Wednesday, June 13, 2007

V-Day Islington Reunion: Friday 15th June

Hello Everyone,

Just a friendly, organised, reminder about Friday evening. Our V-Day Islington Reunion is scheduled to begin around 6pm at The Alwyne Castle in Islington. I think they have food, but check their site for details, you may want to eat beforehand.

I may not arrive until closer to 7pm. The idea is to head there after work to catch up with each other before the summer. I know some of you are unable to attend. I did hear back from about half of you, so there should be a good group of us there. Hopefully the weather will be nice (What's with all these clouds? Oh right, we are in London!) and we can enjoy drinks outside. Otherwise we can crash the non-smoking area like we did last time if there isn't enough space in the main bar. We will find each other!

Hope everyone is well and looking forward to seeing many of you on Friday.

Kara

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Saturday, May 26, 2007

V-Day Islington Reunion

Hi all,

I heard back from about half of you and have decided that our meet-up will be on Friday, June 15th at The Alwyne Castle from about 6pm. I will not book the room there, as we were fine crashing the non-smoking area last time and there is an outdoor area which we should be able to use if the weather is suitable. Fingers crossed!

I realise some of you are unable to make it due to other commitments and I apologise that we could not accommodate you and hope to catch up with you at a later date. Enjoy your summer and stay tuned for the upcoming project Erin and I will be organising for August/September.

As for the rest of you, see you in a couple of weeks! Wahoo! If you forgot how to get to the Alwyne, I did include a link to their site in my initial email. Otherwise, send me an email and I can help you out.

Take care and enjoy your bank holiday weekend.

Kara

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Sunday, May 20, 2007

Meet-Up Choices

Hello All,

I've given you about a week to respond to my first email and have heard back from about half of you. Of course it's challenging to plan an event for so many people, but luckily many of you replied that you are free for all the dates! Yay!

For the others, I tried to work around your schedule. There are two dates that are possible. One is Friday, June 15th and the other is Saturday, June 30th. (I'm sorry Monica that these dates don't work for you, I had to go with majority.) Friday's meet-up would be after work, around 6/7pm and we could do the same time on Saturday, or a bit later in the evening, after dinnertime, like 7 or 8. Eli (Reclaiming Cunt monologue) will be leaving London permanently mid-June, so her last chance to see everyone would be June 15th. Just to keep that in mind. :)

Please respond and let me know which date you prefer and we will finalise the date and time by Thursday, 24th May.

All the best,

Kara

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Tuesday, May 15, 2007

V-Day Islington Reunion!

Hello Everyone,

Have you missed my long, detailed and organised emails? Well miss me no more. I have returned from my long sabatical after our show. And I am ready to start organising again. That's right, I would like to organise a time to get together before the summer is in full swing, mostly because I will be gone for the month of July...I've also had a few emails from some of you who are interested in meeting up to see how everyone is doing.

June: I know it's a bit short notice, but I'd like to organise something for June. I am assuming most will be out of town for the Bank Holiday weekend, so June is our best bet. Please respond and let me know if a Friday evening or a late Saturday afternoon/early evening would be better for you. [dates below]

Also let me know any dates you absolutely CAN'T do and I will try to organise something for a day where the most of us can attend. I do think it may be difficult to find a time everyone can attend, but will do my best. I am thinking that the easiest place to meet for drinks would be where we had our 'cast party' after the show, since Islington seems the best locale for meeting. They also had a large enough space which extends outdoors and it should be sunny weather by THEN. [The Alwyne Castle on St. Paul's road]

Future Events:
Erin and I are also meeting this week to discuss another event we would like to organise together to be put on at the end of August. After we have our meeting, I will send out an email with the information in case any of you would be interested in taking part or at least attending. This will be a book reading, rather than a theatre performance, for the book release of A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer, edited by Eve Ensler. More details to follow.

