The Victim Assistant 🐼

Thank you domesticshelters.org for providing a one-stop shop for victims to obtain shelter locations and information and for this great article and advice on self-esteem. https://www.domesticshelters.org/domestic-violence-articles-information/rebuilding-your-self-esteem-after-abuse#.VIh2e0u4nFJ

For #GivingTuesday my e-book on domestic violence, Love is a Battlefield, The Survival Guide is free December 2, 2014 on Amazon.com. Awareness and education can prevent domestic violence! Let's keep the conversation going to end domestic violence. Happy Reading!  http://www.amazon.com/Love-Battlefield-Survival-Andrea-Sierra-ebook/dp/B00NFW3TGC/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1417475730&sr=1-3&keywords=love+is+a+battlefield

What is #GivingTuesday, well, its a global day dedicated to giving back to our communities. On December 2, 2014 organizations, businesses and people will come together for one common purpose: to celebrate the art of giving! Join in the new tradition of global generosity. For more information visit  givingtuesday.org  and/or nnedv.org/givingtuesday to donate to an advocacy program. For #GivingTuesday my e-book on domestic violence, Love is a Battlefield, The Survival Guide will be free on Tuesday December 2, 2014. Awareness and education can prevent domestic violence!   http://www.amazon.com/Love-Battlefield-Survival-Andrea-Sierra-ebook/dp/B00NFW3TGC/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1417475730&sr=1-3&keywords=love+is+a+battlefield

To close out Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I want EVERYONE to get educated on an epidemic. Over 4.7 million women a year experience physical violence by an intimate partner. Raising awareness will increase the public's willingness to report abuse and make it intolerable! Earlier this year we saw, Ray Rice perpetrate violence against a women and some responses to his inappropriate actions have been in turn similar to his vulgar actions. The ignorance that people subscribe to has been displayed in their insensitive Halloween costumes this year. A couple dressed up as Ray and Janay Rice in black face with a black eye is not only racially insensitive but socially unacceptable in 2014. Not to mention a child wearing a similar outfit dragging an African American doll around. We need to abandon the ignorance and educate ourselves on anti-violence as a whole. Children and young adults need to know the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships. If you think about it EVERYO

To raise awareness for domestic violence, I am offering my book, Love is a Battlefield: The Survival Guide for free today only (October 4). Get the facts, get educated, and be informed on the problem that 1 in 4 women face. Remember October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and wear purple on October 23, 2014. #PurpleThursday. E-book available on Amazon.com or on Kindle app.

Domestic Violence impacts 1 in 4 women. Please educate yourself on the warning signs and help promote healthy relationships!  Visit the following websites for more information: http://nnedv.org/getinvolved/dvam.html http://www.nrcdv.org/dvam/home http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/30/presidential-proclamation-national-domestic-violence-awareness-month-201 You can also contact me with questions or comments at pandatheadvocate@gmail.com. Join the purple ribbon campaign!  Read Love is a Battlefield: The Survival Guide available on Amazon.com.  

I am excited to have released my new e book titled, Love is a Battlefield: The Survival Guide, yesterday on Amazon.com. This book can help anyone affected by family violence. Understanding the dynamics, warning signs, and victimology will raise awareness to a very prevalent problem. In lieu of the Ray Rice scandal, it is obvious that the public needs education and awareness on domestic violence. The unfortunate reality is that these people are public figures so we will not know the truth because they have publicists dictating responses from both the victim and abuser.      A month ago, I read a Sport's Illustrated article in their August 4th edition titled, "Message Unsent". This article, written by Phil Taylor, highlighted his outrage with Goodell's lack of holding Rice accountable. "Nothing in Goodell's words or actions conveyed a sense that he was disgusted by what happened to Janay Rice....". Well now he's disgusted because a video of the incide

Thanks to Love is Not Abuse, I read this heartfelt story of a father's dedication to educating youth about the dangers of dating violence. The signs of violence were there but ignored! Please all parents of children ages 10-18 educate your kids on the red flags and dangers of unhealthy relationships. Take the time to talk to your teens and share this article with them. There is great courage in this father's ability to forgive. I don't think that I could embrace the killer's family and show such compassion. Thank you to the Astley family for this story and inspiration. http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2014/06/05/parents-find-cause-honor-cherished-lost-life/HjayajgEL2QyzcJjjqgZCM/story.html For more information on red flags of dating violence and how to talk to your children please visit the following links: http://www.breakthecycle.org/sites/default/files/hanbook_-_parents_of_teen_0.pdf http://www.theredflagcampaign.org/index.php/dating-violence/red-fla

