March 01 Newsletter
Dear Friends,
I hope all of you who ordered the Results
book have gotten it by now. And thanks to you who have responded so
positively. There would be much less good news to report if you weren't
out there working so hard.
I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow so this newsletter is going out before
the date on the letterhead. I'm sending it out on Leap Year Day. What a
wonderful day. It is special because it comes so infrequently. For all of
who wish for more time, here it is. An extra day. Do something special for
yourself today.
Welcome new email correspondents:
Hiroko Okumura (Kyota Women's Center, Kyoto, Japan).
NEWS FROM THE STATES/COUNTRIES:
ARIZONA:
Sandy Naatz of Arizona State University updates us on activity there:
You may have heard of a show called "The Vagina
Monologues"...Although some people have trouble getting past the
name, it is an INCREDIBLE show, which was written as a result of
interviews with hundreds of women, about their relationship with their
bodies. Many of the monologues are about violence against women.
The show was written by Eve Ensler. The show was cast by
famous stars (Glenn Close, Whoopi Goldberg, Susan Serandon....) and
performed a few years ago in New York as a fund raiser to end violence
against women. The show is now being performed by over 140 colleges
and universities throughout the country to keep the movement going.
Here in Arizona, at Arizona State University, we set up both the
Silent Witness Display and the Clothesline Project outside the auditorium
where the crowd gathered prior to the show and during intermission. About
700 people saw the show and many commented on how the Silent Witnesses and
Clothesline REALLY added to the show by driving home the messages. And
the added bonus is that the students raised over $6000 for local
shelters/domestic violence projects!
A side note...we are now trying to find some storage to house a Silent
Witness Project on Campus so that it will be easy to make it visible here
at any time throughout the year.
*Thanks Sandy, for updating us. This show sounds wonderful and I'm so
pleased the Silent Witnesses added to the powerful message. Great work.
CONNECTICUT:
Jan Fuhr writes this about
receiving the Results book:
I will be sharing it with the first selecman of New Fairfield, CT. We
met last week at an area-wide DV meeting. She is very interested in
working on the problem. Having never heard of Silent Witness, this
will give her great insight. We have already discussed having the
exhibit in New Fairfield at a town meeting or the like.
*Great news. We need to have more of our public officials involved with
Silent Witness. Thanks Jan.
FLORIDA:
Geri Haynes in Sarasota fills us in on what's
happening there:
On Feb 4th Judge Nancy Donnellan and I spoke to the Kiwanis Club at their
weekly luncheon, with the witnesses present. The impact was
unbelievable. The general assembly voted unanimously to write a resolution
of support to the county commission for our county-wide Family Violence
Free Zone project (modeled after Cambridge, MA efforts), and expressed
interest in helping us fund more witnesses. They strongly encouraged
our submitting a grant request for funds for an upcoming Business Leaders
Breakfast.
Yesterday, Feb 21st, two performances of a program from NY, The Vagina
Monologues, was performed by area actress at a local theatre. The
shows were sold out, and the witnesses were displayed on the patio outside
the theatre.
On Feb 28th, the witnesses will be at the League of Women Voters luncheon,
and on Mar 8th, they will be at the Jewish Federation for an Advocacy
Forum on DV presented by NCJW. They will be back to the Federation
on the 15th for another luncheon event.
And finally, on March 28th, the Family Violence Task Force, along with
Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and FCCI Insurance Group (and hopefully the
Kiwanis Club) will be co-sponsoring a Business Leaders Breakfast entitled
Violence in the Workplace. Presentations will include information on
law enforcement info (liabilities, responsibilities, what to do) and
information on supervising an (violence) impaired worker.
We will be awarding the first Small Business that Makes a Big Difference
award to a local business that has assisted an employee with DV situation
and avoided danger to their business, co-workers and customers. And
finally, we will be providing packets of info to each business from the
Violence Prevention Fund to assist them in creating a safe work
environment. The brochure we created last year, Violence in the
Workplace, has been translated into Spanish. The brochure answers
common questions regarding workplace issues, and provides a listing of
resources from crisis intervention to counseling to corporate training.
Both translations will be available for distribution at the
breakfast.
*What a wonderful report. So much happening in Sarasota. Thanks Geri and
friends. Good work.
KENTUCKY:
Connie Fox called from Louisville, ecstatic
about this news:
The district court, which means the criminal court in Louisville, Kentucky
is going to try out a domestic violence specialty court for six
months. This means that all the domestic violence cases will be seen in a
coordinated way and it may pave the way for more responsiveness on the
part of the court to domestic violence. This is partly due to the hard
work of Connie, Diane Graeter and their Court Watch program volunteers who
collected great data and put it together in a lucid presentation to the
court. What a fine result of such great work.
*Congratulations. YOu are a group of gifted and dedicated women. We love
you.
