On May 31st, the girls of Troop 3285 started their Take Charge charm. Our first class was about Boundary Setting and victimization, which was presented by Miss Victoria McDermott. She was very interactive in her teaching methods, starting the class off with a charade-like game. The girls would draw a card with a famous person's name on it, and they had to describe or act out the person so that everyone else knew who they picked. Miss McDermott explained that this was to teach the girls that certain traits about people define them. She then taught the girls about the right to say "NO" if you feel uncomfortable about a situation. The girls participated in an activity where one girl would be at one side of the room, and when Miss McDermott said to, they would step towards their partner, until the distance between the two was uncomfortable. Then they did another activity where one girl would sit with their back to the other, and describe a picture (house, person, etc.) to their partner so that they could try to draw the same picture. This was shown to the girls to explain that some people don't have the same boundaries and they have to be specific about their personal boundaries, just like they had to be specific about the instructions of their picture. They also discussed on-line privacy, and being careful in public. Miss McDermott told the girls not to post ANY personal information anywhere on the Internet, because even if you delete the information and replace, it can still be recovered. They talked about being angry with someone, and some effective ways to express that anger without blowing up, starting a fight or hurting anyone physically or emotionally. It was a fascinating class, and they all appreciated Miss McDermott's coming for them!

Victoria McDermott

Step…

STOP!!!

Heather and Katy

Torie and Kayla

Kari and Elizabeth

Victoria McDermott and Troop 3285

On July 6th, we went to a self-defense class. We were being taught while the karate class was practicing like normal. They also helped with being the demonstrators. We were instructed by Kenny Lee from Kuk Sool Won, which is at the civic center in Gaston.

The Girl Scouts with Kenny Lee

He taught us different maneuvers to use when attackers grab you on the wrist. He also gave us advice on what to do when were in a parking lot or garage and in places where we don’t feel comfortable. He told us to always trust our instincts. He also showed us what to do if an attacker tries to choke you from behind. He also told us to always try to get where your facing the attacker. Mrs. Noelle also helped us by showing us what to do when someone comes behind you and grabs your hair. Mrs. Brie also told us to try to collect as much DNA from the attacker as we could when if we got attacked. Mr. Lee even showed us some of the white-belt techniques.

The Girl Scouts listening and watching the instructor

Kayla putting Savannah in a hold

Heather being the “victim”

Victorie being the “attacker”

It wasn’t all serious though. Victorie and Mrs. Brie play fought, which also helped us because they did some things that actual attackers would do. Savannah, while being Mr. Lee’s “victim”(demonstrator) accidentally hit herself in the nose, because she was trying to break free from his grip.

Double hold

Breaking out of the hold

We worked with partners to practice some of the maneuvers to break free; Kayla worked with Savannah, Victorie worked with Heather, and Mrs. Brie’s granddaughter even practiced some of the moves. She worked with our instructor.

The Girl Scouts practicing what to do if someone grabs your wrist

Using a karate student as a demonstrator

Mr. Lee told us we all did a great job and that we were welcome to come back and participate in the karate classes.

The flag of Kuk Sool Won- where we took the class at

If you would like to attend karate there, or you have any questions about it you can call them at (803)-309-2288.

On July 12th, Victoria McDermott came to visit Troop 3285 again. This time she came to talk about sexual harassment, sexual trauma and rape.

Victoria McDermott

For the first half she talked about the difference between flirting and sexual harassment. We figured out that it depends on how you take the action. We did an activity to prove this; we each took 6 pieces of paper and on 3 pieces we wrote what would be flirting and on the other 3 we wrote what would be sexual harassment. Then, we thought about different situations and some of the papers moved to the other side. She told us that flirting is two-sided and that sexual harassment is one-sided. She said that flirting makes you feel good about yourself, but sexual harassment makes you feel bad about yourself. She also told us that if you were sexually harassed or raped, no matter how long ago it was, you should tell someone.

Flirting vs. Sexual Harassment

Listening to Katy

For the second half she talked about sexual trauma and rape. She talked to us about what to do if you are raped; she told us to try to preserve as much evidence as possible. She also talked to us about some of the laws about rape and sexual harassment. She told us that it is illegal for anyone over the age of 16 to be with someone under the age of 16. She also told us what to do when people sexually harass you at school. She told us to go to the school counselor, resource officer, principal, or any other adult in the school. She also told us about the things victims of rape do to try and cope with the pain; she said that victims use date rape drugs (including alcohol). She also said that the victim might feel like it is their fault. We also did an activity in the second half as well; she put us into groups and gave us a scenario involving sexual harassment and we had to come up with what to do. After we came up with what to do we did a few together and then shared our scenario. We really enjoyed Miss McDermott coming to visit us again.

Talking about sexual harassment

On July 26, Terry Casto came from Palmetto Richland Hospital. She is a forensic nurse and her official title is SANE nurse. The acronym stands for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. She did a presentation which covered the value of evidence, preserving evidence and processing sexual assault victims.

