Domestic
violence a learned behavior, speaker says
By
Ramzy Saleh
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
What started as a classroom project turned into a week about awareness of intimate
partner violence.
Intimate Partner Violence Awareness Week (IPAW) is currently taking place April
24-28. An Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) forum took place Wednesday night
in the Alamitos Bay room in the University Student Union.
The idea for the weeklong awareness program came from the students in the advanced
community health education course in the health sciences department. The class
worked on a semester-long project that resulted in the IPAW.
“
Our goal is to increase awareness about intimate partner violence and about
resourses available to survivors,” said Stella Fogleman, one of the student
organizers. “We like to call them survivors and not victims.”
The IPV forum consisted of a panel of three speakers on the issue of domestic
and sexual violence.
The first to speak was Rhohida Khan, who belongs to Women’s Transitional
Living Centers (WTLC). The group runs shelters in Los Angeles and Orange County
devoted exclusively to domestic violence.
“
Any violence within the home or done by any person formerly associated intimately
with the victim is domestic violence,” said Khan, who began her presentation
by defining domestic violence.
Her presentation examined the history of domestic violence as well as social
norms associated with it. She used slides with facts and figures from the Department
of Justice, illustrating the number and instances of domestic violence, stating
domestic violence is occurs every nine seconds. She also presented facts about
the social byproducts of being in a home where domestic violence occurs. She
said 63 percent of young men incarcerated are convicted of killing their mother’s
batterer.
Khan told the crowd domestic violence is a learned behavior and is not caused
by anger or drug and alcohol use. Such factors might trigger abuse but the
permissibility of the act is a result of learned behavior through witnessing
violence or accepting violence against women in the home, Khan said.
Khan further explained the mentality of the perpetrators, pointing out their
uses of control and fear against their victims and how they are usually well-respected
by their communities.
The next panel speaker, Evelin Barragan-Edwards, is affiliated with the non-profit
organization Sexual Assault Crisis Agency (SACA).
Edwards spoke of the importance of identifying sexual assault.
“
It’s important to see sexual assault connected to all types of violence,” she
said.
Her focus was mainly on how to become an active member in society and to recognize
violence against women before it leads to a sexual assault.
She called on the audience to volunteer to take a 48-hour training course to
be state-certified in rape crisis counseling.
Edwards called on men especially to be aware of the issues so they can create
an atmosphere of intolerance among their friends when it comes to sexual assault
against women.
Sheryl Garrido, a domestic violence survivor, spoke about how she was in a
physically and emotionally abusive relationship and did not realize she was
being abused until six months before it ended.
“
I guess I needed to get beat enough times before I realized I was being abused,” she
said.
Garrido’s return to her abuser is normal. It is estimated the abused
go back five to seven times before they finally leave the relationship. The
main reason she kept going back, she said, was because she thought she could
change him.
Finally she was beaten so badly she drew up enough strength from her faith
in God and was able to have her abuser arrested on 22 counts of battery. He
is currently serving a 15-year sentence.
Gladys Santiago, Garrido’s best friend, began to cry when Garrido spoke
of her abuse. Santiago is also a survivor of domestic abuse.
“
Seeing her say those words made me reminisce on the pain we both went through,” Santiago
said.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The IPV forum represented one of the
many events taking place this month. Sexual Assault Crisis Agency (SACA) has
currently scheduled an event titled“ Speak Out” to take place from
5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at the CSULB Soroptomist House. For more information
call SACA at (562) 989-0309 ext.103.
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