Category: Bullying

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Branding Tattoos Use Ink to Violate Women

00Anger, Body Image, Bullying, Domestic Violence, Featured news, Gender July, 16

Source: THOR on Flickr

Latishia Sanchez was fourteen when she was attacked and raped by five men, including her boyfriend. During the assault, the men tattooed her boyfriend’s name across her neck using a needle and pencil lead.

According to the Canadian Women’s Foundation, fifty percent of all Canadian women will experience at least one incident of physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. This can take many forms; recently tattoo branding has become a popular form of violence against women.

As a weapon of domestic violence, perpetrators use ink to assert control and ownership over victims, either physically forcing them to get tattoos, or drugging and tattooing them while they are unconscious. The offender’s name is usually forced onto a visible part of the victim’s body.

Six years after she was attacked and branded, Latishia Sanchez continues to relive the painful memories of her rape. In an interview with CBS News, she describes that seeing the tattoo daily has devastated her self-esteem:

“I didn’t think that I’d get raped, let alone my boyfriend allowing it. Right now our mirrors are covered up because I can’t even look at myself.”

Jennifer Kempton, a survivor of human trafficking, remains traumatized from her experiences of branding violence in the human sex trade in Columbus, Ohio. In an interview with The Guardian, she recalls how a pimp tied her down and tattooed “Property of Salem” above her groin, marking her as his possession. Kempton explains that the shame and trauma associated with this incident caused her to spiral into a deep depression and attempt suicide:

“Every time I took a shower or tried to look at my body I was reminded of the violence and exploitation I’d suffered. I was so grateful to be alive, but having to see those names on your body every day puts you in a state of depression. You begin to wonder whether you’ll ever be anything but the person those tattoos say you are.”

Sanchez and Kempton are currently seeking tattoo removal treatment. Dawn Maestas, a tattoo removal specialist and domestic abuse survivor explains the horrors of tattoo violence in an interview with CBS News:

“I’ve had victims who have been drugged and tattooed, who have been physically held down and force tattooed, and I get angry. I get angry because I know what these tattoos mean. This is control. This is ‘you belong to me.’”

Maestas is not alone in the fight to end ink violence against women. Chris Baker, a tattoo artist in Chicago and owner of tattoo parlor Ink180, is known for offering free cover-up tattoo and removal services for survivors of domestic violence and sex trafficking.

Ink180’s mission is to “transform pain into something beautiful,” for survivors of branding violence. The tattoo parlor also has a clause on its website describing work it will not do, including tattoos that are gang related, satanic in nature, vulgar, or degrading to women.

Since the shop expanded its services to abuse survivors, Baker estimates that he has completed over 2,000 free cover-ups or removals. Though his shop offers regular, paid tattoos as well, over 80 percent of the work he does is pro bono.

One of the most common types of tattoos Baker sees is barcodes. These actually serve atracking system for pimps who brand victims with their contact information to monitor the behaviour of their sex workers. In an interview with The 700 Club, Baker describes the experience of removing barcode tattoos from a fifteen-year-old sex trafficking survivor:

“The relief on her face, you could feel the pain she had been through trying to get rid of old tattoos that defined her past.”

Baker’s shop features both a prayer wall and ‘Freedom Tree’ for survivors of abuse. Once their tattoos are removed, women can place a handprint on the tree symbolizing their newfound freedom and identity. Baker explains:

“They are very shattered people. I can’t even use the word broken, because their psyche is very fragile. We’ve had girls collapse on the floor in tears, because they no longer need to look in the mirror and see that barcode on their neck, or their abusive ex-boyfriend’s name on their hands.”

In an interview with Huffington Post, Baker urged other tattoo parlors to consider offering similar services and spread awareness of tattoo violence. For him, the rewards are worth the free work:

“I see the look on their faces when a domestic violence survivor doesn’t have to look down at their ex-husband’s name on their wrist or arm. I see that relief that he’s physically gone from their lives and they’re physically safe, but now they’re mentally safe as well.”

–Lauren Goldberg, Contributing Writer, The Trauma and Mental Health Report

– Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma and Mental Health Report

Copyright Robert T. Muller

This article was originally published on Psychology Today

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Plastic Surgery to Cope With Bullying?

20Addiction, Bullying, Child Development, Depression, Featured news, Mental Health, Self-Esteem June, 16

Source: Aimee Heart on Flickr

Looks matter. Focusing on appearance is nothing new. And the growing popularity of plastic surgery has, to some extent, normalized changing our bodies to fit our ideals.

But how do we understand the limits, especially where children are concerned?

In 2014, fifteen-year-old Renata underwent nose and chin surgery to put an end to the constant bullying she was facing at school.

