International Women's Day ~ Cheers and Tears

Today is International Women's Day. Let us celebrate the women who have come before us, who stand next to us, who gave birth to us, who are our best friends, our daughters, and our dance partners. Who have compassion and are hard working in all ways. Here's to you all with great Love and thanks.

Today I will not be speaking about jewelry or design. Today I will just simply be speaking out.I rarely do this so I hope you will  not mind if I  indulge for important reasons every once in a blue moon.

I would like to start by sending prayers out to one particular good friend who has been suffering in the hospital for the past two weeks in ICU, who is teaching me lessons right now about how precious friends are; and how to control my fear. Please get well soon...prayers are with you.

Mainly I would like to speak out against violence on this day.  I would like to help educate you some if you will please allow me to by continuing to read on. To bring to your awareness that there is more sex slavery (repeated rape in forced captivity) going on in our country than ever before thanks to the Internet and sites like craigslist. I would like to help educate you a little about what is going on in our country for it is shameful.  It is shocking to me that 1 in 5 females in our country are raped or the victims of sexual assault and those are only the ones that report it. That is a sick sick number people. Here are some things you should know....

17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape. 80% of all victims are white.

Children:

15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12.

• 75% of these are girls
• 30% of victims were between the ages of 4 and 7
• 29% are age 12-17.
• 44% are under age 18.³
• 80% are under age 30.³
• 12-34 are the highest risk years.
• Girls ages 16-19 are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.

93% of juvenile sexual assault victims know their attacker.

EVERY TWO MINUTES SOMEONE IN AMERICA IS THE VICTIM OF A SEXUAL ASSAULT

If a rape is reported there is a 58% chance of an arrest.

If an arrest is made, there is an 80% chance of prosecution.

If there is a prosecution, there is a 58% chance of conviction.

If there is a felony conviction there is a 69% chance the convict will spend time in jail.

SO even in the 39% of the attacks that are reported to the police, there is ONLY a 16.3% chance the rapist will ever go to prison.

Factoring in unreported rapes only 6% of rapists will ever spend a day in jail.

15 of 16 rapists WALK FREE Amongst us.

Man oh man.... WHAT?! WHY?!

References

1. National Institute of Justice & Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women Survey. 1998.
2. U.S. Department of Justice. 2003 National Crime Victimization Survey. 2003.
3. U.S. Department of Justice. 2004 National Crime Victimization Survey. 2004.
4. 1998 Commonwealth Fund Survey of the Health of Adolescent Girls. 1998.
5. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. 1995 Child Maltreatment Survey. 1995.
6. U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2000 Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement. 2000.
7. World Health Organization. 2002.
8. U.S. Department of Justice. 2005 National Crime Victimization Survey. 2005.

 be safe, xoxo

Jill