Nineteen former and current U.S. soldiers and airmen filed suit Friday in San Francisco, claiming top military brass deprived them of constitutional rights by failing to go after their sexual predators. "The pattern is the same in all of them: The victim is blamed, ostracized, retaliated against. Rape kits are lost, evidence is lost, there is no court martial," attorney Susan Burke said in an interview. http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_21654718/soldiers-file-sexual-abuse-lawsuit-san-francisco-against

Teen Dating Violence Prevention Florida Statute 1006.148, requires school districts to adopt and implement a policy prohibiting dating violence and abuse by any student on school property, during a school sponsored activity, or during school-sponsored transportation, and providing procedures for responding to such incidents of dating violence or abuse, including accommodations for students experiencing dating violence or abuse. What is Teen Dating Violence? Teen Dating Violence is a pattern of emotional, verbal, sexual, or physical abuse used by one person in a current or past dating relationship to exert power and control over another when one or both of the partners is a teenager. Abuse may include insults, coercion, social sabotage, sexual harassment, stalking, threats and/or acts of physical or sexual abuse. The abusive partner uses this pattern of violent and coercive behavior to gain power and maintain control over the dating partner. This may also include abuse, harassment, and stalking via electronic devices such as cell phones and computers, and harassment through a third party, and may be physical, mental, or both. In Teen Dating Violence relationships, there are Three Important Roles: The Abuser - A person who physically, sexually, verbally or emotionally hurts a dating partner. The Victim - A person who is hurt physically, sexually, verbally or emotionally by a dating partner. The Bystander - A person who is aware that someone is being abused in a dating relationship. The bystander may become aware of the abuse through the abuser's or target's actions or words, or through second-hand information. http://www.fldoe.org/safeschools/TeenDatingViolence.asp

What are my rights as the victim of Domestic Violence when I need time off work? Domestic Violence: Rights of the Victim. Do I have the right to take time off from my job to deal with domestic violence against me or a family member? It depends. Under Florida State law, you have a right to take up to 3 days off from work in a twelve-month period so that you can take legal and medical actions to protect yourself or a family member from domestic violence. However, the law only applies to companies that have at least 50 employees and you must have been working at the company for three months or more.* If you work at a place that has less than 50 employees, or if you have been working for your employer for less than three months, then your employer does not have to give you time off for domestic violence issues. However, different employers might have different rules, policies, or contracts, that might let you take this time off anyway. For example, some employee manuals and some union contracts might allow for employees to take time off for domestic violence issues. You can contact your union representative (if you are in a union) or contact a trusted supervisor at your job, to find out more information about what the employer offers. Note: If you work in Miami-Dade County, then your employer has to give you up to 30 days off from work, to seek medical or dental care, legal assistance, court appearances, counseling, child support hearings, or other services or court appearances that are related to domestic violence issues.** * Fla. Stat. § 741.313(2) &(3) ** Miami-Dade Cty., Fla Code § 11A-61 http://www.womenslaw.org/index.php