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February 12

02-12 TABLE of CONTENTS: Statistics on Child Sexual Abuse, Part 2. DATES, ANNIVERSARIES, and EVENTS QUOTES from Lewis and Simon's "A Discourse Not Intended for Her" and by Michelle Pfeiffer. Part 2 of Maxine Murdock on Child Sexual Abuse This is part 2 of an article on how to recognize and prevent sexual abuse of your child by noted authority Dr. Maxine Murdock. Dr. Murdock says there are five things parents can do to help prevent abuse: WOA02-11 discusses the first three. We continue:       "4. Trust your feelings as a parent, and encourage your children to trust their feelings. Any time you feel uneasy about the activity between a child and another person, intervene. ('It's time to go home,' or 'Let's eat now.') You need not explain when you feel a situation is questionable. If a child is uncomfortable with hugs or kisses from an adult, or even younger person, do not encourage her to put up with them for the sake of avoiding a fuss. You might say, 'If you don't feel like hugging Uncle John, you don't need to. A friendly handshake will be fine.' Then observe the situation carefully in the future. If a child is uneasy about staying with a certain babysitter or relative, find an alternative and explore with the child the reasons for her reluctance.       "5. Use the word secret carefully. Secrecy is one of the abuser's most effective tools. You might want to use: the word surprise when you speak of happy secrets. ('Don't tell mother. It's a birthday surprise.') [An aside: How many of those who claim they are defending the 'innocence of children' by refusing to allow children to be educated about sexual abuse are really protecting their right to abuse children by keeping the child ignorant?] (Part 1 of this segment is contained in WOA02-11.) | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | 02-12 DATES, ANNIVERSARIES, and EVENTS B. 02-12-1775, Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams plagued by ill health, authored several autobiographical accounts of life in the times and of the Adams family that graphically portrays the restricted and boring life of an upper-class woman of the period. B. 02-12-1851, Anna Nikolaevna Essipova, Russian concert pianist and noted keyboard teacher. B. 02-12-1926, Joan Mitchell, the leading American abstract painter of her generation. Lived in Paris from 1959 until her death in 1992. Her lush paintings were an accumulation of color. B. 02-12-1938, Judy Blume, writer of books for young people. Extremist organizations attempt to have her books censored more than any other author in the United States Event 02-12-1976, Roberta Kankus becomes the first women operator of a commercial nuclear power plant. Event 02-12-1986, Jan Kemp, was awarded $2.5 million in a lawsuit judgment after she was fired as an instructor at the University of Georgia for criticizing the policy of keeping football players in school with failing grades. The judgment was reduced to $680,000 in has become a typical lowering of awards by appeals courts in sex discrimination cases won by women. Event 02-12-1992, Sharon Kowalski finally went home. After an eight-year battle to gain custody of her life partner who was badly injured in an accident, Karen Thompson was named Sharon's guardian and took her home. Karen had fought for the right of guardianship claiming Sharon's father - who would have nothing to do with her before the accident - only gave her warehousing, custodial care on the money awarded Sharon for her accident and insufficient medical care. Karen showed that because of the lack of physical therapy Sharon's muscles were shortening crippling her further. And Sharon, though brain damaged, made it clear she wanted to go with Karen. In the decision, the Minnesota Court of Appeals said that the women were "...a family of affinity which ought to be respected." | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | QUOTES DU JOUR       "Listen to the voices of women and the voices of men; observe the space men allow themselves, physically and verbally, the male assumption that people will listen, even when the majority of the group is female.       "Look at the faces of the silent, and those who speak.       "Listen to a woman groping for language in which to express what is on her mind, sensing that the terms of academic discourse are not her language, trying to cut down her thought to the dimension of a discourse not intended for her."             -- Lewis and Simon, "A Discourse Not Intended for Her: Learning and Teaching within Patriarchy," (1987). Harvard Educational Review, Vol 56, No.4. [Submitted to WOAH by Dorothy Dennett.] PFEIFFER, MICHELLE:       "Well, this has been a very good year for women. Demi Moore was sold to Robert Redford for $1 million. Uma Thurman went for $40,000 to Mr. De Niro, while just a few years ago, Richard Gere bought Julia Roberts for - what was it - $3,000? I'd say that was real progress."             -- Michelle Pfeiffer during an introduction at the 1993 Academy Awards show. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE |