The Women’s Center hosts another weekly Brown Bag Lunch and Learn, inviting Ohio University Survivor Advocacy Program to discuss domestic violence with participants.
October brings Domestic Violence Awareness Month and with it a new Brown Bag Lunch and Learn hosted by the Ohio University’s Women’s Center.
The lunch is called “No More Silence—Let’s Talk About Domestic Violence,” and will occur Thursday at 12 p.m. This is one of the numerous lunches that are held at the Women’s Center every month. These weekly meetings are conducted with the goal of educating OU’s community in topics affecting women.
Discussion leaders, who are typically faculty, staff and community members, are invited to talk about their work, research, articles or volunteering, Sarah Jenkins, program coordinator of the Women’s Center, said.
The events are pre-planned from the beginning of each semester when the Women’s Center reaches out to the community for discussion leaders. Different individuals and organizations choose a week and plan their respective lunches.
“We ask people to present on what they are interested in,” Jenkins said.
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This week’s discussion is led by Ohio University Survivor Advocacy Program. OUSAP is an on-campus advocacy group.
“We provide support and advocacy for victims of sexual assault, dating or domestic violence, and stalking,” Delaney Anderson, the program coordinator of the group, said.
The group will speak on domestic violence and its prevalence today, as well as detailing the ways in which individuals can offer support to those affected by domestic violence. One goal of this lunch is raising awareness, Anderson said.
OUSAP hopes to move the discussion away from the victim-blaming attitude by highlighting the #whyIstayed movement. This hashtag was created to share the complex nature of domestic violence and show why silence is so prevalent among victims.
Anderson has been developing the discussion for Thursday’s lunch along with peer advocates who work with the program. Planning the lunch has been a group effort, Anderson said.
The mission of the Women’s Center includes students, faculty, staff and community members, so all are welcome to attend, Jenkins said.
“It is a nice space to come in and talk about these topics,” Anderson said.
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