Back to party planning. Possible days for our V-Day reunion:
Friday from 7pm onwards
Saturday from 6/7pm onwards

Possible dates:

Friday, June 1
Saturday, June 9
Friday, June 15
Friday, June 22
Saturday, June 23
Saturday, June 30

Again, just let me know the dates that DON'T work for you, that's easier to organise on my end.

Here's hoping that we all catch up together soon!

Kara

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Wednesday, May 09, 2007

You Can Help Native American Women

taken from the latest V-DAY email for organisers...important to share...This issue is important to me as I spent time on Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.

According to the Department of Justice Statistics, rape in American Indian and Alaska Native communities is 3.5 times higher than among all other racial groups. V-Day first brought this staggering statistic into the public consciousness in 2003 with the Indian Country Project and Spotlight on Native and First Nations Women.

Four years later, V-Day has helped open two safe houses in South Dakota and exposed millions of women and men all over the world to these injustices. Despite these groundbreaking accomplishments, this statistic has yet to change, due in large part to the lack of resources and education among Indian Health Services (I.H.S.) emergency room and sexual assault practitioners.

The Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center, a grassroots women's health institute on the Yankton Dakota Reservation in South Dakota is working to remedy this situation by calling on the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to bring sufficient training and resources to the I.H.S. emergency response workers.

The project will demand that I.H.S. have standardized sexual assault policies and protocols for their emergency rooms in place with trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners.

By ensuring that admissible evidence is gathered correctly, repeat rapists will be prosecuted and taken off of the streets, thereby reducing the amount of rapes within the Native communities.

YOU CAN HELP! Please read the below appeal from Charon Asetoyer, Executive Director Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center to learn more!

Letter From Charon Asetoyer, Executive Director Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center
Dear Sisters and Allies,

We are asking for your help in addressing the health care needs of Indigenous women who suffer from sexual violence: Indigenous women of North American experience more violence than any other group of people in this country. More than 1 in 3 will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.

The Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center, located in Lake Andes, SD among the Ihanktowan Dakota Nation (Yankton Sioux Tribe), has been working for over four years to have Indian Health Service adopt and implement standardized policies and protocols for sexual assault at Indian Health Service (I.H.S.) emergency rooms, direct health care facilities and contract health care. The I.H.S. emergency room, for women that live on reservations, is usually the first place they go for services after a sexual assault. An essential part of our proposed protocols is that every I.H.S. emergency room, direct care health facility and contract health care facility have a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner on staff.

A vital need for Indigenous women's well being is the proper care after a rape: Our biggest health care barrier is that many Indian Health Service (I.H.S.) nurses and doctors are not properly trained in the use of a police rape kit, thus evidence of the crime is inadmissible for prosecution of the perpetrator(s). SANE/Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners are trained to administer the rape kit correctly so forensic evidence is collected properly and to ensure the rape kit is done in the most humane and respectful way for the victim. (The Indian Health Service is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that provides health care to Indigenous Nations and tribes of North America. Health care is an obligation of the U.S. government through legally binding treaties.)

The needs of Indigenous women who have been raped have been ignored or minimally addressed by Indian Health Service, even as the assaults have increased. We have endured sexual brutalization historically to this very day. Virginia Davis, associate counsel for the National Congress of American Indians said, "It's jaw dropping...We've been talking about this for years. I think this is an incredibly complicated problem. Most Americans can live their daily lives and never think about it." (From the Amnesty International report "Maze of Injustice: The Failure to Protect Indigenous Women from Sexual Violence in the USA") Larry Cox, Amnesty International Executive Director said, "It is disgraceful that such abuse exists today. Without immediate action, an already abysmal and outrageous situation for women could spiral even further out of control."

With your help in flooding Health and Human Services Secretary Mike LeavittĀ¹s office with emails or letters demanding that standardized sexual assault policies and protocols within Indian Health Service emergency rooms be immediately addressed we could realize substantial progress in this effort. You may email to: ml.05@hhs.gov and cc denise.schwarz@hhs.gov (his secretary) or write to:

Secretary Mike Leavitt

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

200 Independence Avenue, Room S.W., Room 615F

Washington, DC 20201

And request that Indian Health Service adopts and implement standardized Sexual Assault Policies and Protocols for I.H.S. Emergency. This health care crisis must be addressed with great urgency for the well being of Indigenous women.

