Passing through Village Square between Oct. 20 and 24, you may have wondered, “What was the deal with the bells and whistles and the cardboard figures?” Although the display was colorful, the message was a grim one. The sounds and figures that were part of the event represented the victims of acts of domestic violence that, too often, go unnoticed and are being committed even as you read this article.
October was Domestic Violence Month and NEIU’s Adult and Women Student Programs (AWSP) wanted to use this opportunity to raise students’ awareness of a problem that is far too common. The bells and whistles represented the women that suffer domestic violence. The bell gong, which rang every 15 seconds, represented the statistic that a woman is battered in the U.S. every 15 seconds. Every 10 minutes a woman is raped in the U.S. represented by the whistle. Another bell rang every 15 minutes representing that a woman is murdered every 15 minutes. Even if these crimes are reported and prosecuted, these acts are frequently ruled accidental. Apart from the audible message, the campaign also featured The Silent Witness Exhibit and The Clothesline Project visual displays.
It all started almost two decades ago in Minnesota where, in just one year, over 25 women were murdered at the hands of their intimate partners. A group of outraged women came up with the idea of cardboard cut-outs to commemorate these victims of domestic violence, each one having a story explaining the circumstances of the crime attached to it. “A lot of these exhibits trigger a lot of pain and repressed feelings. One in every four women has experienced some sort of violence. These are pretty big numbers,” said Maria Chaves of the AWSP. “Lots of people that pass by here have traumatic experiences that they don’t talk about every day and in some way are forced to deal with them.”
Earlier in the week, instead of cardboard figures, the Clothesline Project displayed colorful tee-shirts, also communicating stories of abused women and their experiences ranging from gang rape to molestation. Each shirt color symbolized a different type of violence. Chaves admitted that reactions were mixed but thought that overall the exhibit was very effective.
“There were a lot of people who just passed by the Clothesline Project, glanced and didn’t stop. But then they would come back around, look at it and read it,” Chaves said. “Some asked questions and took the resources that we have. Others engaged in conversation about their own experiences.”
To make the initiative more engaging and interactive, anyone could make their own shirt and contribute to the display. According to Chaves, “What’s really great about this project is that women come up to us and say, ‘I’ve had all of those experiences.’ You can make a shirt if you would like to. You can share and empower yourself.”
She continued to say, “Communities should confine violence and say they will not stand for it. And as a university, we need to focus on ending violence. I think that’s why we brought in so many projects. Some are really in your face, chopping and really depressing. But these things happen and we don’t always talk about them.”
ASWP had a lot of events scheduled for October’s Domestic Violence Awareness month, but they make an effort to educate the community about violence against women all year long. “Throughout the school year, we always address violence in different ways. Next semester we plan on doing a march,” Chaves said
The Oct. 27 event was called the White Ribbon Campaign and it targeted men because, according to statistics, they are almost exclusively the perpetrators of domestic violence. “Men need to step up and take a stand against violence because they have some power to end it. They have to educate themselves to stop it,” Chaves said.
You might already be wearing a red or a pink ribbon. But if you empathize with those who suffer from domestic violence, pick up a purple ribbon to show your objection or a white ribbon if you are a male that wants to contribute to ending it.