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SEX, LIES, from page 3
Still homeless and working the streets,
Lorenz-Todd was in Portland, searching for
an elusive father. Surviving violent attacks
from customers, cold and rainy winters and
harsh judgments from people, Lorenz-Todd
kept her head above water. In June, at age
26, “through the grace of God” (and county
services), she finally moved into her first
real home. And she couldn’t be more
relieved.
“I will never, never let myself be
homeless again,” Lorenz-Todd says. “I won’t
allow it.”
She receives Social Security and food
stamps but still sells sex every so often to
pay the bills. But, she says, she would love
to put prostitution behind her.
“It would be lovely to not have that as an
option anymore, not have to give myself to
strangers,” she says. “That would be a
dream come true.”
Based on her experience and those or
people she’s met along the way, Lorenz-Todd
believes a deep distrust in authority is a one
of main reasons sex work and sexual abuse
keep happening.
“They look at us like we’re pieces of shit,”
she says. “They don’t see who we really are.
We’re going to do everything and anything
we can to not be outside that night. It’s
survival.”
If she ever found herself in a- situation
with a client where she felt her life was
threatened, the last thing she would do, she
says, is call the police.
“A cop would easily take me to jail for
prostituting before saving me from an
attack, or even pursuing an attacker,”
Lorenz-Todd says. “It’s so wrong. So
backwards.”
However, Sgt. Mike Geiger, head of the
Portland Police Bureau’s sexual abuse unit,
says, “We recognize that people from all
walks of life can be the victim of a sexual
assault. We draw no line.” He addsTfiS“’ “~"
bureau needs the help of outreach workers
to get a more accurate account of the extent
of sex abuse among people who are
homeless.
oth Lorenz-Todd and Harris say
outreach and friendly faces among
authority figures are welcome and would
help homeless people to begin trusting the
police.
“If we can get people on the streets to
help the homeless have a voice and
understand their rights, if they can be made
to feel like a person again, they are more apt
to open up,” Harris says. “Compassion goes
a long way.”
Among outreach agencies helping the
homeless women who have been sexually
assaulted is JOIN, a nonprofit aimed at
transitioning people into permanent shelter.
JOIN’S Liz Weber, an outreach worker
who describes herself as a “cheerleader” for
the homeless people she works with. From
B
street roots
Nov. 9, 2012
survival sex —for warmth, shelter, food and
protection — to traumatic rape, Weber’s
heard it all. “It’s more shocking to me if a
woman hasn’t faced sexual assault,” she
says.
But Weber’s not only advocating for
women. Predatory men, she says, are also
victims of homelessness.
“A lot of the talk around sexual assault is
what women can do to protect themselves. I
think this is a less practical approach, the
men are the main issue here,” Weber says.
he training video created by Transition
Projects is a breakthrough step in
connecting the dots on sexual assault and
homelessness, which it’s creators hope will
lead to greater awareness of the rights of
victims.
For example, Mindlin with the Victim’s
Rights Center says that sexually abused
homeless people can sue their landlords or
workplace if they were evicted or fired for
being an abuse victim. But when it comes to
sexual abuse on the streets, it’s hard to find
the funding for consultation, let alone a trial.
“No one provider is going to do it all,”
says Mindlin, who’s worked with and
defended sexual assault victims since the t
’70s. “The key here is working
collaboratively with other programs to reach
a solution.”
Mindlin, along with Binder, hopes that
the video project will kick-start the national
conversation toward change.
“Sexual assault has historically been
underresourced,” Mindlin says. “We still
have societal discomfort when it comes to
talking about sex, so we push it out of sight.
“It’s an American tragedy.”
“Sexual abuse is so intimate and
violating,” Harris says. “It’s still much more
embarrassing to talk about than physical
violence. Once society accepts it, then the
victims will.”
While Binder and Mindlin’s training video
project is not a cure to this social epidemic,
it could break the ice when it comes to
starting the discussion.
“Sexual assault is a bigger issue than drug
abuse in this country,” Binder says.
“Because we allow it. We have to start
seriously looking into what triggers this
epidemic. And we have to start now.”
T
P H O T O B Y C H R IS T O P H E R O N S T O T T
“Men usually feel disempowered in their
lives through being homeless and
impoverished. In abuse, they find power.
