By Susan Wright
There were 183 reports and requests for help received by NCSF in 2019 compared to 279 in 2018. This sharp drop compared to 2018 is entirely due to a decline in consent-related requests: there were 107 criminal-related reports in 2018 compared to 39 last year. There were also 69 requests and reports from Groups involving consent in 2018, compared to 41 last year. This bump in reports in 2018 was likely due to the viral spread of the #MeToo movement, which was started in 2006 by sexual harassment survivor and activist Tarana Burke.
Here are the yearly stats for reports and requests NCSF received:
• 183 in 2019
• 279 in 2018
• 170 in 2017
• 109 in 2016
• 198 in 2015
• 184 in 2014
NCSF maintains the confidentiality of those who come to us for help, however we balance that with the need to report the services we are providing and to provide the community with a record of where the need is the greatest. Here is a breakdown of the cases the IRR Team dealt with in 2019:
Groups
75 groups, events and businesses requested assistance or a member requested assistance with their group. That’s down from the 95 reports in 2018, but still significantly higher than the 42 in 2017, 24 in 2016, and 50 in both 2015 and 2014.
- 18 groups were asking about presenters/organizers or reporting they had banned someone. In 2018, there were 25 reports.
- 17 groups asked for resources on dealing with a consent incident or proactively creating a consent policy. In 2018, there were 26 requests.
- 12 groups were dealing with incorporation and zoning
- 6 groups needed information on dealing with a possible subpoena or being sued
- 6 people asked about how to deal with being sanctioned or banned by a group/event
- 5 groups were dealing with venue landlord/contract problems
- 3 groups were dealing with a media incident
- 2 groups were dealing with online discrimination and legal issues
- 2 groups asked about insurance
- 2 groups dealt with law enforcement issues
- 1 person reported being outed by their group that banned them
- 1 group asking about nudity/sexually explicit materials
Criminal
39 people made reports & requested assistance, down sharply compared to 107 reports in 2018:
- 20 requests came from people who reported a sexual assault, assault, threats, sexual harassment, harassment, violation of restraining order and suspicious death. In 2018, there were 74 reports.
- 13 people requested resources and referrals for attorneys to assist in defending themselves against criminal accusations and restraining orders, or involving their appeal. In 2018, there were 29 reports.
- 2 requests came from people who had revenge porn posted on them
- 2 prosecutors and defense attorneys needed referrals for expert witnesses on BDSM
- 1 person wanted to know how to get a police report
- 1 person inquired about human trafficking laws
Professionals
There were 32 requests about kink and non-monogamy compared to 22 in 2018:
- 14 professionals needed information on sexual assault, BDSM, consensual non-monogamy, kink knowledgeable training, and Kink Clinical Guidelines.
- 12 people needed referrals to kink and polyamory aware professionals
- 3 students needed educational resources for dissertations – CNM and kink/child custody discrimination
- 2 kink educators wanted to know about possible liability risks
- 1 researcher needed their survey reviewed for sensitivity to kinky people who were abused as children and are using kink to deal with past trauma.
Civil
21 requests for assistance in civil issues compared to 24 in 2018:
- 8 people were fired 5 kink (1 for FetLife photos) and 2 for polyamory. The other was for visiting sex education websites including NCSF’s website.
- 3 people were threatened with outing or doxing (2 sex workers and 1 by a FetLife member)
- 3 sex workers needed incorporation attorneys or insurance referrals
- 2 people lost financial and social media accounts because of their sexually oriented business
- 1 person is being sued for defamation for posting that someone raped them
- 1 person needed information on legality of sex work
- 1 person needed information about witness protection resources
- 1 transgender polyamorous person has an HOA that says that their two partners can’t live with them
- 1 person asked about how to ask for a welfare check for a transgender person
Child Custody & Divorce
16 people requested help with child custody cases. This is down compared to 30 in 2018 and 27 reports in 2017. There were 16 reports in 2016, 26 in 2015, and 37 in 2014.
- 8 involved a kinky parent. In 2018, it was 18
- 3 involved a non-monogamous parent
- 2 involved a kinky and non-monogamous parent
- 2 involved a sex worker parent
- 1 involved a queer parent