October is Domestic Violence Prevention Month. The University of Oregon Men’s Center recognizes the importance of this issue and is committed to domestic violence prevention.
While most men are not violent, most acts of violence on campus, including sexual assault, are being perpetrated by males. What is it about being male that makes us more prone to exert power over others through violence? What can we, as men, and our community at large, do about it?
We, as men, need to take responsibility to reduce/eliminate violence that members of our gender commit, acknowledge men’s part in domestic violence, and speak out against it. Organizations like the UO Men’s Center need to help men see the importance of this issue and encourage men to live healthy lifestyles.
To this end, the UOMC is dedicated to supporting Domestic Violence Awareness Month through education and outreach. The Men’s Center is launching a Purple Ribbon Campaign throughout the month of October. This campaign is a nationwide effort to stand against the pervasive violence committed against intimate partners.
Anyone can be a victim of partner violence, yet the vast majority are women. Partner violence and assault are almost always preceded by abuses of power and control through a combination of minimizing others, denying, blaming, using verbal or physical threats, intimidation, emotional abuse, and isolation. Men have not only the opportunity, but the responsibility, to actively engage in preventing attitudes and behaviors that lead to partner violence.
Domestic violence affects us all, and we all have the power to effect change toward a healthy community. The process of building a healthy community, free of interpersonal violence, starts when we can identify the harmful effects of our own attitudes and behaviors on our partners, our community and ourselves. Please show your support — wear the ribbon.

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