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Fudging the Rape Stats in Santa Cruz: FRSC Interviews Gillian Greensite Thursday June 14
Activist, organizer, writer, and past Santa Cruz CPVAW Chair Gillian Greensite speaks out on why she was dumped from the Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women for raising issues of police negligence and cooking the books on the vital issue of rape. Gillian will co-host the Bathrobespierre's Broadsides show from 6-8 PM Thursday June 14th at 101.1 FM, streaming at http://www.freakradio.org
RAPE IN SANTA CRUZ : WHAT THE CITY COUNCIL DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW.
For the past 27 years, Gillian Greensite has worked on campus and in the community to help prevent rape and to help those who have been raped. She started the Rape Prevention Education Program at UCSC in 1979 (where she still works) and was a co-founder of the city Commission for the Prevention of Violence against Women established in 1981.
She served for 6 years as the Commission's first chair until she resigned in protest of the city council's failure to take action after she documented serious problems in the SCPD with respect to rape response and investigation.
In the fine tradition of history repeating itself, second time as farce, Gillian is once again offed from the Commission. This time, city council members (Rotkin, Mathews and Robinson) refused to re-appoint Greensite after she documented, once again, the same serious problems in the SCPD that had not been addressed during the past 20 years.
The Commission's REPORT ON RAPE also revealed that Santa Cruz has one of the highest rates of reported rape in the state of California. Why is this being covered up?
Call in at 831-427-3772.
Tune in etc.
Other possible issues:
Democracy regresses under "progressive " city council rule.
UCSC growth. Bad for campus. Bad for town. And elitist.
How the non-profits have sold their soul to the council machine and vice versa.
Why the SC economic crisis is a fabrication and why is this happening.
What is needed for an effective counterbalance to the regressive cycle of city councils.
Leashing dogs in Lighthouse Field--insufferable or indispensible?
For the past 27 years, Gillian Greensite has worked on campus and in the community to help prevent rape and to help those who have been raped. She started the Rape Prevention Education Program at UCSC in 1979 (where she still works) and was a co-founder of the city Commission for the Prevention of Violence against Women established in 1981.
She served for 6 years as the Commission's first chair until she resigned in protest of the city council's failure to take action after she documented serious problems in the SCPD with respect to rape response and investigation.
In the fine tradition of history repeating itself, second time as farce, Gillian is once again offed from the Commission. This time, city council members (Rotkin, Mathews and Robinson) refused to re-appoint Greensite after she documented, once again, the same serious problems in the SCPD that had not been addressed during the past 20 years.
The Commission's REPORT ON RAPE also revealed that Santa Cruz has one of the highest rates of reported rape in the state of California. Why is this being covered up?
Call in at 831-427-3772.
Tune in etc.
Other possible issues:
Democracy regresses under "progressive " city council rule.
UCSC growth. Bad for campus. Bad for town. And elitist.
How the non-profits have sold their soul to the council machine and vice versa.
Why the SC economic crisis is a fabrication and why is this happening.
What is needed for an effective counterbalance to the regressive cycle of city councils.
Leashing dogs in Lighthouse Field--insufferable or indispensible?
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To review the Greensite interview, go to http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/brb070614.mp3
gumtree [at] pacbell.net is Gillian's e-mail. She welcomes inquiries and information.
I caught this interview on Thursday night and the issue could not be clearer. Santa Cruz has a much higher rate of forcible rape and attempted forcible rape than similar cities such as Santa Barbara, San Luis Obisbo and Berkeley. Yet where are the public officials coming out at press conferences and sounding the alarm? Why are there not flyers being circulated from all public offices warning women, and asking members of the general public to be eye-witnesses and to report assaults should they witness one?
We were told there was some kind of crime wave in the parking garages requiring restrictive public ordinances and we heard council members and police officials going on the record saying so. But what do we hear from Deputy Police Chief Patty Sapone? She tells the council that the data is wrong because.....the SCPD's data is wrong!!?
So is the City covering up this issue because the Chamber of Commerce thinks it will hurt business? Or is the the City covering it up because no one ever criticizes the SCPD and gets away with it? Or is it just incompetence across the board?
I can't think of a good reason for it.
In the meantime, women need to be on guard. Do not be lulled into a false sense of security when those who are given the most power and authority to protect us can't even admit there is a problem.
(interesting to note that Madrigal was the only one speaking out and voting the right way on this issue).