Forensic nurse Terry Casto

The SANE program started in three states; Oklahoma, Texas, and Minnesota. To date there are over 600 SANE programs nationwide. Because of the programs, prosecuted cases have doubled with 80% conviction rate which includes more guilty pleas because of the evidence collection process.

SANE beginnings

In addition to the SANE Nurse a program was put in place called SART, which stands for Sexual Assault Response Team. This team includes law enforcement officers, forensic scientists, and the SANE Nurse. This team takes history from the victim, the time and location of incident, events in the order that they occurred, and collects evidence. They also talk to witnesses.

SART logo

Girls being attentive

Ms. Terry also told the girls that sometimes people claim to be a victim when the evidence says otherwise. In the picture, a woman claimed to have been sexually assaulted and said she had walked 5 miles with no shoes on, when the bottom of her feet didn’t show that because they were clean,free of abrasions or scratches that would have been evident if she had walk that far after being assaulted. There was also unexplained evidence like the marks on her ankle.

Sometimes evidence doesn’t match up with the victim’s story

A woman who bit her lip while being attacked

Ms. Terry told them about bite marks being very important for finding evidence. She told the girls that when someone gets a bite like this, pictures are taken to preserve the evidence since the bite mark will fade in time, and when a suspect is found they use a mold to get an imprint of the teeth. Bite marks are almost as important as fingerprints because no one’s teeth fit in their mouth the same way.

An impression of a bite mark, which is very important for finding the suspect

When a victim is sexually assaulted they have to do a pelvic examination to collect evidence. First, they explain what they are going to do and prepare them for the exam. Then they do the exam and look for bruises, rips, abrasions, tears, or scratches, also known as BRATS. They also look for foreign materials or secretions.

Pelvic examination process

It is statistically proven that ninety percent of people with mental health illness (which includes but is not limited to mental retardation) have been sexually assaulted in some way. Most of them are scared to tell anyone because they are afraid no one will believe them because of their mental disability. In some cases they do not have the ability to tell someone such as people with down syndrome, cerebral palsy, the blind, autism, etc.

Disability and sexual assault percentages

On occasion, someone will use drugs to induce their victim or use alcohol to intoxicate them and then sexually assaults them. The assailant doesn’t have to use much force because their victim is limited to what they are aware of. Some date rape drugs include G.H.B., Rohypnol, Roffies, Special K, and Liquid X. The most common date rape drug is alcohol.

Date rape story

Date Rape drugs

Ms. Terry made a point to inform the girls that when you are family or a friend of a sexual assault victim, you can do a lot more than people think. You can help the law enforcement with the evidence; don’t blame the victim if they did something that they weren’t supposed to be doing before they were sexually assaulted because they didn’t ask to be assaulted. The most important thing to do is to be there for the victim because they need the support.

What you can do

The girls would like to thank Ms. Terry Casto for taking time out of her day to come and doing her powerpoint presentation. We would like to thank her for her informative powerpoint presentation and informing us on what to do and where to go if we were sexually assaulted or someone we knew was assaulted.

Ms. Terry Casto and Troop 3285

On August 16, Mrs. Katie Reid from Sexual Trauma Services visited us and she brought Whitney Beissner with her, to talk to us about relationships.

Listening carefully

During the first half of the class, we talked about the foundation of safety in relationships. We also talked about gender stereotypes. We found the definition of stereotype; categorizing and assumptions. We did an activity to show this. We made a t-chart to show what “man up” and “lady-like” means. We figured out that when the females don’t uphold the “lady-like” stature, they do not get harassed about it and most of the time people think it’s normal. However, when the males do not uphold their “manly” stature they get severely harassed. We established that we get influenced by the media (i.e. TV shows, radio, music, etc.), family, and also friends.

Ms. Katie explaining some things about relationships

The girls being attentive

During the second half of the class, we talked more about abusive relationships. To start, we did an activity where we wrote down, on two pieces of paper, what our two most important things in a relationship would be. After that, we looked over the power and control wheel. When we were done looking over the wheel, we drew a slip of paper out of a bag and read the situation, and discussed where it would be placed on the wheel. Most of them went in more than one category. Since we were talking about abusive relationships, we talked about why people stay in relationships like that. They may stay in them because they are scared for their life, as well as the lives of the ones they love including the life of the one that is abusing them, or maybe because they feel like it is their job to change the abuser’s ways.

The Power and Control wheel

Ms. Katie explaining the power and control wheel

We would like to thank Mrs. Katie Reid, as well as Ms. Whitney Beissner, for taking time out of their busy schedule to inform us. They were very informative and they were greatly appreciated.

Taking notes

We would also like to thank Sexual Trauma Services for sending people to better educate us, as well as Mr. Kenny Lee for teaching us how to protect ourselves. In addition, we would like to thank Ms. Terry Casto for informing us on what to do if we are sexually assaulted. We learned so much from all of the people that came.

If you need help call:

24 Hour Hotline: 803-771.RAPE (Richland and Lexington counties)

Sexual Trauma Services -

3700 Forest Drive, Suite 350

Columbia, SC 29204

(ph) 803.790.8208 - (fx) 803.790.8282