Where does your state stand?

In 2009, California put the DNA Arrestee Law in to action. Now when someone is arrested in California for a felony a DNA sample will be taken along with their finger prints. How does this help? Having this law allows for both old and new cases to be solved faster than normal, rather than waiting to get the DNA sample once the suspect has been convicted. So take a look, where does your state stand with the DNA arrestee law?


21 States Have Passed The Law

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia.

Why should your state pass DNA Arrestee Testing Laws?

Every day innocent people needlessly become victims of violent crimes. Most of these are committed by repeat offenders. By passing state legislation that enables law enforcement to collect DNA from felony arrestees, at the same time as fingerprints, your state can catch criminals sooner. That means you can prevent most of these crimes, save more lives, and provide more protection to the innocent.

For further information check out http://www.dnasaves.org/index.php

Safer Sex is Totally Hot!

One of the many projects we've been working on over the past couple of months is creating new and of course sexy ways to encourage students to make sexual health a priority. We're going to save the big fancy project that's been our labor of love for the official roll out which is happening in the coming months. In the mean time we wanted to share a tiny list with huge impact. (not that size really matters...or does it?) Anyhow, enjoy!

Smart + Safe = Sexy

1. If you are not able to discuss sex with your partner, then you should not have sex with your partner. It is important to talk about your sexual health, protection, and birth control before sexual intimacy, not after. For the right partner, this is a turn-on.

2. For optimal protection, double up by using birth control (pill, patch, ring, etc.) to prevent pregnancy and a condom to prevent STIs (sexually transmitted infections). Doubling up your condoms themselves is never a good idea, though: the friction usually ruins them both. In order for condoms to serve their purpose, they must be stored safely and used properly.

3. A back-up plan is always good; consider carrying two condoms in case of emergency or in case of an unexpected round two.

4. Asking your partners to practice safe sex does not—we repeat, does not—mean you do not trust them. It means that your sexual health and theirs is a priority. And if they can't respect that, then they don't respect you.

5. Mixing alcohol or drugs with sex can be a disastrous combination. These substances can alter your ability to make good decisions. If you want to get intimate, it’s best to do it when you are sober.

6. Regular sexual-health care is essential to maintaining your sexual health and well-being and super sexually empowered status. We're not just talking about "uh-oh" tests or exams. Your sexual health appointments should be an annual soiree of the private and confidential variety.

7. Sex should be consensual and pleasurable for all parties involved. When in doubt, don't.

Sex & Alcohol

Whenever I see stuff like this:

I can't help but think of this:

The definition for Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault
Drug facilitated sexual assault is generally used to define situations in which victims are subjected to non consensual sexual acts while they are incapacitated or unconscious due to the effects of alcohol and/or other drugs and are therefore, prevented from resisting and/or are unable to give consent.

WHY DO SOME WOMEN THINK HITTING IS OKAY?

Take a peak at the following article. It saddens me and amazes me that women all over the world believe it is ok for husbands to hit us.

Questions for thought:
How does our culture influence these views?
What gives any man whether be a husband, boyfriend, acquaintance, or complete stranger the right to hit any woman?
How can you we help to change these women’s view?

I would love to hear what you think!

- Sabrina

A Global Look At Women's Attitudes Toward Domestic Abuse
by Jen Nedeau category: Health
Published August 20, 2009 @ 10:06AM PT

Nothing makes it OK for a husband to hit his wife, but for some reason there is a large percentage of women that think it is somehow acceptable as shown in this graphic from Global Health Magazine,

According to this data from UNICEF, there is an alarming percentage of women who believe it's OK for their husbands to physically abuse them. I wish I could understand how domestic violence makes sense in these countries, and tell these women that no one deserves to be hit. We need to eradicate that type of thinking if that is the reason behind some of these startling
statistics.

Editors Note:
The image "Percentage of Women Who Believe It's OK For Husbands To Hit Them" uses data from UNICEF, but the image itself is from GLOBAL HEALTH magazine, published by the Global Health Council, a non-profit organization. The magazine focuses on a number of issues that impact women worldwide - including a story on survivors of the Rwandan Genocide who contracted HIV and/or became impregnated as a result. Feel free to join their readership here.

She makes me feel like a natural woman

From Kashi to Zevia, Becca is making her rounds of modeling for delicious natural products. We found our way into not one, but two granola grocery type places while we were in Portland, OR. I'm not knocking em', I love em'. There's lots of bicycle riding, dreadlock wearing, Subaru wagon driving, organic, green, liberal living hippie dippie folks in the city of Portland. We're ready to go back!