The teasing had become so bad that Renata was homeschooled for three years. And while she says that she is happy with the end results, there was great concern raised at the time by parents, health professionals, and the public over the surgeries.

Experts are split on whether children can benefit from undergoing plastic surgery to avoid bullying. But it should be acknowledged that Renata’s story is not that uncommon.

Fourteen-year-old Nadia Ilse, as well as 7-year-old Samantha Shaw, both had surgery to pin back their ears in response to bullying. They had the operations done for free by the Little Baby Face Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to correcting facial deformities of children from low-income families. Founder Thomas Romo tells NBC News that such procedures can have a positive impact on a child’s functioning:

“You take a child, and you change the way they look. To anybody who sees them, they’re good looking. That gives the child strength. We can’t go after the bully. But we can try and empower the children.”

A study by the Department of Psychology at the University of the West of England supports the idea of this kind of surgery, which can have a positive impact on mental health. In a pre- and post-operation comparison of 51 plastic surgery patients and 105 general surgery patients, the plastic surgery group experienced a greater decrease in their depression and anxiety.

But the extent of these positive results is questionable.

Over the course of 13 years, the Norwegian Social Research Institute studied body satisfaction in over 1,000 adolescent females, 78 of whom underwent cosmetic surgery. They found that although satisfaction with the specific body parts that were operated on increased, overall body satisfaction did not improve. Furthermore, participants who underwent cosmetic surgery had an increase in depression, anxiety, and substance abuse compared to those who had no surgery, suggesting that the positive mental effects of plastic surgery are localized and short-lived.

Child psychologist Nava Silton also tells Fox 9 News that plastic surgery could be covering up underlying emotional or mental health issues that a child might have, such as low self-esteem. Unaddressed emotional issues could lead to a plastic surgery addiction in adulthood.

Currently, there is no pre-surgery screening process for mental health issues. The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ASPS) recommends children only have plastic surgery if they understand the benefits and drawbacks, do not have unrealistic expectations, and initially requested the plastic surgery themselves. Yet media personality Laura Schlessinger questions a child’s ability to demonstrate such qualities, noting the importance of parents in guiding their children towards better decisions:

“Children, by virtue of their lack of maturity, may have exaggerated notions of how these procedures will improve their lives.”

Still, Renata insists that surgery was the right choice for her—one that she says boosted her confidence enough to return to school.

Children of different ages and different cognitive abilities vary in their ability to appreciate what they are getting themselves into, but wherever possible, it’s important to help them be realistic about the anticipated consequences of a surgical procedure that will change them permanently.

– Anjali Wisnarama, Contributing Writer, The Trauma and Mental Health Report

– Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma and Mental Health Report

Copyright Robert T. Muller

This article was originally published on Psychology Today

Autism, Bullying, and Psychological Impacts

An Ice Bucket, an Autistic Child, and a Cruel Joke

10Autism, Bullying, Child Development, Ethics and Morality, Featured news, Law and Crime, Mental Health February, 16

Source: Lee Morley on Flickr

A social media campaign aimed at raising awareness for one health problem becomes the cruel vehicle by which awareness is raised for another.

On August 18, 2014, a 15-year-old autistic boy in Bay Village, Ohio was encouraged by five teenage friends to participate in what he thought would be the ALS ice bucket challenge. Instead, the teenagers dropped a bucket of urine, feces, and tobacco spit on his head. When the boy’s parents found a video of the prank on his phone, they immediately took it to Fox 8 News to show how children with mental illness can be victimized.

The video went viral and was met with outrage by the general public and heralded as a disgrace to the purpose of the ALS Association’s campaign.

In an interview with Fox 8 news, the boy’s mother identifies herself as Diane to protect her son’s identity:

“The bucket challenge is supposed to be raising awareness for this disease and now they’ve turned it into a sick joke. I just can’t understand why kids would do something this cruel.”

But there is nothing that can’t be used to bring about suffering, especially when the victim is an easy target.

In a study by Benjamin Zablotsky of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and his colleagues, 1221 parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder were asked to enroll in the Interactive Autism Network (IAN) and asked about their child’s history with bullies at school. The results showed that 63% of autistic children experienced victimization by their peers at some point in their lives and that 38% were bullied in the past month. An extreme finding when compared to the average bullying rate of 20-30% reported by students in general.

The study also revealed that autistic children in regular classroom settings with peers who do not have ASD are more likely to be bullied than children who are placed in specialized educational settings.

Catherine Cappadocia, a doctoral student, along with psychologists Jonathan Weiss and Debra Pepler in the faculty of health at York University, has studied the effects of bullying on the development of autistic children. She found that autistic children who have parents with mental health issues are three times as likely to become victims, especially at a young age.

Speech difficulties also serve to increase the risk of being bullied. For autistic children who are unable to express themselves to the offenders or to authorities, victimization can become unavoidable.

