Especially for Girls

Welcome to Especially for Girls! The Contra Costa Commission for Women believes in three key outcomes for girls.

• Girls do not experience violence in any of its forms.
• Girls feel good about themselves.
• Girls are prepared to lead economically secure lives

This page provides:

• Links to sources that promote these outcomes.
• Information about the crime of date rape
• Nine and Counting: A Commission Project

Date Rape

What is Date Rape?

Date rape, also know as acquaintance rape, occurs when someone you know or are dating forces you to have sex with them. This includes boyfriends, classmates, neighbors, and friends.

Is Date Rape a Crime?

Date rape is a serious crime and is a common occurrence amongst teens. Most people imagine a rapist as a stranger who lurks in alleyways waiting to attack unsuspecting women. Most victim/survivors are raped by someone they know

What Feelings Might Arise After a Date Rape?

Rape is a violent act and it causes the victim/survivor to suffer from emotional trauma. Some of the emotional effects of rape are:

• Fear
  Many teens have expressed experiencing feelings of generalized fear. Some may become fearful of certain people or places. Particular smells, sounds, or colors may trigger fear. Feeling anxious and agitated are also common reactions.

• Depression
  Most victim/survivors experience some form of depression. Some may experience sleeping too much or too little, feeling helpless and hopeless or being unable to vision a happy future.

• Loss of Trust
  A victim/survivor may not trust people anymore. She might even begin not trusting herself.

• Guilt
  The victim/survivor is not responsible for the rape, yet many victims express feelings of shame and guilt. She may even blame herself for the rape.

It is important to remember that rape…….
Is Never Your Fault.

Should I Fight Back If I Am Raped?

Go with your instincts. You may decide to run, scream, kick hit or bite the rapist. You may also decide not to fight back. Whatever your instincts guide you to do is OKAY. Your goal is to get away safely. Cooperating may prevent you from being further harm. DO Not feel guilty about the choice you make.

What Should I Do If I Am Raped?

Call the police (EMERGENCY 911) and the local rape crisis center. It may be necessary that you be taken to the hospital emergency room for treatment and examination . If you are twelve years of age or older, you may request a medical exam without obtaining your parent's or family's consent.

It is your legal right to have a crisis counselor present to support you throughout the report to the police, at the hospital, and during legal proceedings.

It is important to remember after a sexual assault that you should not change your clothes, wash, douche, or disturb anything in the physical surroundings until the police conduct their investigation. If you do, you may accidentally destroy valuable evidence the police or prosecutor might need to proceed with an arrest and obtain a conviction.

What Should I Do If Someone I Know Is Raped?

Be supportive. Provide emotional support and comfort by listening. Do not interrupt, ask for details or give advice. Let her express her feelings. Be non-judgmental. Be understanding and compassionate.

Encourage action. Empower your friend to make some decisions. This may include reporting to the police, going to the hospital or calling the rape crisis center 24-hour crisis line.

Be reassuring. Let your friend know it was not her fault. She may want to blame herself because she may believe that she did something to cause the rape. Continue to repeat that it is not her fault.

Where Can I Get Help?

If You Need Help, Call:

Contra Costa County's Community Violence Solutions Rape Crisis Center responds to more than 1,300 requests for help each year. Staff and approximately 75 volunteers are on call to provide support both by phone and in-person, 24-hours-a-day, 7-days a week.

Nine and Counting

Girls and women are important, and so are their views!

That's the message of the book Nine and Counting. It's the stories of nine ordinary girls and women who followed their passions and became United States senators.

Each of the senators tells how she overcame many hurdles along the way. Obstacles like poverty, discrimination against women, and prejudice did not keep them from seeking positive change. None of them started with the goal of becoming a U.S. senator, but their good ideas and hard work led them to that important position of leadership.

The nine senators show what's possible for girls today. Since the book was written, four more women senators were elected, bringing the total count to 13. And the counting continues....

----Kathleen Lander

The Contra Costa Commission for Women is placing a copy of the book Nine and Counting in every high school library and every public library in the county. Check out a copy and read about outstanding leaders in the U.S. Senate.