2008 Woodie Awards
Women on Wed. takes on violence
The Women's Center's weekly program brings speakers on domestic violence
Katye Matthews
Issue date: 10/8/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Women's rights advocate Lupe Serrano said Wednesday that in order to end domestic violence it must be recognized as a problem of communities, not just individuals.
"Domestic violence is everybody's issue. It affects all of us," Serrano said.
Serrano is the executive director of Casa de Esparanza, an organization that encourages Latinas and Latino communities to help stop domestic violence.
Her presentation, called Changing Lives Through Community, was this week's installment of the SCSU Womens Center's Women On Wednesday series.
Serrano began the hour long session by asking who in the room knew of someone affected by domestic violence. More than half the audience of nearly 70 men and women raised their hands.
Nearly 33 million women in the United States are subjected to abusive behavior every year, despite significant efforts to counter this staggering statistic.
Since the beginning of a women's rights movement in the 1970s, which recognized domestic violence as a serious societal issue, there have been many efforts toward its prevention.
However, the earliest of these efforts were system-based and focused mainly on building battered women's shelters, advocating for victims and lobbying for legal action. The general approach was to simply remove a victim of domestic violence from the situation entirely.
"When a woman just leaves, she puts herself at the greatest danger," Serrano said in reference to situations of abuse that sometimes escalate to extreme violence if not handled sensitively.
Instead, through her work with Casa de Esperanza, Serrano has helped others recognize the need to fight against domestic violence as a
__community effort.
"People don't live in systems, they live in communities," said Serrano. The organization employs a method of looking at the perspective of the individuals affected to effectively understand the issue and provide more adequate solutions.
Newer approaches to issues of domestic violence include getting to know victims on a personal level and learning about their everyday experiences to get a more complete view of their lifestyles.
Serrano also presented the idea that abuse is a "learned behavior" which society can discourage through educating youth as well as parents and working to correct contributing social problems such as racism, teen pregnancy and poverty.
Today, Casa de Esperanza is nationally recognized for its practice. Its ability to create awareness and motivation within communities has taken a great stand for victims of domestic violence.
"I hope the number of people to raise their hands in ten years will be less than half of what it was today," Serrano said in closing, encouraging each of us to remember her earlier words:
"Domestic violence is not something we cannot change. It is in our hands."
"Domestic violence is everybody's issue. It affects all of us," Serrano said.
Serrano is the executive director of Casa de Esparanza, an organization that encourages Latinas and Latino communities to help stop domestic violence.
Her presentation, called Changing Lives Through Community, was this week's installment of the SCSU Womens Center's Women On Wednesday series.
Serrano began the hour long session by asking who in the room knew of someone affected by domestic violence. More than half the audience of nearly 70 men and women raised their hands.
Nearly 33 million women in the United States are subjected to abusive behavior every year, despite significant efforts to counter this staggering statistic.
Since the beginning of a women's rights movement in the 1970s, which recognized domestic violence as a serious societal issue, there have been many efforts toward its prevention.
However, the earliest of these efforts were system-based and focused mainly on building battered women's shelters, advocating for victims and lobbying for legal action. The general approach was to simply remove a victim of domestic violence from the situation entirely.
"When a woman just leaves, she puts herself at the greatest danger," Serrano said in reference to situations of abuse that sometimes escalate to extreme violence if not handled sensitively.
Instead, through her work with Casa de Esperanza, Serrano has helped others recognize the need to fight against domestic violence as a
__community effort.
"People don't live in systems, they live in communities," said Serrano. The organization employs a method of looking at the perspective of the individuals affected to effectively understand the issue and provide more adequate solutions.
Newer approaches to issues of domestic violence include getting to know victims on a personal level and learning about their everyday experiences to get a more complete view of their lifestyles.
Serrano also presented the idea that abuse is a "learned behavior" which society can discourage through educating youth as well as parents and working to correct contributing social problems such as racism, teen pregnancy and poverty.
Today, Casa de Esperanza is nationally recognized for its practice. Its ability to create awareness and motivation within communities has taken a great stand for victims of domestic violence.
"I hope the number of people to raise their hands in ten years will be less than half of what it was today," Serrano said in closing, encouraging each of us to remember her earlier words:
"Domestic violence is not something we cannot change. It is in our hands."