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Posts tagged: Policy

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Take a Stand for Survivors: Advocacy Day 2024
Thursday, March 07, 2024   In the Community  
One of the most important ways we can all stand up for survivors and safer communities is through political advocacy. That is why the Massachusetts…
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A Letter to MA Legislators: Support the VOCA Bridge
Friday, March 01, 2024   In the Community   Statements  
Dear Aaron Michlewitz, Chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means and Michael Rodrigues, Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, We…
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All Survivors Deserve Shelter
Thursday, November 16, 2023   In the Community  
For the nearly 4,500 Bostonians who experience homelessness any given night, accessible emergency shelter is critical. In Massachusetts, homeless…
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BARCC Supports the Revised Curriculum Framework
Tuesday, August 15, 2023   In the Community   Statements  
Dear Members of the Board of Elementary & Secondary Education, The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) and our supporters are thrilled that,…
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BARCC’s Statement on the 2023 Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Curriculum Framework
Thursday, June 22, 2023   Statements  
The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) applauds Governor Maura Healey and the administration in announcing the new framework for comprehensive…
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BARCC Stands with LGBTQ+ Survivors All Year Round
Thursday, June 22, 2023   In the Community  
During Pride Month, the Boston Rape Area Crisis Center celebrates the resilience and strength of the LGBTQ+ community. Whether it’s been…
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Breaking Silence, Pursuing Freedom
Sunday, June 18, 2023   In the Community  
On Juneteenth, we recognize that although President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved Black people in 1863, it was…
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BARCC’s Statement on Roe v. Wade SCOTUS decision
Friday, June 24, 2022   Statements  
Today’s decision striking down Roe v. Wade, is upsetting, frustrating, and painful. Abortion care is essential for sexual assault survivors,…
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Online Privacy and Safety for Survivors: 2022 Update
Thursday, March 31, 2022   In the Community  
This year’s national theme for Sexual Assault Awareness Month is “Building Safe Online Spaces Together” which brings to mind…
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Lawsuit Strikes Down 2020 Title IX Amendment
Saturday, September 25, 2021   In the Community  
Survivors on college campuses can experience some relief, thanks to a recent lawsuit that successfully challenged several amendments to the 2020…
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Back to School: The Campus Sexual Assault Law
Wednesday, September 01, 2021   In the Community  
Sexual violence, including harassment and abuse, has been a continous and prevalent issue across college campuses. In the aftermath of an assault,…
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VOCA Fix and Why It Matters
Thursday, July 29, 2021   In the Community  
On July 22, 2021, President Biden signed the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021 into law. This legislation is an important step…
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New Laws to Celebrate ✅
Friday, January 15, 2021   In the Community  
It was an incredibly busy end of the year at the State House (and unusual, given that the session usually wraps up in July, and it ended this time…
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Op-Ed: Fort Hood And Boy Scouts of America Show How Toxic Culture Breeds Sexual Abuse
Tuesday, December 15, 2020   Media  
Gina Scaramella, BARCC's executive director, shared her reflections in a GBH News op-ed on sexual abuse and assault in the wake of recent news…
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Workplace Safety during COVID-19 Must Still Address #MeToo
Thursday, October 22, 2020   In the Community  
COVID-19 has forced radical change in the physical spaces of schools and businesses and the ways in which we interact with each other in person to…
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Virtual Advocacy Day to Help Pass the Healthy Youth Act
Monday, October 05, 2020   In the Community  
Join Us to Prevent Sexual Assault, Harassment, and Abuse We still have a chance to get the Healthy Youth Act passed this year—but we need…
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Why Reports of Hysterectomies on Immigrants Without Consent Are So Disturbing
Thursday, October 01, 2020   In the Community  
Recent reports have detailed medical abuse, neglect, and hysterectomies without clear consent at U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE)…
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Following up on McClinton Case 
Friday, September 04, 2020   In the Community   Statements  
Since publishing our statement in response to media requests for comment about the case of Shawn McClinton, who was arrested August 5 and charged…
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Op-Ed: Colleges Need to Prepare For Another Challenge—Radical Changes To Title IX
Friday, August 14, 2020   Media  
In this op-ed, BARCC Executive Director Gina Scaramella outlines just some of the detrimental changes to Title IX that colleges and universities…
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Statement: BARCC Responds to Bail in McClinton Case
Tuesday, August 11, 2020   Statements  
On Wednesday, August 5, Boston police arrested and charged a Dorchester resident with aggravated rape, armed kidnapping with sexual assault,…
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What You Can Do to Support Survivors on Campus
Monday, August 03, 2020   In the Community  
This blog post was written by Samantha Weeks and Natalie Shafer, interns with the BARCC Legal Advocacy team. In May, the federal Department of…
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Reflections on COVID-19 and Decarceration
Tuesday, June 02, 2020   In the Community  
In the midst of the COVID-19 public health crisis, it’s important that our communities and legislators have conversations about the release…
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How You Make a Difference
Tuesday, June 02, 2020   In the Community  
Nationwide protests against the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many more continue. Like all of us at the Boston…
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Media: New Sexual Misconduct Regs Prompt Call for New Remedies
Tuesday, May 19, 2020   Media  
In a conversation with Boston Neighborhood Network News, Katia Santiago-Taylor, BARCC's policy director, discusses the detrimental changes to…
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Press Release: BARCC Responds to New Title IX Regulations and Urges State Lawmakers to Pass Three Bills to Mitigate Local Impact
Friday, May 08, 2020   Media  
This week, the Trump administration published long anticipated regulations governing Title IX, the 1972 law that prohibits sex-based discrimination…
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What Is Case Management?