MINNESOTA:
This note came from a survivor who appeared in
a video tape that Silent Witness made a few years before the march in
Washington. It depicted the Silent Witness exhibit along with three
formerly battered women talking about their experiences. One of them,
Kathy, wrote us and agreed to let us share her story.
After going to your web site I watched the video that I took part in 1994
entitled "The Silent Witness Story." As you know I was one of
the "Survivors" who was interviewed. I would like to thank you
and everyone who was involved in the project for helping me heal. There
have been times in the years since that video was made that I was
struggleing and lonely and debated whether to go back to my perpetrator.
At those times when I was feeling weak, I watched the video and got the
strength to keep going. The following is the best way I can describe the
thoughts and the feelings that went through me last night as I watched the
video tape that we made in 1994.
As I watched the other women who took part in the project I wondered where
are they now? Are they safe and are they happy? What are their lives like
now and what have they gone through since then? When I watched myself, my
first thought was, I've come a long way since then, so much has happened
good as well as bad. The experience that I talked about at times seems
like just a bad dream, but when I watch the video reality hits me like a
ton of bricks. It really did happen to me! I lived with it for years! The
feeling of fear came back to me.
It's very painful to go back to the time when I lived in such a violent
relationship. My eyes filled with tears and I hurt so bad inside. I told
myself that I would never let that happen to me again no matter what
happened in my life. The fear and the pain, that I went through in that
time in my life, not only physical but mental, were excruciating. I wanted
to be loved and valued not hurt and degraded. Another memory came to mind
as I watched as well. I remember being afraid that if my perpetrator got
wind of the project and my involvement I would have hell to pay. Even
after
being away from him for about two years and feeling I had recovered I was
still afraid. It was almost the same feeling and thoughts that came over
me when he was loading his gun. Do I speak and let him know where I am and
warn my friends in the back yard that he has a loaded gun? Will he go
after them first? Or do I try to get to my son in the front yard and
save him and myself? This was a safer choice this time because of the
distance, but still the fear was there.
The point I'm trying to make is that I'm glad I was able to speak out in
the video in order to help others and myself rather than being too afraid
and only taking care of what was close to me. It has been very hard to go
through this again. I hope it helps. Thanks!
*And thanks to you, Kathy, for sharing this with us. You are truly a
survivor.
I would also like to thank Lori Reese, the woman who has taken the Mn.
Silent Witnesses to Washington twice and has since taken it upon herself
to keep the Minnesota Silent Witness exhibit painted and spruced up on a
regular basis for costs only. We are deeply indebted to her. Her passion
for this project goes back nine years now. What an angel. Thanks Lori. We
love you.
MONTANA:
This note from Tracy Lakatua in Missoula,
Montana:
Last night I attended a memorial/program at a church here in town where
the Montana Witnesses were featured. The event was called "Love
without Fear: Healing the Wounds of Domestic Violence," and was
sponsored by the Missoula Ministerial Association; Missoula Family
Violence Council; People of Faith, People of Action; Catholic Community
Action and Catholic Campus Ministry U-nite. It was the first time in
almost a year that I had been among the Silent Witnesses. And was
energizing to be in the presence people who want to help families to heal
and women to be safe and strong.
*Yes, being with people who care is really energizing. Thanks, Tracy.
RHODE ISLAND:
Nancy Rafi has more news from RI:
I'm in the process of painting 10 more
Witnesses for our speak at Bryant College on March 2nd.They've requested
to have the Witnesses in the Student Union Hall for the next two weeks,
and we are also going to be bringing 20 shirts from the Clothesline
project which have been given to me by the Clothesline coordinator here in
RI. That will bring our project up to 15 Witnesses, and there are 6 in the
Northern RI project, 5 at Salve Regina University, and 20 at the
Univeristy of Rhode Island's display. Rhode Island is really moving
forward!
Have I forgotten to mention how much I love this work? It reminds me
of something Anne Frank said: "How wonderful it is not to have
to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." Silent
Witness is the best!
*We all can start changing the world, right now. YES.
NEWS FROM NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS:
A STRONG INVITATION TO BE PART OF THE WALK ACROSS AMERICA:
Greetings, My name is Laura Hom. I
am the Hoop Journey Coordinator for the Journey of the Sacred Hoop Walk.
I work for White Bison, Inc. who is organizing the walk. The
Walk will begin in Los Angeles 4/1/00 and be completed in Washington DC on
7/10/oo. The Walk is a nationwide walk for healing and wellbriety.
Please refer to our website to learn of our company. www.whitebison.com
or call me at 719-548-1000. We are inviting the Silent Witness
Program to join our walk. We are serious about ending domestic
violence. On our Journey we have a designated coordinator for the
Silent Witness. If there is a way to network on this Walk...please
contact us. My email address is laura@whitebison.org
. In one of our brochures we invited
Silent Witness folks to join the walk...one goal of the Walk is the
elimination of domestic violence wherever it occurs. Family
violence, particularly against women and young people, is not a Native
value nor is it a value of any healthy cultural group.The Eagle Feather Hoop has already received prayers from the four colors (races) across North America. It will carry in its Nationwide journey, the gifts of healing, hope, unity and forgiveness. We realize the a committment must be made in unity...to stop the violence. stop the substance abuse. stop the harm and pain in our nation. The Walk's purpose is to initiate a Wellbriety movement in Indian country as well as in the families of all four "directions" in our Nation. It is meant to unify peoples and natons by "wiping away the tears".
