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The Awareness Center

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The Awareness Center
Formation2003
TypeNon-profit
HeadquartersBaltimore, MD
Executive Director
Vicki Polin
WebsiteThe Awareness Center, Inc.

The Awareness Center, Inc. was founded as an international, nonprofit tax-exempt, educational organization also known as the Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault (JCASA), whose mission is to end sexual violence in Jewish communities.

History, goals and leadership

The Awareness Center was founded in 2001 by Vicki Polin, who is CEO of the organization. Its mission statement lists the organization's goals as being the continued development of its international data base/web page, continued growth of its international speaker's bureau, and the development of its educational certification program for rabbis, cantors and other Jewish community leaders[1].

The second phase includes the development of self-help groups for Jewish survivors, parents and family members of sex offenders to be held in communities worldwide; and the development and implementation of an international conference on sexual violence.

The third phase includes developing a healing/retreat center and on-going educational programming in Israel, the United States, and throughout the world. A long-term goal is to develop an international network of researchers.

The Awareness Center's Board of Directors and International Advisory Board includes: Dr. Mesa Leventhal Baker - Medical Director - Baltimore Child Abuse Center; Rabbi Michael Schudrich - Chief Rabbi of Poland - Warsaw, Poland, Marci Hamilton - Attorney, Professor, Specialties in Constitutional law, First Amendment, Law & Religion, New York, NY, and Michael J. Salamon, PhD. - Author and CEO of Adult Development Center in Hewlett, NY.[2]

Activities

The organization offers an educational speaker's bureau to address various issues and topics relating to healing and support, including a certification program for rabbis, cantors and other community leaders. To date the speaker's bureau has provided educational programs to college students, Jewish youth and community groups, and at professional conferences.

The Awareness Center has been actively involved in a growing movement to abolish the statute of limitations (SOL) for filing a civil suit against alleged and convicted sex offenders. The goal has been to help survivors of sex crimes to be allowed to have their day in court. Members of The Awareness Center have participated in press conferences and have provided testimony at legislative hearings across the United States. Since 2007, members of The Awareness Center participated in SOL events in Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Washington DC, Wisconsin.

The Awareness Center's web page includes lists of rabbis, psychotherapists, lawyers, holistic practioners and physicians who are sensitive to the needs of sexual trauma survivors,[3] definitions of different types of sex crimes, and articles published by the center explaining aspects of surviving and reporting such experiences.[4]

The organization has over 260 rabbis from all around the world who publicly support the organization from every movement of Judaism, which includes Rabbi Yosef Blau, Rabbi Reuven Bulka, and Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz, who is President of the Beth Din of America (Jewish Religous Court).

Rabbi Yosef Blau, religious adviser at Yeshiva University and an advocate for survivors of clergy sexual abuse and misconduct, has stated that the website is very valuable "[s]ince you can't get people arrested and there are no court cases, you have to use a standard that's reasonable and [disclosure] works in that context"[5].

Criticism and controversy

The Awareness Center has not limited itself to listing people who have been convicted of crimes. Some of the people profiled on the website have not been charged with any offense in criminal or civil court.[6]

Rabbi Mark Dratch, chair of the Rabbinical Council of America's Task Force on Rabbinic Improprieties and founder of the organization JSafe addressing sexual abuse in the Jewish community, a one-time supporter of the Center, has re-evaluated his position. During a keynote address "When Authority Breaks Down: The Abuse of Power", Rabbi Dratch referred to Ms. Polin and The Awareness Center "as his own personal hero for creating the list of alleged and convicted offenders". JOFA 5th International Conference. 2004. Since then, he resigned from the Awareness Center's advisory board in "disagreement with the organization on the standards required for publishing on her Web site. I wasn't satisfied with the threshold of verification. There are people who've been victimized and others who've been subject to false reports also being victimized. The big problem we have in this area is verifying the allegations and moving forward."[5]

According to The Awareness Center, Rabbi Dratch has been repeatedly asked to supply a list of names of individuals who he objected being on the organization's web page, as of May 16, 2008, no list has ever been provided. It is also important to note that Rabbi Dratch has no specialized training in the field of sexual violence, nor experience working with sex offenders. His experience has been in the field of domestic violence.

Rabbi Avi Shafran, spokesman for the Orthodox Agudath Israel of America group, has criticized the center for using material from anonymous blogs.[5].

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union and a trained psychologist, said that while the Awareness Center and the blogs "have served the purpose of keeping this in the public spotlight and keeping the pressure on established institutions to police their constituencies," nonetheless "I read everything with a grain of salt."[5].

When asked Rabbi Weinreb will admit that he has no specialized training in the field of sexual violence, nor experience working with sex offenders.

References

  1. ^ The Awareness Center's Mission Statement
  2. ^ The Awareness Center's Board of Directors and International Advisory Board
  3. ^ "Professionals serving the Jewish community". The Awareness Center. 2003-09-12. Retrieved 2007-02-15.
  4. ^ "Articles written by the Awareness Center". The Awareness Center. 2006-12-19. Retrieved 2007-02-15.
  5. ^ a b c d Meyer, Eugene L. (2007-01-18). "Awareness Center a clearinghouse of concern — and controversy". Washington Jewish Week. Retrieved 2007-02-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Clearinghouse of concern". The Cleveland Jewish News. January 19, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
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