Wellspring

Wellspring

Thursday, April 26, 2012

From Academics to Art to Social Action

To me, one of the greatest tragedies of domestic abuse is that it happens in private and no one talks about being abused in their intimate relationships. As a result, victims often think they, alone, endure verbal, emotional or physical abuse by someone who purports to love them.


I think increasing awareness is the key to not only helping survivors, but more importantly, to changing the norms in our society so that we can END abuse. And DVRC recently found a terrific partner to help us do this. Skidmore College's Spring 2012 Feminist Theories and Methods class, led by Professor Mary Stange, partnered with DVRC of Saratoga County to research, design, and produce 3 video vignettes which communicate the prevalence, dynamics, and impacts of domestic violence. This group of talented and enthusiastic Skidmore College students help viewers to recognize the signs of domestic violence early in relationships through powerful depictions of the impact of abuse in real life scenarios.

What a project… taking classroom learning and applying it to create social change! Help us to increase awareness by sharing these videos. Together we can END relationship abuse! I invite you to watch the videos and share your thoughts:






2 comments:

  1. Dear Maggie - I stumbled upon your blog as I was looking for ideas for our coming retreat. I'm with SI Camarillo, CA - near Ventura (on the ocean) and the "famous" VALLEY. Anyway, I so enjoyed your post of about a year (or more) ago that I "lifted" the first paragraph to whet the appetite of our members and put up a link to your blog and encouraged them to read the whole thing. I love your writing. I'm on the wrong end of the world to expect to run into you but I'd sure like that to happen. Our website is SoroptimistCamarillo.org and the newsletter I edit will probably be posted sometime in the next couple of weeks. I didn't know how to contact you to say "Please, may I?" so now I have to say "I hope you're not mad at me." Thanks for sharing your talent - Anne Howington Anne@Howington.com

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  2. Dear Anne:
    Thank you so much for your kind words. Feel free to print or use the blog post in any way that motivates your members to attend your retreat. I always am so glad I attend the retreat and leave energized and inspired by the phenomenal women in the Club and their commitment to improving our community locally and globally. Our Club just funded a birthing center in a forgotten and impoverished community in Uganda. When these women give birth they will now have a clean, safe place with the only electric lighting in the community (solar powered light). Our Club has long helped local organizations that aid women and girls, but through our retreats and strategic planning we’ve raised the bar and increased our impact (all the way to Uganda!) Such accomplishments rekindle our investment in Soroptimist.
    So have a great retreat and happy goal planning! FYI, following up on the goals in my January 9, 2011 post…my pooch Andy and I are still working on heel ;0)
    Maggie

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