Sonoma County Media Guide on Sexual Assault, Child Abuse, and Human Trafficking
The media plays a critical role in educating our community and shaping discourse at the national, state and local levels.
Verity created this guide with the help of the Monterey County Rape Crisis Center to support local journalists and media outlets by providing straightforward and accurate information on sexual violence and human trafficking, best practices for interviewing trauma survivors, and the most up-to-date resources to our local area.
Download our Press Packet here.
Last revised May 2019
Often times, reporters will feel genuine horror about the stories they will hear. Their curiosity and need to make the world make sense, leads them to ask more detailed and personal questions to help them understand various characters in the narrative, to fill in plot gaps, or just to make sense of the interviewee’s story. Reflect on the purpose of these questions and whether or not they are central to your story. If you can, notice that this is happening and remind the interviewee that they can decline to answer any of the questions they don’t want to answer.
Update:
We are working remotely and in-office at all locations on a staggered schedule. Please be certain to call in advanced before making plans to visit our physical locations, either at the FJC or on Steele Lane. We are still operating within our normal business hours. Please keep this in mind when contacting us, as we may not be immediately available via our office numbers, but will get your call soon. Our crisis line is fully operational so if you have an emergency, please call our crisis line.
Immediate Crisis
If you have an immediate crisis, please call our rape crisis intervention hotline at (707) 545-7273 or call 911 for emergency services.
Other Inquiries
For all other inquiries about Verity, including the services we provide, upcoming events, or volunteer opportunities, please call (707) 545-7270 or fill out the contact form on this page. We will reply within two business days.
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