After learning that an allergy doctor who practiced in Westminster lost his license because of alleged sexual misconduct toward teen patients, Janice Kispert, CEO of Rape Crisis Intervention Service of Carroll County (RCIS), said such cases should encourage parents to talk with their children.

Surender K. Vaswani, an allergist who worked in Westminster and Columbia, had his license revoked after an investigation by the Maryland Board of Physicians found he had displayed immoral and unprofessional conduct and sexual misconduct against three teenage patients. The doctor denied wrongdoing throughout the investigation and has appealed the case to the Circuit Court for Howard County, court records show.

Click here to read the entire article as featured in the Carroll County Times, on February 22, 2019.

Photo courtesy of Dylan Slagle

The clomping and clicking could be heard up and down Main Street on a sunny Saturday morning as Westminster donned its red heels for the annual Walk a Mile in her Shoes.

Around 200 walkers joined the outing to raise funds and awareness for Rape Crisis Intervention Service in Westminster.

Before they set out from Dutterer Family Park, Madi Serio spoke to the crowd. Serio is the survivor of a kidnapping and rape that occurred on Pennsylvania Avenue in May 2016, who has chosen to speak about the ordeal to help others who have experienced similar assault.

She thanked Saturday’s participants for supporting RCIS, which she said supported her after the incident.

Click here to read the entire article in the Carroll County Times.

The numbers are grim. One in 6 women will experience sexual assault in their lifetime, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, and in Maryland, 1 in 8 women will be raped in their lifetime.

Carroll’s Board of County Commissioners on Thursday, April 5, declared April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. To help raise awareness about this problem, men will literally walk a mile in women’s shoes on Saturday, April 14, for the 10th annual Rape Crisis Intervention Service of Carroll County’s Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. The fancy footwork begins at 11 a.m. at Westminster’s Dutterer Park and proceeds through downtown Westminster to Westminster City Park.

“I encourage all men to come out on behalf of the women in their lives,” said Carroll County State’s Attorney Brian DeLeonardo, who plans to participate in the walk again this year. “It’s a long walk. I don’t how women do it on a regular basis. Once a year is painful enough for me.”

Click here to read the entire article as featured in the Carroll County Times, April 9, 2018.

On Wednesday, Aug. 23, Rape Crisis Intervention Services of Carroll County held a free training session on Jane Doe reporting, presented by MCASA and held at Carroll Hospital.

At least 60 percent of all sexual assaults go unreported in the United States, according to the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. And that, they say, is a conservative estimate.

There are many reasons victims of sexual assault choose not to report. But one can be a reluctance to speak with law enforcement.

Jane Doe reporting is a form of reporting that allows a victim to receive medical care and forensic evidence testing — valuable in court, but nearly impossible to collect after 120 hours following a rape — for free and without reporting to law enforcement right away.

Click here to read the entire article in the Carroll County Times.

Rape Crisis Intervention Service of Carroll County has announced the winners of the ninth annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes.

More than 200 walkers participated in Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, which netted close to $13,000 to benefit Rape Crisis Intervention Service of Carroll County, who hosted the event, according to a news release from RCIS.

The 2017 Highest Fundraising Team was Gerstell Academy. Thirty-two walkers on the team raised $2,797, according to the release.

For the sixth year in a row, Stephen Hirsch was the Highest Fundraising Individual. Hirsch raised $1,737, according to the release.

Click here to read the entire article in the Carroll County Times

More than 200 survivors, supporters and advocates took to the streets Saturday morning to speak out against rape and sexual assault at the annual Walk A Mile in Her Shoes fundraiser.

As the marchers made their way along Main Street, passing by those waiting to get into the PEEP show and participants in Westminster’s annual Easter egg hunt, pedestrians stopped to cheer on the message as cars driving by honked their horns in support.

Click here to read the entire article in the Carroll County Times from April 8, 2017.

Editorial: Raise awareness about sexual assault, Rape Crisis services – Carroll County Times

It was Wednesday afternoon around lunch time and with the fair weather the patio at Maggie’s Restaurant, in Westminster, was packed with diners as Katy Tote walked up. But it wasn’t a bite that brought Tote, the Outreach Specialist for Rape Crisis Intervention Service of Carroll County, to the restaurant: She was there to deliver napkins.

“The napkins say, ‘If you see something, say something. Be an active bystander,’ and they also have our 24-hour hotline number,” Tote said. “This is our bystander campaign, where we are trying to get people to be better bystanders in our community.”

Click here to read the entire article in the Carroll County Times, July 21, 2016.

RCIS CEO, Janice Kispert spoke with the Carroll County Times about the recent sexual assault case at Stanford University. Click here to read the article.

Click here to read an article written by CEO, Janice Kispert which appeared in the Carroll County Times on May 16, 2016.