For more information on the policies and protocols you can google YouTube, and type in NCAI in the search box, this will take you to the DVD we produced on the Sexual Assault Policies and Protocols for Indian Health Service Emergency Rooms.

Findings from a Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center report produced in 2005 of Indian Health Service Emergency Rooms include:

-30% of the Service Units surveyed do not have Sexual Assault Protocols in place.

-Although 70% do protocols, the percentage of Service Units with a protocol posted and accessible to staff members is only 56%. The statistics reflect a discrepancy between policy and practice.

-44% of the Indian Health Service facilities surveyed lack trained personnel to perform emergency services in the event of a rape. This means that there are no SANE/Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners in place to do a rape kit.

-With out a police rape kit there is no forensic evidence collected which means no convictions. The perpetrator is free to perpetrate again, and does.

-Travel distance for women to Indian Health Service Units to get a rape kit done are vast. In the Albuquerque area the average distance a woman has to travel to get a rape kit done after a rape is 150 miles. In Alaska the distance is unbelievable. This means that women often cannot even get a rape kit done.

Should Indian Health Service adopt and implement standardized sexual assault policies and protocols for their Emergency Rooms with trained SANE Examiners in place we would see a reduction in the number of repeated rapes within our communities by having the evidence to get some of these perpetrators prosecuted. It all starts with the proper collection of evidence.

The policies and protocols would also insure that Native women could access the same standard of service that other women receive in the general population. Such as routine STD screening, Pep, EC if wanted, etc. This is currently not happening.

Nina Wopida Tanka (great thanks) for your help in ending sexual violence against Indigenous women of North America.

Respectfully,

Charon Asetoyer, Executive Director
Native American Women's
Health Education Resource Center
PO Box 572
Lake Andes, SD 57356
605.487.7072
charon[at]charles-mix.com

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Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Comfort Women House Resolution HR121

Dear organizers,
Below is an email I received from the president of the Washington Coalition for Comfort Women Issues. There has been another resolution brought to the House, but some of your Congressmen need your encouraging!!! Please take the time to contact them and encourage them to support the resolution and give hope to Comfort Women that they may get reparations yet! The guidelines for how to make contact can be found here.
We hope you will lend your support!
Shael,Cecile and Kate


Dear all,

First of all, I want to thank you for your continued effort, supporting of H.R.121. We count on your tireless team work to accomplish our goal, that is to pass H.R.121. We are in great need more than ever to secure more co-sponsors of HR 121 and herewith I attached the list of those congress members . We should focus on those members who have not co-sponsored yet, either by petition drive or calling/ meeting them whatever possible means that you might have. If your district congress member is already on the board, you can refer to your friends to contact other non-cosponsors. Please visit our website for petition drive guidelines,
Time is critical and we count on your invaluable work to make it happen.

Thanks and Best!

Ok Cha Soh
President
Washington Coalition for Comfort Women Issues, Inc.

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Monday, March 26, 2007

Our Show! Success!


Saturday we performed to a sold out audience, of more than 200 men and women at the Central Library in Islington. The final numbers on funds raised aren't in yet, but it should be between 2000-3000gbp. Amazing. I just posted a photo of the cast on the night of the dress rehearsal, now I would like to post one of the way we felt after our show. More details, reflections and photos to come...Thank you ladies, for making my dream come true.

Dress Rehearsal: You ladies ROCK


Friday evening we had our dress rehearsal until 10pm. Ali was our photographer and took over 300 photos which I will put on a CD and will then be copied for the entire cast, courtesy of Annie. I leave on Thursday evening for the big trip, so not sure how much will be posted before then, but here is a sneak peak at the photos to come. Well done ladies.

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