Last Updated: 08/26/07

My name is Sabrina Santiago, MSW, and I am the director of external relations for the New England Leather Alliance. As External Outreach Director, I oversee any educational outreach work that NELA does outside of the SM/Leather/Fetish community. Although I have only been the director since February I have been part of the External Outreach Program (EOP) since it was first formed, at the beginning of 2002.

If any of you have ever worried about having to explain marks to your doctor, had to explain what S/M is to a therapist, or been afraid that the police officer who stops you for that busted taillight is going to ask to see what is in the toybag in the back seat, then you can understand why NELA's external outreach activities are important.

For many of us in the SM/Leather/Fetish Community these concerns and many others are a normal part of life. Many of us remain closeted about S/M for fear of legal repercussions, loss of children, and discrimination in both the workplace and our local community. According to a survey done by The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom in 1999, 30% of people surveyed experienced discrimination due to their alternative sexual practices. The types of discrimination reported included persecution, loss of job, loss of promotion, loss of custody of children, and unjustified arrest to name but a few. It is for these reasons that NELA formed the External Outreach Program (EOP).

The EOPs goal is to do educational outreach to law enforcement officials, the medical community, mental health workers, and social service agencies. Doing outreach to these communities is a huge undertaking and one that has involved a great deal of research and planning. Because of the magnitude of work involved with such an undertaking we have started by focusing our efforts on making contact with local law enforcement, domestic violence service agencies, and local health centers. I am both excited and proud to say that since the formation of the External Outreach Program (EOP) we have made great progress. Over the past year NELA has been working in collaboration with The Network/La red. TheNetwork/La Red is both a domestic violence program and a social justice organization. It is also one of the few domestic violence programs in the country that offers services to people from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, S/M, traditional, straight, monogamous, and polyamorous communities. Through the collaboration between NELA and the Network/La Red we have developed an outreach program, which teaches about the differences between consensual S/M and Abuse. In addition we have developed support materials and have made contact with local law enforcement and other domestic violence programs.

The following is a summary of some of the progress that has been made over the past year.

Through collaboration between NELA and the Network/La Red a training curriculum was developed about the differences between S/M and abuse. The training can be easily tailored for presentation to law enforcement officers, domestic violence programs, and other social service agencies.

In January 2003, the Is it S/M or Abuse: A Guide for People who Practice S/M pamphlet made its debut. This pamphlet was written as part of the collaboration between NELA and the Network/La Red

Contact was made with the Boston Police to start discussing the possibility of conducting educational trainings.

In April 2003, Sabrina Santiago, MSW, presented the S/M vs Abuse training curriculum at Leather Leadership Conference-7 in Boston. The curriculum received rave reviews.

In February 2003, David Fortini presented an SM-101 class to the doctors and nurses at The Sydney Borum Health Center in Boston.

In May 2003, Sabrina Santiago, MSW presented an SM-101 class to domestic violence program volunteers for the Network/La Red.

In July 2003, the S/M is not Abuse: Understanding consensual S/M and how it differs from abuse, a guide for professionals pamphlet makes its debut. This pamphlet was written as part of the collaboration between NELA and the Network/La Red.

In July 2003, Sabrina Santiago, MSW, will present the S/M vs. Abuse Training to a group of domestic violence service providers. It is estimated that the group will represent 7 domestic violence agencies from across Massachusetts.

The External Outreach Program's progress in the last year is something to be proud of. I would like to take this time to thank everyone involved in the EOP and urge them to keep up the good work. Although this past year has been a very exciting time for NELA's External Outreach Program it is just the beginning. There is much more work to be done. It is my hope that over the next year we will be able to do outreach to more health clinics and further develop our contacts with local law enforcement. If you would like to learn more about the EOP or would like to get involved please feel free to contact me at SabrinaSantiago@NELAonline.org