A combination of many of these factors may be what led to the victimization of Diane’s son. Yet what makes this issue more disturbing is that the five juveniles responsible claimed to be his friends.

Bay Village’s County Prosecutor, head of the office’s Juvenile Division said: “The victim and the five charged juveniles were and are friends and classmates. They regularly associate with one another and, at times, engage in distasteful and sophomoric pranks. However, this incident is clearly different. It crossed a moral and legal line, and even the five alleged perpetrators understand that and have expressed regret.”

Three of the boys involved in the prank were charged with two counts of delinquency, assault and disorderly conduct. The remaining two perpetrators were charged with a single count of disorderly conduct.

Researchers Vicki Bitsika and Christopher Sharpley have shown that a large number of children with ASD often have few or no friends and spend most of their free time at school alone. Around 40% of these children have also said that the few people they believe to be their friends tend to bully them too.

Bitsika and Sharpley also explain that this harassment can create a positive feedback loop, slowing healthy development and increasing autistic children’s difficulty displaying emotions and communicating with others.

For autistic children to grow up in a healthy environment, schools, parents, and children need to be educated not only about bullying, but about autism itself.

– Afifa Mahboob, Contributing Writer, The Trauma and Mental Health Report

– Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma and Mental Health Report

Copyright Robert T. Muller

This article was originally published on Psychology Today

Female Inmates and Psychological Impacts

Prisons Perpetuate Trauma in Female Inmates

40Bullying, Featured news, Law and Crime, Mental Health, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Trauma, Trauma Psychotherapy January, 16

Source: r. nial bradshaw on Flickr

In May 2012, the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department for maltreatment of inmates in Alabama’s Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women. EJI urged an investigation of the Alabama Department of Corrections, claiming they fail to protect inmates from sexual violence.

After an on-site inspection, federal investigators confirmed allegations that officers were frequently engaging in sexual violence against inmates.

Instances of repeated rape, sodomy, fondling, and exposure were reported.

According to its website, “The mission of the Alabama Department of Corrections is to confine, manage and provide rehabilitative programs for convicted felons in a safe, secure and humane environment.”

But the reality of the modern prison system paints a very different picture.

Allen Beck, Senior Statistical Advisor for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported that “of the 1.4 million adults held in prison, an estimated 57,900 said they had been sexually victimized.” Statistics of abuse in local jails are similar.

Even more startling is a report by the BJS stating that 49% of nonconsensual sexual abuse in prisons involves staff sexual misconduct or sexual harassment toward prisoners.

Among those who experience the most damaging effects of sexual abuse are female inmates with preexisting mental health disorders or past trauma. These women make up a large number of prison inmates.

Charlotte Morrison, a senior attorney with the EJI, explains that to participate in the prisons’ rehabilitative programs, women are required to go through an invasive strip-search in front of male officers each day, a distressing experience for any woman, but especially difficult for those with a history of trauma or abuse.

And mental health services in prisons are either nonexistent or inadequate in supporting prisoner needs. BJS found that only 22% of prison abuse victims receive crisis counseling or mental health treatment.

The consequences are devastating. Higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and suicide are frequently reported in female inmates, as well as exacerbation of preexisting psychiatric disorders.

“The key takeaway here is the levels of impunity in detention facilities” says Jesse Lerner-Kinglake, spokesperson for Just Detention International. Prison guards are often exempt from any punishment after assaulting or sexually abusing prisoners.

According to the BJS report, only 46% of sexual assault cases between staff and prisoners were referred for prosecution. In about 15% of cases, staff members were allowed to keep their jobs.

Lerner-Kinglake goes on to say that women underreport abuse because of limited legal options, and because they fear segregation and retaliation by staff.

In 2003, the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was passed into law to analyze the incidence and effects of prison rape and to provide resources, recommendations, and funding for protection. Yet a decade later, abuse persists and statistics have barely improved.

This may soon change, however, as May 15, 2014 marked thedeadline for U.S. states and territories to submit certificates or assurances agreeing to comply with PREA standards. Those not following PREA regulations face potential reductions in grant funding.

While the U.S. government is finally enforcing prisoner safety laws, inmates still suffer from limited access to mental health services.

Many organizations recognize the limitations of the prison system and work to make these services available to prisoners. For example, Just Detention International (JDI), a health and human rights initiative, provides prisons with links to community hotlines and crisis counseling for rape victims. Public ads from such organizations are also being aimed at addressing the stigma surrounding prison rape.

While these may be positive steps to improve prisoner safety, further advocacy and legislation is necessary to protect inmates’ legal rights and to facilitate rehabilitation.

