Women and Medications

It’s not well known that women experience a greater number of more severe side effects from medications than men do.  Dr. Janine Clayton of the Office of Research on Women’s Health (National Institutes of Health) recently raised the issue after the Food and Drug Administration was evaluating a new sleeping pill, Intermezzo.  Blood tests to learn how much of the drug remains in a user’s system the morning after taking it uncovered that men metabolized the drug much more rapidly than women.

Until 1993, women of childbearing age were not included in new drug trials.  When the ban on use of females was lifted that year, researchers realized that many of the “landmark” studies, including the study on aspirin use to prevent heart disease and stroke, had not included women, leaving them to wonder whether or not aspirin was effective for women in avoiding these conditions.  Because so many drugs were tested exclusively on men, it’s not known what the effects will be for women until a drug reaches the market.

A study done by the Government Accountability Office found that 8 of 10 drugs removed from the market between 1997 and 2000 posed significantly more health risks to women than men.  For example, a common antihistamine (Seldane) and a digestive aid (Propulsid) both caused dangerous heart arrhythmia in women – as do many drugs still on the market, including antibiotics and cholesterol medications.

But, the opposite may also be true – certain blood pressure medications and antibiotics appear to be more effective in women, and women typically wake up faster from anesthesia.  There are also clearly different responses to tobacco and alcohol: women smokers are more susceptible to cancer and heart disease than male smokers, women under 50 have higher blood alcohol content than men of the same age after consuming the same amount of alcohol, and women experience alcohol-related heart damage at lower levels of alcohol consumption than men.

The Society for Women’s Health Research has created a useful online tool, Fact Sheet: Sex Differences in Response to Pharmaceuticals, Tobacco, Alcohol, and Illicit Drugs: http://www.womenshealthresearch.org/site/PageServer?pagename=hs_healthfacts_dat.  And the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research has new guidelines for studies of new drugs, which require that studies include gender response differences in the earliest stages of drug development.

Hopefully, there is increased attention to the physiological differences between females and males that may affect a range of products and dosages, among other things.

We continue to remind decision-makers to consider the results of all laws, research, policies, and services – and the possible disproportionate effect they may have on women – before making a judgment or conclusion.  The results of not doing so, such as those discovered in the scientific field, may be life-changing.

Safety

This has been an eye-opening week for us – Brooke and I attended the Governor’s Summit on Bullying on Tuesday, and I’m still reeling from today’s Chrysalis Roundtable presentation, THREATS TO YOUTH ONLINE, presented by Mike Ferjak, Senior Criminal Investigator with the Iowa Department of Justice.  I had heard Mike give a presentation at a mother-daughter event several years ago, and was astounded about how frequently – and how easily – a young person can fall into the throes of a predator online.

Here are just a few statistics:

­  One in five U.S. teenagers who regularly log on to the internet says they have received an unwanted sexual solicitation via the Web.  Solicitations were defined as requests to engage in sexual activities or sexual talk, or to give personal sexual information.  Crimes Against Children Research Center

­  25% of children have been exposed to unwanted pornographic material online.  Crimes Against Children Research Center

­  Only 1/3 of households with internet access are actively protecting their children with filtering or blocking software.  Center for Missing and Exploited Children

­  75% of children are willing to share personal information online about themselves and their family in exchange for goods and services.  eMarketer

­  Only approximately 25% of children who encountered a sexual approach or solicitation told a parent or adult.  Crimes Against Children Research Center

­  One in 33 youth received an aggressive sexual solicitation in the past year. This means a predator asked a young person to meet somewhere, called a young person on the phone, and/or sent the young person correspondence, money, or gifts through the U.S. Postal Service.  Youth internet Safety Survey

­  77% of the targets for online predators were age 14 or older. Another 22% were users ages 10 to 13.  Crimes Against Children Research Center

 

In his position, Ferjak works for the Iowa Attorney General and has a permanent assignment to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s (DCI) Cyber-Crime Unit where he serves on the Federal Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.  Mike is also assigned to the Attorney General’s Human Trafficking enforcement and prosecution initiative.  He has served as the lead investigator for the Sexually Violent Predator Unit in the Attorney General’s Office, and with his knowledge and experience, is called upon by law enforcement, judicial, professional, community, and school groups across the country to provide up-to-the-minute facts on why this is such a significant problem.

Some predators use the anonymity of the internet to prey on vulnerable children and teens, whose internet access is often unsupervised.  Activities include exchanging child pornography or seeking victims online.  The internet allows them to share images and information about children and to make and stay in contact with them.  Predators are  present on children's chat rooms, frequently pretending to be children themselves.  Some actively arrange meetings with children, going to extraordinary efforts and incurring large travel and other expenses…the stories are endless and shocking.

How are the youth victimized?  By innocently becoming entangled in an online relationship with someone who represents him or herself as a young, attractive, interesting and thoughtful person.  Adults establish "friendships" with children online, then attempt to arrange a face-to-face meeting, potentially to sexually abuse or exploit the child.  They may then make online arrangements for the exchange, sale or purchase of child pornography (the actual exchange or delivery occurs through the mail, hand-to-hand exchanges, e-mail, and other electronic means) , or arrangements between adults seeking sexual access to children and adults willing to provide and/or trade children for sexual purposes.

Ferjack reports there are an estimated 130,000 sex offenders using MYSPACE (precursor to Facebook), and that the average age group sought for sex trafficking purposes is 11-14 year olds.  And 14% of child pornography online involves infants – birth to 12 months old.

If you are a parent, friend, teacher, or interested adult, here are some internet safety tips to deliver to the children in your life:

­  Avoid unfamiliar "Chat Rooms".  Chat rooms are places where many people can gather and discuss various topics of mutual interest all at one time.