Monday, May 04, 2020   In the Community  
And Why It Matters Now More than Ever The COVID-19 public health crisis has affected all of us, and some people much more than others. The deep…
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Beacon of Change: Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Tuesday, April 21, 2020   In the Community  
Because sexual violence cuts across all racial, ethnic, age, religious, gender, and socioeconomic lines, BARCC is grateful to collaborate with…
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Everything You Need to Know about the MA State Budget
Monday, January 27, 2020   In the Community  
The first step in building the state budget for fiscal year 2021 (which runs from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021) took place last week when…
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BARCC Statement on Senate Approval of the Healthy Youth Act
Thursday, January 16, 2020   Statements  
Today, the Massachusetts State Senate approved the Healthy Youth Act, which requires school districts offering sex education to use a curriculum…
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Letter to the Editor: BARCC Responds to Boston Globe Title IX Op-ed
Wednesday, January 08, 2020   Media  
On Thursday, January 2, the Boston Globe published an op-ed piece by Jennifer Braceras that outlined Betsy Devos's efforts to address sexual…
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Op-Ed: It’s Time to Pass the Healthy Youth Act
Thursday, November 07, 2019   In the Community  
CommonWealth recently published an op-ed by BARCC Executive Director Gina Scaramella on the importance of the Healthy Youth Act in preventing…
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Ask Legislators to Do Right by Massachusetts Youth
Tuesday, October 22, 2019   In the Community  
For years, we have been talking with legislators about the importance of sexual assault prevention, about setting the foundations for healthy…
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Statement: BARCC Applauds State Lawmakers for Including Healthy Relationship Funding in FY2020 Budget
Wednesday, July 31, 2019   Statements  
Statement by Boston Area Rape Crisis Center Executive Director Gina Scaramella on Massachusetts legislature’s approval of a FY20 budget that…
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Election Watch: What to Ask and What to Look For
Friday, July 26, 2019   In the Community  
This campaign season, we’re watching candidates to see whether they make supporting survivors of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse a…
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Massachusetts Lifted the Cap!
Tuesday, June 25, 2019   In the Community  
Earlier this year, Massachusetts legislators voted to lift the “family cap,” which denied welfare benefits to children who were…
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Media: Majority of Lawmakers Back Sex Education Bill
Tuesday, June 18, 2019   Media  
A State House News Service story on the Healthy Youth Act⁠—a Massachusetts bill that would require schools that choose to teach any sex…
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Op-Ed: Setting the Record Straight on Title IX
Tuesday, June 18, 2019   Media  
In February 2019, BARCC Executive Director penned an op-ed in the Boston Globe regarding Title IX. Excerpt: "Thanks to the 2011 guidance…
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BE HEARD in the Workplace Act Aims to End Harassment
Tuesday, June 04, 2019   In the Community  
Everyone deserves to feel safe at work, and no one should have to experience sexual harassment and assault on the job (or anywhere, of course). New…
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I Took MA Sex Ed, and All I Got Was this Story
Tuesday, April 02, 2019   In the Community  
When I think back to my sex ed class at a North Shore high school, I think of the classroom crowded with juniors and seniors. I think of our sex ed…
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Media: Women Worried About DeVos’ Proposed Title IX Changes
Monday, January 28, 2019   Media  
BARCC Executive Director Gina Scaramella and Senior Bilingual Staff Attorney Patty McNamara went on The Take with Sue O'Connell on NECN to…
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