DiVA (Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence Awareness)

Submitted by vassar.diva on Tue, 11/10/2009 - 20:20

the problem:

We are a group of students at Vassar College. At our school, Domestic Violence is an issue rarely discussed and, as a result, rarely handled well. Although the college claims to have a victim-centered approach and a well-functioning set of college regulations in place, victims of Dating Abuse on campus suffer as a result of the unacknowledged flaws in our system. Our group aims to spread awareness of this extremely prevalent issue on Vassar's campus and instigate change in our campus' response to dating abuse.

vital stats:

people impacted:

2,500

people involved:

why it's important:

As members of the Vassar community and victims of the college's flawed policies, we wish to improve the systematic response to Dating Violence on our campus so that future victims can feel safe and empowered rather than re-victimized and powerless. As it stands, victims of dating violence are misunderstood by the individuals directly involved in addressing dating abuse cases (security, the college administration, etc.). We wish to raise understanding about this issue and its extremely complex dynamics in both fellow students and members of the faculty that will potentially encounter victims and perpetrators of these crimes.

the plan of action:

One of our mantras is "silence hides violence." Our plan of action, as a result, aims to break the silence that permeates Vassar's campus. First, we aim to hold events on campus where members of our community can discuss these issues in an open, comfortable forum. Hopefully, these environments instigate thought-provoking conversation and make members of our campus more aware of these potentially hard-to-handle issues in a non-threatening way. Second, we aim to work with administrators on our campus to address the flawed policies currently in place. Through persistence and presence, we hope to be heard by those who have the power to change and, as a result, potentially improve the lives of those suffering from this violent, but silent issue.

how you can get involved:

n/a

project updates:

05/10/2010

Update:

EVENT BLURB:

DiVA and Campus Life's Women's Center present

"You are my Life Now" : Domestic Violence in "Twilight" (the book and film)
THIS Thursday, April 22
8pm - 11pm
Rocky 200

GAMES and TWILIGHT THEMED PRIZES. If you want your very own Edward Cullen barbie doll, don't miss this event!!!

So mark your calendars and don't forget to tell all your friends - we promise this won't be a bummer, just a lot of "Twilight" themed fun! See you all there!

DiVA was able to work with our college's Campus Life's Women's Center to create an event to raise awareness about domestic violence on our campus through everyone's favorite - pop culture! We used the film and book, "Twilight." Recently very popular among young girls, critics have been concerned that the books glorify abusive behavior and normalize and minimize signs of domestic violence. Because of this, we decided to screen the film and dicuss the issues. But first, we did a brief presentation on domestic violence and the most common warning signs of it. These we put into a bingo type game based off being able to find and name the signs within the film. The winners were asked to explain the signs they found and why they were bad. At the end, the winners were given Twilight themed prizes that had been updated with information about domestic violence resources.

This event was EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL!! More than 50 people showed up to the final event, and many more had said they would come if it was done again. The blending of pop culture with DV awareness was a great way to get people to learn and to discuss.

Photos:

Video:

02/26/2010

Update:

On March 7, Superbowl Sunday, DiVA completed their first poster campaign to raise awareness about domestic and intimate partner violence on campus. In recent years, several studies have shown that there an increase of 8-11% in the number of police/battered women's services hotlines on Superbowl Sunday. Check out this article http://www.slate.com/id/2236426/?from=rss. In honor of this, DiVA posted fliers in all dorm on campus, next to the community televisions which students would be gathering around to watch the Big Game. These posters included statistics about DV on Superbowl Sunday as well as both local and national hotline phone numbers for those seeking help.

Photos:

02/24/2010

Update:

On V-DAY (Feb. 14), DiVA spread awareness about domestic violence and our organization violence at Vassar College's annual performance of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues." Every year, this play is performed by women over the world in an effort to end violence against women. With the support of the cast at Vassar, DiVA was able to table in the theater lobby. We provided handouts with facts and resources for students on campus and off. In honor of V-DAY, we decorated the table in a Valentine's Day theme. We also set out a sign-up for our organization's mailing list so that people could sign up to join our fight against domestic and intimate partner violence on campus.

This tabling went really well! We got a lot of interest and a lot of signatures. We also helped to spread awareness about our cause while being part of a larger fight against violence (V-DAY). Thanks to the cast and crew of "The Vagina Monologues" for their help and support!

For more information on V-DAY and its origins, visit www.vday.org

Photos:

01/29/2010

Update:

Our second event was a public speak-out on domestic violence and relationship abuse. This event was also co-run by us, our college's Amnesty International organization and a student writers group. Students will be able to share short stories, poems and thoughts relating to these issues in a safe, but open forum.

Five students shared several of their writings on relationship abuse. They also read work submitted by victims of domestic violence on our campus. The writings brought up issues of love, friendship, trust, and recovery. An interview transcript from a real national domestic violence case was also performed.

This event was also a great success. We did not have as much time to advertise it, but there was still a good turn out. It was a great way to get people - like the writer's themselves - to think about these issues that they may have not thought about before.

We hope to work with both of these student groups in further projects this semester.

Photos:

01/29/2010

Update:

Already we have already planned and executed two campus events for this purpose. The first was an open dialogue on the sexual and reproductive health risks of domestic violence. This includes forced pregnancy, forced abortion, intentional infection with STDs and the use of sexual coercion and violence within abusive relationships. We co-sponsored this event with another all-female group that meets regularly to discuss issues of sex and sexual health among women. We opened this event to both men and women. Based on the Family Violence Prevention Fund's campaign, "kNOw MORE" on the same topic, our event focused on bringing attention to the real and devastating impact of domestic violence on personal health.

During the event we read personal stories from the "kNOw MORE" campaign about young women whose sexual and/or reproductive health had been affected by relationship abuse. We also read passages from "I Am Not Your Victim" by Beth Sipe - a powerful memoir by a survivor of severe domestic violence. With these as a starting point, we discussed the issues of domestic and intimate partner violence and particularly how they affect the health of young women and men.

This event was a great success for DiVA! We had a lot of people show up and later they said that they had really enjoyed it and learned a lot from the discussion. Several of them joined the DiVA mailing list.

Photos:

DiVA (Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence Awareness)

the problem:

vital stats:

why it's important:

the plan of action:

how you can get involved:

project updates:

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