Countywide : Rape Awareness Seminar Saturday

County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez and speakers from the Laguna Beach Police Department, Planned Parenthood and the Assn. of Women Against Rape Encounters will highlight an all-day seminar on rape awareness and prevention Saturday at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills.

Four workshops will be presented as part of the program, which will begin at 8:30 a.m. They include:

* “Prevention Tools and Techniques,” a discussion led by Janna Moore of the Laguna Beach Police Department.

* “Understanding Rape and the Rapist,” by Susan Kay Leavy, a Laguna Hills-based marriage and family counselor.

* “Self-Defense Techniques,” by Sandra Rafferty, holder of a black belt in karate.

* “Where to Turn for Help,” by Sharon Holdt, a supervisor of the Victim Witness Program at South County Municipal Court, and Mary Stephan, an emergency room nurse.

The keynote speaker will be Troyce Thome, founder of San Juan Capistrano-based AWARE.

“We are trying to let women know there are places to turn to if they are victims of rape,” Thome said. “We would also like to lessen people’s chances of becoming victims of rape. It’s a crime that knows no socio-economic boundaries and permeates every neighborhood.”

Vasquez, supervisor of the county’s 3rd District, will speak during the luncheon break.

Tickets are $20, and the public is invited. For more information, call (714) 770-3639.