedicated to clearing the way for healing to begin.  Survivors can talk to a confidential counselor who can communicate to them that they are believed and that it was not their fault.  

Every survivor deserves support no matter their age, gender or background.  No matter how long ago the assault occurred, it is never too late to heal.  

Each year the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center serves over 46,500 people in Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake Counties.  Their mission is the elimination of sexual violence.  

The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center was founded in 1974 in response to Cleveland's longstanding need for services to assist survivors of sexual assault.  Before the 70's most people who had suffered sexual abuse suffered in silence.  Feelings of guilt, shame or fear of women, children and men from speaking out about, much less reporting, their assaults.  Lynn Hammond and Carrie Zander founded the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center hot line in 1974.  A grant from the Cleveland and George Gund Foundations allow them to expand the hot line service and hire four (4) full-time staff members.  

I remember when I worked in the Standard Building as a young attorney.  The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center was a very small organization working out of a small office in that building.  They used to host bake sales in the lobby to raise money.  I remember many times showing up at my office with large quantities of baked goods having purchased half the inventory at the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center bake sale. 

Over the years the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center has grown from a small grassroots volunteer run hot line service to an 80-employee non-profit organization providing counseling services, victim assistance  in the justice system, and 24-hour services to survivors of rape and sexual abuse and their families. 

In support of the vision and mission of the organization, the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center is committed to serve all survivors and those supportive of them regardless of age, gender, identity, sexual orientation, race, income ability or religion. 

They are devoted to providing timely access to customized, results-focused services and programs.  They are devoted to creating a safe, welcoming, healing and respectful environment where survivors and their loved ones can find support.  They work to end the silence surrounding sexual violence and the stigma found within the community.  They work to raise awareness about how cultural norms, media attention and societal acceptance or oppression relates to the incidence of sexual violence.  They work to deepen the understanding that sexual violence is preventable and to incorporate a more holistic collaborative public health approach to sexual violence prevention.  They share their expertise and knowledge about, and advocate for, evidence-based rape and sexual abuse practices and policies.  They promote a trauma-informed work environment that empowers the staff and the volunteers that do their work to their fullest capacity and they support them in their efforts.  They inspire teamwork in order to provide the best services to the community.  The maximize their own resources and the community's resources to receive meaningful, measurable and financially sustainable outcomes.  

The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center has offices in Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake Counties:

Ashtabula Office
5021 State Road
Ashtabula, OH 44004

Clark-Fulton Office
2937 West 25th Street, 3rd Floor
Cleveland, OH 44113

Mentor Office
8224 Mentor Avenue, Suite 134
Mentor, OH 44060

Chardon Office
WomenSafe, The Greenhouse
12041 Ravenna Road, Chardon, OH 44024

Human Trafficking Drop-In Center
10450 Superior Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44106

Shaker Square Office
13209 Shaker Square
Cleveland, OH 44120

It has been my sincere pleasure to work to support the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and to work with the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and to work with many survivors for over thirty (30) years.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of sexual assault and you would like to talk to us about a potential civil claim, please call us at The Dickson Firm at 1 800 OHIO LAW as we would be happy to talk with you and help you in any way we can.  If you need counseling services or guidance please call the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center or text the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center at (216) 619-6194 or (440) 350-7364.   https://clevelandrapecrisis.org 

Supreme Court of Ohio Releases National Stalking Awareness Month Resources

The Supreme Court of Ohio recently released a comprehensive suite of educational resources to mark National Stalking Awareness Month.

These materials are designed to equip judges and legal professionals with updated tools to address domestic violence, strangulation, and stalking cases. A collection of online courses is now available for judicial officers and court personnel.

This suite includes the course "Misuse of Technology in Domestic Violence and Stalking" which addresses modern challenges in abuse cases. Additional courses in the bundle include "The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Children and Families", "In Many Cases of Intimate Partner Violence: A Strangulation Case Review" and a dedicated course entitled "Stalking".

The Dickson Firm is committed to helping survivors of sexual assault. Attorney Blake A. Dickson is very involved in the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. He is on the fundraising board and works hard all year to raise money for this very important organization.

One of the most challenging aspects of sexual assault cases is that survivors are often reluctant to seek help and/or to pursue any type of case. Survivors are often even reluctant to report sexual assault. We see sexual assault in all different contexts.

Tragically, we see sexual assault in the nursing home. We have handled cases where one resident assaulted another. We have handled cases where staff assaulted a resident. Nursing homes are obligated to screen their staff. They are obligated to do a fingerprint background check. Nursing homes are not permitted to hire people who have been convicted of any number of a long list of criminal convictions. If someone has a history of violence, if they have been convicted of assault, if they have been convicted of a number of violent offenses, if they have been convicted of a number of offenses involving dishonesty, they are not legally permitted to work in a nursing home in Ohio.

If someone you love has been neglected or abused in a nursing home, please call us at The Dickson Firm at 1 800 OHIO LAW as we would be happy to talk with you and help you in any way that we can.

Nursing Homes are obligated to screen these people out so they do not work in nursing homes. If someone you love is in a nursing home, you must be vigilant about their surroundings. Moving someone into a nursing home requires moving them into an unfamiliar place where they are living with people that they did not choose to live with. Often nursing home residents have a roommate that they did not choose. They are living with a number of people. Nursing homes are obligated to assess each one of their residents thoroughly and to prepare a plan of care for them. They are not legally allowed to admit residents who are violent because that would put their other residents at risk.

Tragically, we have been involved in cases where a nursing homes brought homeless people into the nursing home because they could apply for funding through Medicaid and make money by housing these people.

Unfortunately, they did not thoroughly screen these residents. We have been involved in cases where a nursing home admitted a number of people who had a history of sexual violence. These people were sexual predators.

And yet the nursing home admitted them into their facility in order to make money. If your loved one is in a nursing home and they report any number of incidents to you that make you concerned for their safety, you need to have a detailed conversation with the Director of Nursing and/or the Administrator, and you need to make sure that they are safe. You need to ask the Administrator and/or the Director of Nursing, what the plan of care is to keep your loved one safe.

If you have a concern about another resident, you need to ask the nursing home about that resident. We have handled a number of cases involving situations where either a staff person or another resident has assaulted multiple residents, and yet the nursing home did not take any action to keep the residents safe.

If a resident in a nursing home is violent and they are aggressive toward other residents, then the nursing home should discharge that resident, send them to a different facility. As indicated above, the nursing home is not permitted to employ anyone with a history of violence. We have handled a number of sexual assault cases in the employment context.

Tragically, we have handled cases where a person has been assaulted by someone they work with, sometimes their boss. If you are concerned about your safety at work, you should report your concerns to your supervisor. If you are concerned about your supervisor, you should report your concerns to the person above your supervisor. If you do not feel safe at work, then you should act accordingly.

We have handled a number of cases where people have been violently assaulted at work. These are tragic cases with far reaching consequences.

Often people are reluctant to report sexual assault. When sexual assault is not reported, the perpetrator goes unpunished and tragically usually goes on to assault other people. If you were the victim of sexual assault and were hesitant about reporting it, call the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center at (216) 619-6192 or (440) 423-2020. https://clevelandrapecrisis.org/ They can have someone assist you through the process of reporting your assault and participating in the criminal prosecution of your assailant.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of sexual assault, whether in the context of a nursing home or at your job or in any other circumstances, please call us at The Dickson Firm at 1-800-OHIO LAW. We would be happy to talk with you and to help you in any way that we can.