The walk will pass through Los Angeles, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Gallup, Oklahoma City, Tahlequah, Cherokee NC Memphis Tennessee, Nashville, and Washington DC.
Please, Silent Witness coordinators in any of these states or cities get in touch with this group and coordinate to walk with them part of the way on their tremendous journey. They will be carrying a Silent Witness with them on this walk.
DOROTHY LEMMEY IS STUDYING SCHOOL MURDERS AND NEEDS OUR ASSISTANCE:
Dorothy writes: Here is an introduction and
summary of the proposal. I am asking that anyone located near or in
the 3 cities listed can provide me with contacts and information in the
future, once data collection starts on this project. Pearl, Miss
West Paducah, Ky Jonesboro, AR
Although crime victimization in schools has decreased, the number of
multiple-victim homicide school events has increased (Kaufman, et al.,
1998). Multiple-victim homicide incidents increased three fold (from 2 to
6) in the academic year 1997-98 compared to 1992-93, and the number of
victims increased four fold (from 4 to 16) (Kaufman, et al., 1998). Half
of the incidents were specifically directed at females and two-thirds of
the total number of victims (10) were female. In order to understand the
experience of violence development in young boys convicted in multiple
female victim homicide school shootings in 1997-98, this study will
explore the three multiple female victim homicide school shootings: 1)
Oct. 1, 1997, Pearl, Miss. - A 16-year-old student shot and killed his
ex-girlfriend and another girl at Pearl High School after slitting his
mother's throat, seven other students were wounded, 2) Dec. 1, 1997, West
Paducah, Ky. A 14-year-old boy shot and killed three girls at Heath High
School. Five others were wounded, 3) March 24, 1998, Jonesboro, Ark.
Mitchell Johnson, 13, and Andrew Golden, 11, shot and killed a female
teacher and four girls at Westside Middle School during a false fire
alarm, nine girls and one other teacher were wounded (House Republican
Conference, 1999).
The purpose of this 24-month project is to examine the role of patriarchy
(power-control theory) in multiple female victim homicides in school and
self reported acts of violence.The project will investigate five
indicators of exposure to violence (Abuse, Intimate Partner Violence,
Physical Punishment, media and Guns) at three levels of structural
change.1) resources (community laws and legitimate violence index), 2)
schema (family reflection of abuse, violence, punishment, Media, and
Guns), and 3) agency (Individual reflection of abuse, violence,
punishment,Media, and Guns).
A total of 300 adolescent boys (50 from each of the three schools where
the homicides occurred and 50 boys from each of the three other comparable
schools) including the 4 perpetrators of multiple female victim homicides
in school will complete a 45-minute survey. Questions will be asked
that will divide the participants into 2 groups 1) less patriarchal and 2)
more patriarchal families of origin which will be used to demonstrate
impact of patriarchy on violent behavior. Descriptive analyses will
be computed for all continuous variables and frequencies will be computed
for all categorical variables. Data analysis will use multiple
(ordinal dependent) and logistic regression (dichotomous dependent) to
test the theoretical model of power and control.
<<
Dorothy Lemmey, Ph.D., RN email dotlemmey@aol.com
536 S. Bay Cove
Painesville, OH 44077-1385
DOVE WINGS ORGANIZATION ONLINE:
I come to you today as a fellow Domestic
Violence Advocate along with my wonderful volunteer staff at Silent Tears,
Inc. We are a support and referral group which exists to provide aid and
assistance to all victims of domestic abuse--women, men and the silent
victims--children. We do this Online and Offline through various programs.
We are committed to doing everything in our power as volunteers to help
those in need.Our Mission is to put an end to the epidemic of domestic violence and abuse. That is raging out of control in our country, by supporting and referring the victims of domestic violence and abuse, using both online and offline resources; Silent Tears is run by lay people with the common interest to provide nurturing, self -- empowerment, education, friendship and referrals to those affected by domestic violence.
http://msnhomepages.talkcity.com/SupportSt/tangodelata/silenttears.html
Tia M. Davis DoveWingsT@aol.com
(or) SilentTearsInc@aol.com
I leave you today with a saying form Zukav called Seat of
the Soul;
When we align our thoughts, emotions, and actions with the highest part of
ourselves, we are filled with enthusiasm, purpose and meaning. Life is
rich and full. We have no thought of bitterness. We have no memory of
fear. We are joyously and intimately engaged with our world. This is the
evidence of authentic power.
Cheers,
Janet