It brings me great sadness to announce that a former co-worker, and dedicated Mesa Police Department Officer, Brandon Mendoza, passed away this week as the result of a drunk driver. To honor his service and memory, I feel it is necessary to educate the public on the dangers and severity of impaired driving. According to MADD (Mother's Against Drunk Driving) on average, one in three people will be involved in a drunk driving crash in their lifetime. As a result, for the last seven years, MADD has campaigned to ELIMINATE drunk driving by focusing on three steps: Support our heroes .  Support high-visibility law enforcement to catch drunk drivers and discourage others from driving drunk. Sober to start .  Require ignition interlock devices, or in-car breathalyzers, for all drunk drivers, to prove they are sober before their car will start. Secure the future .  Support the development of technology to determine automatically whether or not the driver is above the legal limit of .08

I saw this on the news this morning and it made me sick to my stomach. Awhile back I wrote in my blog that a recent study uncovered that 25% of parents polled feared that their children could get hurt at school, well, I get it. Since Victims' Rights Week is next week, I wanted to inform you of this story of a high school student that was brutally attacked by another student in the locker room, supposedly over tennis shoes. The incident was caught on tape and clearly shows the victim being continuously hit by the offender (animal). According to news reports, the victim suffered numerous injuries to the face and several broken bones, one report indicates that the animal actually broke the victim's nose and it separated from  his face causing victim to have to endure reconstructive surgery and get a metal plate in his nose. First, let's talk about the schools response......there was NONE! The video clearly indicates no adult presence or supervision! The school did not even cal

The recent and continual decline in the economy and rise in unemployment increases the reasons why homelessness continues to grow in our country. According to the National Coalition Against Homelessness, without wage growth, people cannot afford decent housing and have to resort to homeless or family shelters. Many shelters are reporting that their clients are the "working poor". Some of these clients are homeless due to domestic violence. This morning,The Today Show, featured a great piece on "The Working Homeless" documenting a young mother that fled an abusive relationship with her children and the struggles she faces finding decent housing and masking her current living situation.  Stories like this make me feel obligated to bring awareness to the needs of others. View the story..... Jobs, but no homes: Meet the working homeless As the number of homeless in many of our major cities grows, one surprising trend is how many of the are working: people working low-

To close out Dating Violence Awareness Month, view and share this powerful video on dating violence..."The Signs". Spread the awareness!  http://vimeo.com/85676862  Special thanks to Love is Not Abuse!

Due to the recent unfortunate, sad and untimely death of a young Missouri girl that was abducted this week, I thought it would be helpful to provide some prevention advice and information to parents. I always encourage parents to talk to their children about the dangers of strangers and safety planning but not many know what to say to their kids. Here are some tips on what to say to children to prevent stranger abductions. 1. Strangers do not look like monsters. In fact, they blend in well with others. Remind children to never speak to adults they do not know. 2. Explain to children that a stranger can try and befriend you or trick you by gaining your trust by using stories like mom or dad have been hurt or they asked me to check on you or pick you up. These efforts need to be ignored and reported to parents or a trusted adult immediately. 3. Please never leave your children unsupervised. If they need to walk to school, try and make sure that they are in a group or with a trusted

WomensLaw.org is a one-stop shop for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse to get legal support and resources. Victims can obtain valuable information on protective orders, divorce, gun laws, custody, tribal law, and immigration per state. In addition to legal resources, there is information on local shelter programs, education on various issues, and even help to advocates and lawyers working with victims. The best part about this website is you can click on a state and get information on laws for that particular state. Knowledge is power! Pass it on!   Home  >  Know the Laws  > Arizona > STATE LAWS       View a state...   Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Mic

Legislators are comparing two bills that would make it a crime to take revenge on an ex-lover by posting nude photos on the Internet. This practice is commonly referred to as "revenge porn." With the exception of victims in New Jersey and California, which recently criminalized "revenge porn", victims have no legal recourse. With these bills, there will be harsh penalties including fines and prison time. I have three issues with these bills, one issue is there is no recourse for recovering these damaging photos. No one can force the hand of the websites where the posts were made to erase the photos. So victims have no guarantee that their embarrassing and private photos will not resurface. Another issue I have is that victims have to take some responsibility for their actions and taking part in racy photos is risky behavior with consequences. In this day of social media, it is dangerous to take part in nude photography with someone just because you have no idea what

Despite an unfortunate and embarrassing incident involving an ASU fraternity last week, I decided to redirect the negative and introduce you to the greatness that comes out of the university. ASU students have come together to create an app that can help parents monitor cyber bullying on Facebook. According to the website, BullyBlocker is a app designed t o prevent cases of adolescents being cyberbullied on Facebook, BullyBlocker alerts parents of potential cases where their child may be a victim of this form of online aggression. Indeed, over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and well over half of the victims do not tell their parents when cyberbullying occurs. Addressing this epidemic, BullyBlocker gauges at-risk adolescents who are most emotionally vulnerable by using a combination of computer science coupled with psychology research.  After being granted various permissions, BullyBlocker extracts information from the child’s Facebook data to be analyzed for si