T ^T hile local organizations’ efforts to
They need out help71od“.’’'^™^~” • - ■
V V create relationships with homeless and
Another approachable outlet is the Bad
sex-worker populations bring wary people
Date Line, a
out of the woodwork
Multnomah County-
to get access to social
funded program that
services, many
collects reports of
vulnerable people
violent or STD-
remain largely
carrying customers
distrustful of law
probably a slfitlfIcaitt
in the sex industry.
enforcement. But the
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s e r ia lly assaulted but
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hoping to change
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offenders is
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P O R T L A N D P O L IC E B U R E A U 'S S E X U A L .
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dispersed monthly
be mindful of the
among sex-workers
people who are most
to fill them in on
at risk, not dismissive
who to avoid.
of them,” says
Ellen Miller, an
Geiger, the bureau’s
advocate at the Portland Women’s Crisis
sexual assault unit head.
Line, has been focusing on the Bad Date
Although the Police Bureau doesn’t have
Line for six months. Although the housing
an exact percent of sexual-assault victims
status of a victim is not normally in reports,
who are homeless, Geiger says they are
Miller says she knows abusers are prone to
most likely to be the majority of the people
target “VAL”s — or workers who are
at risk.
LILLARD, from page 1
for today. I mean, you are now living the
dream.
person to tell you when you are doing
something wrong and correct you.
A lot of single mothers break down
sometimes because they have to deal with
so much like making sure they keep the
lights on, food on the table, paying the rent,
making sure your child has clothes.
Managing that stress can become
overwhelming.
When a kid doesn’t have that father, you
start to look to other directions for that
comfort and support. That might be their
friend’s who are falling into the wrong
things. Having a father figure and that
guidance is so important.
D.L.: Having that support and foundation
in my family really prepared me for this. It’s
hard to even put into words. Again, I am
humbled by this experience and work hard.
I will do my best to take advantage of what’s
been offered to me.
I.B.: Have these experiences prepared you
“Homeless are the most vulnerable
people in our society,” he says. “They don’t
have the normal protective systems that
people living behind closed doors have and
unintentionally end up in the same place as
the other people that they don’t know.”
Contrary to Lorenz-Todd’s view, Geiger
says the police approach prostitution and its
inevitable violence in a thoughtful manner.
“It’s a matter of priorities, really,” says
Geiger. “In the grand scheme of things,
what’s more important: The fact that this
adult was involved in a criminal offense or
that a man hurt her?”
But Geiger is not naïve to his career’s
stereotype. Distrust, says Geiger, is the
leading reason that the bureau lacks a
concrete number of victims in its database.
“I would say there are probably a
significant number of people who are
sexually assaulted but distrust the system,
so (they) won’t make a report,” he says.
That “makes it hard to build concrete data.
If we could put one message out there, it’s
that police are safe, people can report to us
even if you don’t want us to take any action.
But it’s hard to get that idea out there.”
vulnerable, accessible and lack credibility —
which homelessness can accentuate.
Although her work is a valuable short-term
effort to the violent epidemic, Miller says
that bigger change needs to take place to
educate the public.
“It’s going to be a slow process,” Miller
says. “It will take the voices of leaders to
have it come forward, to get a lot of people
talking about it in a legal sense. For now,
this is what we have to do.”
I.B.: For many people experiencing
homelessness, they tend to hang onto every
Trail Blazer game. Talk a little bit about what
sports means to people in a community?
D.L.: I can understand for many people
on the streets, they might not have a chance
to go and watch a game — maybe they don’t
have a TV. Anything we can do that might
take these negative things off of people’s
mind and have something positive to hold
onto, even if it’s for a few moments is a
great thing.
Knowing that NBA players have this type
of impact on people — kids, families, people
struggling, for me, it’s about lifting people
up.
Being an athlete can pick you up when
you are down, and pick other people’s
spirits up. That’s what sports is all about.
I’m not above the people.
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I.B.: What are you hoping to get out o f the
next year?
D.L.: I am hoping that we can grow as a
team and I can grow as a person. Anytime
we can pick people up, I am all about it.
We’re going to give our best.
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