Upcoming Events for Sexual Assault Awareness Month April 3, 2012

Throughout the month of April several student and community organizations are sponsoring events in recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM).  These events aim to raise public awareness about sexual violence and educate individuals and communities on how to prevent sexual violence.  The full list of SAAM events can be found at http://saam.web.unc.edu/.  Below, we have highlighted a few events that are occurring in the near future.

On Wednesday, April 4th, Project Dinah is hosting a film screening of Not My Life, a documentary about modern-day slavery and human trafficking.  The screening is taking place at 7:00 in Bingham 317.

Professor Matt Ezzell from the Department of Sociology at James Madison University will be giving a multimedia presentation on “Consuming Inequality: Gender, Media, and Violence.”  The event takes place on April 9th at 5:00 in Gardner 105.

On April 9th, from 7:00-9:00, in Dey 210, One Act is sponsoring an event titled “Checking In: What Bystanders Can Do to Prevent Relationship Abuse.”  The workshop focuses on how students can be active bystanders and support their friends in situations involving abusive relationships.

Please spread the word about all of these great events!  We hope that you can attend and that you further explore all of the opportunities offered to students and community members throughout Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Upcoming Film Showing of Killing Us Softly 4 March 26, 2012

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM).  In order to bring awareness to the issue of sexual assault, Project Dinah, a student organization at UNC Chapel Hill that is devoted to safety and empowerment, is sponsoring a film showing of Killing Us Softly 4.  Killing Us Softly 4 is a film about advertising’s image of women and explores the connection between advertising and public health issues, including violence against women, eating disorders, and addiction.  The screening is taking place on March 28th at 7:00 p.m. in Bingham 317 on UNC’s campus.  We hope you can attend!

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month October 3, 2011

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) or Relationship Violence Awareness Month (RVAM). FVPC is partnering with the Carolina Women’s Center (CWC), Project Dinah, UNC Counseling and Wellness (CWS), and Men@Carolina to host events all month long that bring awareness to the issue of relationship violence.

Please come out to as many events as you can and bring friends!

RVAM Kick Off Event: Monday-Thursday Oct. 3-5

10 am – 1pm, Polk Place

Come out to Polk Place to find out more information about healthy relationships and the various RVAM events. Groups in attendance include, FVPC, CWC, Project Dinah, Men@Carolina, and the UNC LGBTQ Center.

Sin By Silence movie screening

Wed. Oct 5 – Noon, Graham Memorial 039

CWC is sponsoring a Brown Bag Film Screening of Sin By Silence, a documentary following the creation of Convicted Women Against Abuse (CWAA).

Telling Amy’s Story

Monday, Oct. 10, 3pm Graham Memorial 039

CWC and Verizon are partnering to bring Telling Amy’s Story to campus. The film follows the time line of a domestic violence homicide. It follows the family, friends, and court officials perspectives of what happened to Amy in the time before her death. There will be a discussion following the film.

Speak Out!

Wednesday Oct. 12, 7-9pm, The Pit

Project Dinah and Men@Carolina are hosting the annual Speak Out! event. Members of the group will read anonymous survivor stories that have been posted on the Speak Out Blog. There will also be a key note speaker, and open mic portion when audience members will be allowed to share their own stories. It is a powerful night of empowerment, an effort to break the silence around relationship violence.

Lecture: Keohane Distinguished Visiting Professor

Tuesday October 25 7pm University Room, Hyde Hall

Professor Elaine Lawless, is visiting UNC-Duke for the 2011-2012 academic year as a Keohane Distinguished Visiting Professor. She will be giving a public lecture on her research on violence against women.

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 3pm Graham Memorial 039

CWC will be sponsoring a screening of Sisters in Law, a film following two women in a small town in Cameroon who are fighting for convictions in domestic violence cases. The documentary is both fascinating and at times humorous as the audience follows State Prosecutor, Vera Ngassa, and Court President, Beatrice Ntuba and their fight for justice.

LUNAFEST

Thursday, Oct. 27, 6:30 pm Reception, 7pm Screening, Varsity Theater

Sponsored by FVPC, LUNAFEST is a traveling film festival,that shows award-winning short films for and about women. The year there will be nine films shown. Proceeds will benefit FVPC and the Breast Cancer Fund.  Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for everyone else and $7 for students & $12  for general public at the door.

Mark your calendars and come to as many of these fabulous events as possible!

Upcoming Project Dinah Events September 28, 2011

Project Dinah,  a student based organization at UNC-CH whose goal is to promote safety and empowerment on UNC’s campus, has two events coming up.

On Friday, September 30, Project Dinah along with UNC Panhellenic and CHECs are presenting Orgasm? Yes Please! “This program is an orgasmic event on how to have amazing, healthy, fun and communicative sex. Learn about your O and win a free vibrator in our annual raffle, sponsored by Cherry Pie. Come join us on Friday, September 30 at 7:30pm in the Great Hall!”

SPEAK OUT! On Wednesday October 12, 2011 Project Dinah and Men at Carolina will be hosting the annual Speak Out event. This is a night dedicated to honoring survivors of interpersonal violence, sharing statistics from the previous year, and empowering people to take a stand against relationship violence. Members of the two group will read anonymous testimonials from survivors that have been posted on the Speak Out blog. You can add your testimonial as well, by going to this site.  There will also be a key note speaker and an open mic portion for those wishing to share their experiences.  Please join Project Dinah and Men at Carolina in this night dedicated to ending the silence around interpersonal violence. Speak Out will be held at The Pit on UNC’s campus, rain location Gardner 105.

