I wanted to share briefly what I am working on right now. While reading books about trauma, brain development and healing I am organizing the 3rd annual conference in Iceland. It will be held again in May. It is being co-sponsord by the CPA (child protection agency) of Iceland, Reykjavík University and a few other great organizations. I was very pleased when Dr. Felitti agreed to come to Iceland to present the Ace study. I have shared on these pages how much impact learning about the Ace study had on me. All of the things that help me learn about the effects of the trauma I survived are a really good thing. It all helps me help myself. The hardest thing for me is to have compassion for myself so the more I learn the easier I am on me. This was a little side note. I have a short version of the ACE score questionare that I will post here one day.
I am just going to copy the – save the date announcement in here – so that I don´t have to type that up all over again and if you think you know of someone interested in attending or perhaps speaking (at a future conference) please do not hesitate to contact me at svavabb@gmail.com
For those who don’t know I am a co-founder for a non-profit in Iceland called Blatt afram or straight forward. www.blattafram.is english Our mission is to prevent CSA through education and awareness.
Prevention is the best way – Conference in Reykjavík – Iceland, May 15-16, 2008.
Education + discussion = Prevention
Our 3rd annual conference on child sexual abuse prevention will be held at Reykjavik University in May 2008.
The objective of the conference is to look at the ways the community can prevent the sexual abuse of children. When faced with the discussion of sexual abuse, people are often limited to their emotional responses of outrage, fear, anger and denial. We have a great responsibility as spokespeople to set a good example and discuss it openly. We do that by drawing attention to the many ways we can learn about and prevent the sexual abuse of children.
Presenters:
Shirley Paceley, trainer, counselor, author and the founder and director of Blue Tower Training Center, which provides training, consultation and resources on an international basis. She has a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology and 33 years experience working with persons with disabilities. Shirley has received numerous awards for her work in sexual abuse prevention and intervention for persons with developmental disabilities. For more information about Shirley Paceley, go to www.bluetowertraining.com
Dr. Vincent Felitti, Physician, Department of Preventive Medicine Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, San Diego, California. The ACE Study is an ongoing collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente. Led by Co-principal Investigators Robert F. Anda, MD, MS, and Vincent J. Felitti, MD, the ACE Study is perhaps the largest scientific research study of its kind, analyzing the relationship between multiple categories of childhood trauma (ACEs), and health and behavioral outcomes later in life. For more information about Dr. Felitti, go to www.acestudy.org
Justin Berry. At 13, Justin was lured by pedophiles into sexual performances in front of a home webcam. His story was featured in a front-page article in the New York Times in December, 2005, as well as on Oprah Winfrey, the Today show, Good Morning America and numerous other programs. Justin is now 20 years old. He received the Courage in the Media Award from the International Violence, Abuse and Trauma Conference in San Diego. For more information about Justin Berry, go to http://justinberry.tv
Conference Sponsors: Government CPA, Blátt Áfram (a non-profit, child sexual abuse prevention organization), Reykjavík University, National Association of Intellectual Disabilities and more.
The complete conference schedule, once confirmed, will be available online at www.blattafram.is (English/conference). If you would like more information about the conference, participation or registration please email Svava@blattafram.is