We were told there was some kind of crime wave in the parking garages requiring restrictive public ordinances and we heard council members and police officials going on the record saying so. But what do we hear from Deputy Police Chief Patty Sapone? She tells the council that the data is wrong because.....the SCPD's data is wrong!!?
So is the City covering up this issue because the Chamber of Commerce thinks it will hurt business? Or is the the City covering it up because no one ever criticizes the SCPD and gets away with it? Or is it just incompetence across the board?
I can't think of a good reason for it.
In the meantime, women need to be on guard. Do not be lulled into a false sense of security when those who are given the most power and authority to protect us can't even admit there is a problem.
(interesting to note that Madrigal was the only one speaking out and voting the right way on this issue).
... when the Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women is headed by a man and no one on the City Council seems to see this as a problem.
Why does the gender matter? As long as the person gets the job done. There are women out there who might work to downplay rape or blame victims (Phyllis Schafly comes to mind), just as there are men who might do an excellent job. If the Commission fails to do its job, that is the only issue. And our City Council is a continual disaster on any number of issues, why be surprised if they don't address this issue as well?
If I have to explain why it matters if the head of the Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women is a woman or not, then I don't think you really want to know the answer.
"Keep 'em arguing, Mr. Government Man!"
on the surface it may seem obvious as to why a woman needs to head the commission...
but that last comment is just one example of why so many feminist issues don't have a lot of support or are misunderstood.
to deny the fact that a man (not just any man, but a male nonetheless) could head the commission and be successful in achieving the goals put forth by said group is somewhat ignorant. if you stepped back to look at what needs to be done in the area of rape prevention, you would see that females are the larger group of victims. taking into consideration that males are the perpetrators in the majortiy of rape cases the question needs to be not so much how women can defend themselves (though this is important), but what education young men need so that they don't enter society believing that rape and other violence is an acceptable way to treat women. a good first step would to have a man who is active in prevention of violence towards women telling them it is not okay. there is nothing like hearing it from someone you can relate to.
baby steps people. especially in public groups. revolution is happening behind closed doors which will burst open when our mentalities are understanding and accepting.
but that last comment is just one example of why so many feminist issues don't have a lot of support or are misunderstood.
to deny the fact that a man (not just any man, but a male nonetheless) could head the commission and be successful in achieving the goals put forth by said group is somewhat ignorant. if you stepped back to look at what needs to be done in the area of rape prevention, you would see that females are the larger group of victims. taking into consideration that males are the perpetrators in the majortiy of rape cases the question needs to be not so much how women can defend themselves (though this is important), but what education young men need so that they don't enter society believing that rape and other violence is an acceptable way to treat women. a good first step would to have a man who is active in prevention of violence towards women telling them it is not okay. there is nothing like hearing it from someone you can relate to.
baby steps people. especially in public groups. revolution is happening behind closed doors which will burst open when our mentalities are understanding and accepting.
Gillian Greensite will be back on Free Radio Thursday June 21 at 6 PM to continue analysis of the Santa Cruz City Council's collusion in ignoring Santa Cruz's unusually high rape stats.
She and host Norse will continue to review and discuss the Council's action on item 27 "Recommendations Developed from Meetings of the Joint City Committee on Sexual Assault".
The CPVAW (Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women) report can be found at http://64.175.136.240/sirepub/cache/2/23wooz55iik2nl451bne1e55/51128206192007105538806.PDF
Greensite's article "Rape Myths" is available:
http://www.calcasa.org/34.0.html?&no_cache=1&sword_list[]=myths
Her "History of the Rape Crisis Movement" can be found at:
http://www.calcasa.org/31.0.html
Call in at 831-427-3772 or phone in questions before hand at 831-423-4833.
She and host Norse will continue to review and discuss the Council's action on item 27 "Recommendations Developed from Meetings of the Joint City Committee on Sexual Assault".
The CPVAW (Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women) report can be found at http://64.175.136.240/sirepub/cache/2/23wooz55iik2nl451bne1e55/51128206192007105538806.PDF
Greensite's article "Rape Myths" is available:
http://www.calcasa.org/34.0.html?&no_cache=1&sword_list[]=myths
Her "History of the Rape Crisis Movement" can be found at:
http://www.calcasa.org/31.0.html
Call in at 831-427-3772 or phone in questions before hand at 831-423-4833.
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