This year, an estimated 1.3 million women will be abused by a partner. This month, many members of the University community will wear purple ribbons to recognize them.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and several events throughout campus will raise awareness of domestic violence and show support to its victims.
“Domestic violence is a continuum,” said Women’s Center Director Brandy Ota, “and there are a lot of different ways people can be affected by it.”
Additional statistics compiled by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence in 2005 include one in four women who will experience domestic violence in her lifetime, while one in six will experience rape, whether attempted or completed. The same year, the National Center for Victims of Crime found that one in 12 women will be stalked in her life.
“All these statistics are so enraging,” said Hollie Putnam, a University sophomore majoring in art, and soon-to-be double majoring in women’s and gender studies. As the public relations coordinator for the ASUO Women’s Center, she plans to do something about it.
In its third year, the Women Center’s Toiletry Drive will take place for the duration of October.
About 40 purple bins are being placed around campus today for people to donate shampoo, soap, lotion, toothbrushes and tampons, among other items. The toiletries will benefit Womenspace, a local non-profit organization, as well as First Place Family Center, a resource for homeless families.
Each bin will contain brochures and pamphlets with information about domestic violence. Some locations are: The Buzz Cafe, the ASUO Office, the Office of Student Life, the Student Recreation Center and many others.
Monday, the University’s School of Law had a silent witness exhibit on the first floor of the Knight Law Center. The exhibit featured red wooden silhouettes, each of which represented an Oregon woman who had been killed as a result of domestic violence.
Co-sponsored by the Child and Family Law Association and the Women’s Law Forum, the exhibit, which also had an information booth, was designed to highlight the consequences of domestic violence.
At the booth, purple ribbons, the symbol of domestic violence, were distributed to raise money for Womenspace, dedicated to ending domestic violence.
Tuesday, law school faculty members Michael Moffitt, Nancy Schurtz and Merle Weiner will be giving lectures in Room 110 from noon to 1 p.m. titled “Domestic Violence in Your Law Practice.” The lectures will be on how domestic violence applies to various sects of law, such as family law, tax law and negotiation.
“There are very often people who are in violent relationships who end up negotiating,” said CFLA Director Hubert Chang, a third-year law student at the University.
As someone who grew up in a violent household, Chang thinks domestic violence awareness is very important.
“I think I’m just acutely aware of the impact it has on people,” he said.
Chang said domestic violence is particularly damaging to the children who often feel helpless and alone as a result of it.
“I think that most people don’t think about when you have this continued violence in your home, you lose both of your parents in a certain aspect,” he said. “There’s the parent committing the abuse and the one you see yourself as allowing to be the abusee.”
The Women’s Center has several other Domestic Violence Awareness Month events over the next few weeks.
“I think domestic violence and partner violence affects everybody in our community,” Ota said on the importance of raising awareness. “It’s an issue we all need to address.”
For the next four Wednesday afternoons, there will be a table near the EMU Amphitheater where students and faculty are invited to pin purple ribbons to a cardboard display to show their support.
“The idea is like you’re signing your name so that you’re saying you’re taking a stand against domestic violence,” Ota said.
On Oct. 10, the Women’s Center will also host a rally on the corner of Franklin Boulevard and East 13th Avenue.
“It’s really just making sure people know that they’re not alone and that they have support,” Putnam said. “There’s a really strong community out there to help them.”
A longtime and passionate feminist, Putnam is glad there’s a whole month dedicated to domestic violence awareness, a topic she said is still very taboo.
But mostly, she’s glad to help.
“It’s so empowering,” she said. “Even if I reach one woman or a man or anyone who’s a supporter of someone who’s in an abusive relationship – if I help one person, I feel like I’ve done my job.”