SAN DIEGO, CALIF., Oct. 23, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) invites the public to San Diego's Manchester Grand Hyatt for an evening discussion, Understanding Sexual Abuse & Sexual Assault: Causes, Consequences and Prevention, on Oct. 28 at 5:30 to 8:30 pm. The free event will feature local service providers and community-based organizations, as well as short presentations and a Q &A session with state and national experts to discuss relevant issues such as sexual abuse as a public health issue, effective management of sexual offenders, and strategies for empowering individuals to build safer communities through the prevention of sexual abuse.
"The prevention of sexual abuse requires the participation of all members of a community and this event is an invaluable opportunity for local residents to learn about sexual abuse prevention so we can achieve our shared goal of no more victims," ATSA Executive Director Maia Christopher said.
This year's event corresponds with the 20th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and is co-sponsored by ATSA, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the California Coalition on Sexual Offending, and the Institute on Violence, Abuse & Trauma. The evening event will also usher in ATSA's 33rd Annual Research and Treatment Conference Transforming Research Into Practice being held in San Diego on October 29 - November 1.
The Tuesday event will include talks from recognized experts Dr. Elizabeth Letourneau from Johns Hopkins University; Dr. Bob Geffner from the Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma; David Prescott of Becket Family Services; Dr. James Cantor from University of Toronto; Dr. Tom Tobin of Sharper Future; Sandra Henriquez from the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault; Joan Tabachnick of DSM Consulting; and Tracy Cox from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. The four-day ATSA conference includes over a hundred break-out sessions as well as addresses by Dr. Jesse Bering, author of Perv: The Sexual Deviant in All of Us, Mr. Luke Malone, journalist and author of You're 16. You're a Pedophile. You Don't Want to Hurt Anyone. What Do You Do Now? and others.
For more information on the public event, please visit www.atsa.com/publicevent or www.facebook.com/events/525493240906419/. For more information about the 2014 annual conference, please visit atsa.nonprofitcms.org/c/conferences/2/pages/overview.
ATSA, based in Beaverton, Ore., is an international, multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to preventing sexual abuse. To learn more about ATSA, please visit us at www.atsa.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
A photo accompanying this release is available at:
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=28579
CONTACT:Katie Gotch, MA,
Coordinator of Public Affairs
Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers
katie@atsa.com
