Monday, January 16, 2012 at 11:13AM Commissioner Armando Vilaseca and Executive Director of the Vermont Human Rights Commission Rob Appel recently recorded a video message aimed at school administrators and staff about the importance of reporting incidents of bullying, hazing and harassment to the state. They also emphasized the Model Bullying Prevention plan of 2011.
Monday, August 1, 2011 at 01:46PM A violent crime task force in Vermont is making inroads into firearms trafficking networks that link some of North America's biggest cities — and run through Vermont.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 03:45PM Vermont's Commissioner of the Department for Children and Families reacts to the following statistic: a report of child abuse in Vermont is filed every 33 minutes. The commissioner reminds us, "it is easier to build a child than to repair an adult."
Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 10:05AM Vermont Legal Aid reported today that a broad coalition of advocacy groups has reached an agreement with the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL) to address the department's serious backlog of investigations involving allegations of abuse, neglect and exploitation of old, frail and disabled Vermonters.
Link to full articleThursday, February 17, 2011 at 04:27PM The state of Vermont is considering a law that would make it illegal for convicted sex offenders to use a false name on social networking sites like Facebook.
Link to full articleTuesday, August 31, 2010 at 11:22AM Friday, June 25, 2010 at 02:16PM Vermont’s public schools will be expected to play a greater role in preventing and reporting child sexual abuse, under a new law that passed the Legislature this year. Under the state’s new sexual abuse response system, schools will have to teach sexual abuse prevention as part of their health curriculum and school employees will be required to receive training on how to recognize the signs of sexual abuse and know what to do if the warning signs are visible.
Link to full articleTuesday, April 13, 2010 at 09:34AM Officials aren't quite sure why, but cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome are on this rise in Vermont. Prevent Child Abuse Vermont started keeping track of cases in the fall of 2007. Since then, there have been 19 cases. Six have resulted in the death of an infant.
Link to full articleFriday, April 2, 2010 at 10:11AM Vermont’s colleges and universities are required to publish annual crime statistics under the federal Clery Act. Those reports, which are all available online, are supposed to include every crime that occurs on college campuses, ranging from vandalism and larceny to drug and alcohol offenses to rape, arson and murder. Schools must publish those numbers even when the crimes are reported anonymously and result in no further legal action. However, a review of Clery statistics filed by Vermont’s institutions of higher learning in the past decade suggests that the number of sexual assaults they report to the government is far lower than the number that actually occur.
Link to full articleWednesday, March 31, 2010 at 05:08PM The Project Against Violent Encounters has planned a number events throughout April to raise the public's awareness of sexual assault. President Barack Obama has declared April 2010 to be Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and to show support, Select Board Chairwoman Lodie Colvin, presented a framed copy of the board's declaration to PAVE volunteer Mary Ambrogio Grey at a monthly meeting of the Domestic Violence Task Force.
Link to full articleThursday, March 11, 2010 at 12:25PM The departure of Bennington County's only certified sexual assault nurse examiner has local health officials and victims’ advocates scrambling to continue the essential service. Now, Dr. Avery Wood, a North Bennington-based family physician, is the sole provider of forensic exams that often help bring cases to adjudication, Vadakin said. But an area the size of Bennington County should have about five trained nurses because of the unique demands of the job, according to Vadakin.
Link to full articleThursday, March 4, 2010 at 10:58AM March in Vermont is traditionally mud season, cold winds, waning cabin-fever, Saint Patrick’s and Town Meeting Days. In Brattleboro, it has also come to mean the Women’s Film Festival, when this Southern Vermont town hosts a premier event showcasing films made by women about women. Proceeds from ticket sales go to the Women’s Crisis Center, which helps women and children affected by domestic or other sexual abuse.
Link to full articleWednesday, February 10, 2010 at 10:16AM Increasing numbers of old, frail and disabled Vermonters are falling victim to abuse, neglect and exploitation — and the state agency charged with protecting them is so understaffed and overworked that it’s just a matter of time before the media will be reporting “horror stories” about it. That’s the dire assessment from a loose coalition of advocates who work with Vermont’s “vulnerable adults."
Monday, February 8, 2010 at 11:20AM For many years starting in 1993, Coralyn Guidry was a regular fixture outside the Diocese's headquarters on North Avenue in Burlington. In the 1960s, Guidry and five of her siblings lived in what was then the St. Joseph's orphanage. Guidry is hoping to pull together a group of investors willing to buy that building and put it to good use. Exactly what that "good use" would be, Guidry can't say for sure, though she hopes it would take the form of a school or family center for children and adults who've experienced abuse and neglect.