– Eleenor Abraham, Contributing Writer, The Trauma and Mental Health Report

– Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma and Mental Health Report

Copyright Robert T. Muller

This article was originally published on Psychology Today

Cyberstalking yet to be taken as seriously as it should

Cyberstalking yet to be taken as seriously as it should

80Bullying, Fear, Featured news, Gender, Law and Crime, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Trauma September, 15

Source: Surian Soosay/Flickr

If you were to Google search your name right now, what would come up?  Some are surprised by what they find.  The posting of personal information has made the internet the perfect medium for harassment and stalking.

Cyberstalking can take on a number of forms including blackmail, having online activities tracked, or sending threatening messages. Some cyberstalkers commit identity theft and proceed to terrorize victims in ways such as cancelling credit cards or using personal information to besmirch individuals.

Cyberstalking takes an emotional toll on victims, a feeling that Anna, a university student recently interviewed by The Trauma & Mental Health Report knows well.

Anna:  I would receive up to 10 emails from him a day.  He would send me photos of myself with vulgar and aggressive comments about me and my family, and he also made a MySpace page dedicated to me with offensive comments on them.  I was terrified to go onto any social networking site.

Anna’s cyberstalker even went as far as to email her university professors, demanding they provide information about her.

Anna:  I was constantly cancelling plans and commitments… I was afraid to leave my house.  It’s frightening not knowing where your stalker is when they’re contacting you.  For all you know they could be sitting in a car, on the same street where you live, messaging you from their cell phone.  I didn’t know if I was in real physical danger.  I worried about my safety all the time.

It is common for cyberstalkers to make threats of physical violence, and there have been cases where online stalking has crossed over to offline stalking.  For Anna, her fear resulted in anxiety, nightmares, and insomnia.

Also common is for work or academic performance to deteriorate and interpersonal relationships to crumble from distrust, leaving these victims with a lack of social support.

The fear associated with cyberstalking can be so traumatic for some that desperate measures are taken. A study of cyberstalked university students performed by PhD candidate, Nancy Felicity Hensler-McGinnis of the University of Maryland showed that many reported withdrawal from courses or transferring schools to feel safer.  Popular cases like that of Kristen Pratt demonstrate that some victims will even change their appearance.

Calling the police seemed like Anna’s best solution, but the initial response she received was not helpful.

Anna:  I was told to try to track his IP address on my own because the police IT department might not be able to do it.  I was told to tell him to stop (as if I hadn’t already done that) and to make myself anonymous on the internet, which is not only difficult but nearly impossible in our technology driven professional world.  I was treated as if my situation wasn’t serious or detrimental to my well-being.

Anna’s predicament was not unusual.  Cyberstalking is often not taken seriously.  This is reflected in the lack of cyberstalking legislation in Canada.  Sections of the criminal code focus specifically on face-to-face stalking and although some cyberstalking behaviours are included, there are gaps.

When school teacher Lee David Clayworth’s cyberstalker harmed his reputation by posting inappropriate content under his name, authorities could do little, since his cyberstalker was not in Canada.  Canadian arrest warrants were not effective; jurisdictional obstacles, like difference in internet service providers, leave victims helpless.

U.S. state laws regarding cyberstalking vary, but according to the Working to Halt Online Abuse (WHOA) organization, many of these only protect victims 18 and under. Alabama, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Indiana have no formal cyberstalking laws. While some legislation addresses cyber harassment, this is defined as having no credible threat to victims.

Lack of internet regulation leaves victims to track down cyberstalkers on their own.  Asking individuals to erase their identities online is unrealistic.  Online communication continues to grow and law enforcement is having a hard time keeping up.

In both Canada and the US, some bills have been proposed.

Anna’s advice to victims is not to let fear control their lives:  People who harass you online want you to feel isolated and powerless.  If you are not in any immediate danger it is important to realize that by living in fear, you are actually giving them exactly what they want.  Do everything in your power to get them to stop; speak up about your experience and make their behaviour public.

Anna also stresses the importance of a support system. Talking to friends, family, or a counsellor may help victims deal with the trauma and realize they are not alone.

Clinical psychologist Seth Meyers mentions the importance of warning friends and family of a potential stalker as well. This could protect loved ones if there is risk of physical danger, and keeps victims from socially isolating themselves.

Until authorities take action, the Canadian Clearhousing on Cyberstalking suggests that victims report harassment to their internet service provider which can possibly take such measures as blocking the cyberstalker’s IP address from contacting them. Victims can also find support from organizations such as WHOA or CyberAngels which can help gather information to build a criminal case against the cyberstalker.

As communication continues online, personal information ends up on the internet. It is time that lawmakers realize the dangers and enact legislation to keep users safe.

– By Anjali Wisnarama, Contributing Writer, The Trauma & Mental Health Report 

– Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma & Mental Health Report

Copyright Robert T. Muller

This article was originally published on Psychology Today