Sunday, November 24, 2024
11/24/2024
Florida has a large and diverse population. Home to over 20 million residents, it is the third most populated state in the nation (United States Census Bureau, 2014; U.S. News, 2018). Approximately 51% of the population is female (United States Census Bureau, 2018). Over 20% of Florida’s population was foreign-born, although approximately 55% of them are naturalized citizens. Fourteen percent of the state’s population, or over 2 million individuals, live in poverty. In addition, 29.1% of those living in poverty were children under 18 years, while 70.9 % were adults (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). As these children grow, their relationships and environment play a significant role in brain development. If there is no nurturing stable adult, or safe, protective space, the brain rewires. This is true at the community level, too: families and children living in communities with multiple risk factors are more likely to experience multiple forms of violence. Emerging research supports the public health approach to violence prevention. Addressing risk and protective factors common among multiple forms of violence provides the impetus for significant impact on public health issues. Sexual Violence continues to be a pervasive obstruction to safety, health and well-being in Florida, the nation, and our world. Beyond the devastating effects of sexual violence on survivors, families, and friends, it is critical to address its impact in the context of the social determinants of health, health equity, economic costs, and norms of our community culture. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement Uniform Crime Report demonstrates an increase in the number of reported rapes. In 2017, there were a reported 11,174 forcible sex offenses; 3,240 fondling offenses; and 7,924 rape reported offenses. This equates to a forcible rape occurring in the state every one hour and six minutes. Per the Florida Department of Education, there are 1,563 public high schools in the state. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is a statewide, school-based confidential survey of Florida’s public high school students. The purpose of YRBS is to monitor priority health-risk behaviors that contribute substantially to the leading causes of death, disability and social problems among youth, which contribute to patterns in adulthood. The 2017 Florida YRBS revealed 6.2% of students surveyed were forced by someone they were dating to do sexual things; 8.4% were physically hurt on purpose, and 9.6% were threatened, controlled, or made to feel unsafe by someone they were dating. Fourteen percent of students were bullied on school property, and 11.5% were bullied electronically in the past 12 months. Further, 9.7% students were teased because someone thought they were gay, bisexual or lesbian. The School Environmental Safety Incident Reporting (SESIR) System currently collects data on 26 types of crime, violence, and disruptive behaviors that occur on school grounds, on school transportation, and at off-campus, school-sponsored events, during any 24-hour period, 365 days per year. Incidents are reported by schools to the districts which, in turn, provide the data to the Department of Education (DOE). A total of 68,365 violence-related incidents were reported throughout the state during the 2016-2017 school year. Some of these included bullying (3,153), harassment (1,775), hazing (6), sexual assault (46), sexual battery (37), sex offenses (1,431), and threat / intimidation (4,124). The majority included fighting and physical attack (19,742 and 10,633, respectively). (http://www.fldoe.org/schools/healthy-schools/discipline-data.stml) Collectively, this information conveys the significance, prevalence and burden of sexual violence, related forms of violence, and the urgency to mitigate risk factors and enhance protective factors to eliminate violence.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