­  Don't talk to people online that you don't know.   Offenders can easily fool others.

­  Never use your real name, age, or indication of your gender in your screen name or email address.   The most prevalent internet crime today is cyber stalking.

­  Never post personal information in a user profile.  Public resources available online can lead an offender to learn much more about you through internet searching.

­  Use an up-to-date firewall.   A firewall will block hackers’ “pre-attack probes,” called port scans.  A firewall should also block traffic or communications from a virus that made it onto your computer through your personal information.

­  Use an up-to-date virus scanner.  Most virus scanners will automatically add virus definitions. Update definitions once a week to have the most current definitions to detect the latest viruses.

­  Use Windows Update. Windows Update provides patches for known vulnerabilities in Windows and other Microsoft products.  Windows Update can be automated to check and install patches automatically.

­  Avoid opening email from someone you don't know, even email from known persons with unexpected or unusual attachments.

­  Report any incidents to the internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov).

If you are aware of a child you suspect or believe is in immediate risk of being harmed or exploited, contact your local law enforcement agency and report the situation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at www.cybertipline.com.

If you have information concerning a missing child, report it to your local law enforcement agency and contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

We so appreciate Chrysalis Board member, Lieutenant Joe Gonzalez, for his leadership in connecting this vital information to us and to our friends.  And because there is so much more to online abuse and bullying, we will schedule another presentation by Mike Ferjak to share more information on bullying and social networking.  After the first of the year, we’ll notify you of the time and place.

Please take time to forward this information to friends – there is no reason not to.

Abduction

The last paragraph in the book HALF THE SKY by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn reads:

The tide of history is turning women from beasts of burden and sexual playthings into full-fledged human beings.  The economic advantages of empowering women are so vast as to persuade nations to move in that direction.  Before long, we will consider sex slavery, honor killings, and acid attacks as unfathomable as foot-binding.  The question is how long that transformation will take and how many girls will be kidnapped into brothels before it is complete - and whether each of us will be part of that historical movement or a bystander.

This coming week, tune in to PBS for a 2-part series based on the book.  Being broadcast this week, the series presents women and girls living under some of the most horrible circumstances imaginable -- and fighting to change them.   The series was filmed in 10 countries: Cambodia, Kenya, India, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Liberia and the United States.

HALF THE SKY is the book that first profiled the Chrysalis INSPIRED 2012 Event speaker, Dr. Tererai Trent.  In her keynote address, Dr. Trent pointed out some of the shocking statistics occuring today across the world - girls and women subjected to honor killings or genital mutilation, girls sold for slavery and prostitution, women raped and beaten, women and babies dying in childbirth - females considered less worthy than the males they served or the animals they raised.  Hundreds of thousands simply disappearing from their families, never again to be seen. 

______

Although we not believe that these issues occur in the United States, we need only remember the case of Jaycee Dugard to recall that girls our country, and all over the world, are missing.  Boys, too, particularly in Europe and America, disappear without a trace.  The numbers can only be estimates; The National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Throwaway Children created a report attempting to count.  It estimates that 800,000 children under age 18 to missing each year in the United States - that's roughly 2,000 each day.

The report notes that of this number, an estimated 200,000 are taken by family members, 58,000 by non-family members, and up to 300 are simply kidnapped by a stranger.  Another 3-4,000 are abducted, sexually assaulted, and released.  Only 90% of the 800,000 children are found, leaving 8-10,000 who are never found.  The most dangerous age for girls' abductions is said to be around 11 years old - and experts report that the abductor typically contacts a victim within half mile of her home.  Walking to school, at a bus stop, or in the shopping mall are common sites. 

Perhaps most alarming, the internet can be one of the first sites an abductor or predator will use to identify potential victims.  95% of US teens, ages 12-17, are online, and nearly 60% of 12-year-olds have cell phones, which are even more difficult for adults to monitor.  Cyberbullying, revealing too much personal information, exposure to inappropriate websites and materials, and online predators are tremendous risks to children and youth. 

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has created "NetSmartz," a program for parents, educators, and law enforcement to use in working with children using the internet.  The program notes that to keep children safe online, it's important to know a few vulnerabilities that may make children more susceptible to online predators:

Curiosity - Children are naturally curious - about risky behaviors, forbidden substances, and sex.  Predators can guide this curiosity, gradually luring children into sexual activity.  Adolescents are at high risk, as they go online with questions about sexuality or with the intent to find friends and companions.  Predators take advantage of this vulnerability.

Need for Attention - Even children who receive lots of attention from their families can crave it from others, especially those who they perceive as more mature.  Predators offer children affection and flattery in order to coerce them.

Rebellion - Often children become rebellious when they become adolescents, and predators can use this to an advantage.  Children who may be victimized when disobeying family or parent rules will be afraid to admit it.

Respect for Adults - Because children are taught to respect and obey adults, they may be less likely to disobey a direction given by an adult - even if it is a stranger, or even if it makes them uncomfortable.

In response to these issues, The Center launched the CyberTipline in 1998 in partnership with the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, US Postal Service, Secret Service, Department of Justice, and international, state, and local law enforcement.  The line provides a means of reporting incidents of child sexual exploitation of any kind, and is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  If you would like more information, check the website: cybertipline.com, or call 1-800-843-5678.

As part of our mandatory training for Chrysalis After-School program leaders, we'll share more comprehensive education related to internet safety, cyberbulling, and appropriate use of the web.  In this way, we hope over 600 girls in this year's program will be aware and safe from this danger.