Project Dinah seeks survivors’s stories for Speak Out! Blog February 27, 2011

Project Dinah is looking for survivor’s stories to put on their Speak Out! Blog.  On April 14th Members of Project Dinah will read anonymous testimonials of survivors’ experiences that have been collected over the year through the blog. In doing so, they break the troubling silence that surrounds sexual assault and interpersonal violence and lend their voices to those who struggle with its affects. The event closes with an “open mic” period during which individuals may come forward to speak of their own experiences or feelings.

What Lara Logan’s Sexual Assault tells us about Victim Blaming Culture February 21, 2011

On February 11th, CBS reporter Lara Logan was sexually assaulted and beaten in the Tahrir Square mob.  She was rescued by a group of women and Egyptian soldiers and flown home the next day to recover.  Instead of focusing on rape culture or the damaging physical and psychological consequences of sexual assault, most media outlets chose to blame Logan for her attack.  While Salon had an insightful blog post describing the blatant victim blaming and ignorance of rape culture prevalent in most news coverage of the assault and commented on the coverage of other news sources [like LA Weekly that wrote a blogpost entitled "Lara Logan, CBS Reporter and Warzone 'It Girl', Raped Repeatedly Amid Egypt Celebration" where writer Simone Wilson discusses Logan's looks and "ballsy" personality before even describing the attack itself] few other news outlets have been as fair, choosing the tired path (tired for those of us who work in this field) of blaming the victim for their assault.

News sources like The New York Post opted to chronicle Logan’s active sex life, a topic which always seems to emerge, despite its irrelevancy, when an attractive woman is assaulted.  And other commentators like fellow journalist [a journalist who has covered the Iraq War, where one would imagine, he has been in his share of dangerous situations when his own physical safety had been threatened] Nir Rosen a former fellow at NYU’s Center for Law and Security maintain that women often use sexual assault as a way to get attention or sympathy or to escape the consequences of their actions.  Rosen Tweeted: “It’s always wrong, that’s obvious, but I’m rolling my eyes at the attention she’ll get”.  Despite a later apology, Rosen’s actions (whether intentional or not) perpetuated the idea that reporting sexual assault is a tactic women use to seek attention, rather than a mechanism for healing from a trauma and taking back control in a situation where all power and control has been stripped from them.  And, in yet another offensive manifestation of this story, Debbie Shlussel, a conservative political commentator and radio talk show host stated (after her comments about the assault occurring in a “country of savages”) “[T]oo bad Lara.  No one told her to go there. She knew the risks.  And she should have known what Islam is about. Now she knows…How fitting that Lara Logan was ‘liberated’ by Muslims in Liberation Square while she was gushing over the other part of the ‘liberation.”‘

The underlying message of statements from Schlussel, Rosen and others is that Logan had this assault coming [Schlussel's is additionally troubling given its blatant xenophobic and racist nature].   Few people told Anderson Cooper that he should have known what he was in for after his assault in Egypt in early February for for doing his job of reporting the news.  If anything, the public viewed him in a light of admiration for being willing to sacrifice so much for a cause he believed in reporting on. No matter what Logan’s occupation or political beliefs, she has a right to safety and respect for her body, just as Cooper has, even if they both have chosen careers that have the potential to put themselves into situations which are life threatening. After that right was violated, it is hardly appropriate to blame Logan career and political affiliations for the assault.

It was incredibly brave of Logan to bring her story to the public eye, however not every survivor feels comfortable doing so  because of the unfair and unacceptable stigma surrounding sexual assault and relationship violence.  If you are a survivor and want your story to be told, consider submitting it to Project Dinah’s “Speak Out!” blog anonymously.

 

 

Speak Out Blog: New Tool to Help Victim’s Share Their Stories Safely, and Anonymously February 16, 2011

The Speak Out Blog is new collaborative initiative that allows women to speak out anonymously about their experiences with interpersonal violence, in the hopes of raising awareness of the issue and helping victims understand that they are not alone in their struggles.

Interpersonal violence is a pervasive problem and a commonly socially stigmatized issue.  Often times, victims feel powerless to seek help, or feel that even if they did, that they would not be believed.

In situations like these, hearing the stories of actual survivors of domestic violence and relationship abuse can help.  These stories, especially those told from the victims perspective and in their own words, can become powerful tools in helping spread the word about interpersonal violence, and can not only help increase community awareness of the issues, but also help victims who find themselves in these situations realize that they are not alone, that their circumstances are not to be tolerated, and that if they do choose to seek help, the will be heard and believed.

If you or someone you know has experienced some form of violence (stalking, relationship abuse, sexual assault, hate crimes, etc), you are not alone and your story is real and powerful.  Break the silence surrounding violence by sharing your story anonymously on the following blog: http://www.speakoutunc.blogspot.com/. Be empowered to grieve and heal.

Testimonials shared on the blog will be read anonymously at Project Dinah‘s annual Speak Out Against Interpersonal Violence on April 14th. Co-sponsored by Men @ Carolina, W.E.L.L (Women Experiencing Learning & Leadership) and the IPV prevention department of Counseling and Wellness.