Last week the Women’s Resource Center held a discussion on domestic violence in Eastern Michigan University’s Student Center. The discussion was led by Catie Stolz of the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) and a panel comprised of Officer Andrea Elliot, Walton Hall resident advisor Allie Sheppard, and Lourdes Mir-Orange of the Counseling Services Center and the WRC.
The purpose of this discussion was to educate students, faculty, and anyone else who interested in learning about domestic violence, what to do if you are in an abusive relationship, how to spot some of the signs of an abusive relationship, and what to do to help prevent situations like this from happening.
The first thing brought to the group attention was that domestic violence does not only exist in same sex relationships but it can also exist in any type of relationship. Also, that an abusive relationship doesn’t just mean physical abuse only, it can also include verbal and sexual abuse.
Here is a list of early warning signs that were provided by the counseling service center:
Intrusion: The significant other will always want to know your whereabouts, who you’re with, where you’re going, when you’ll be home.
Isolation: spends most or all of your time alone together.
Possession and Jealousy: Constant accusations of sexual interactions with anyone in your life (teacher, bosses, counselors, friends, etc.), accuses you of flirting, monitoring what you wear, how you wear it, how much make-up you put on.
Prone to Anger: Easily angered, quick mood changes, unpredictable behavior, anger out of proportion to the incident.
Unknown Pasts and Respect for Women- Do you know about his/her past relationships, family upbringing, and relationship with mother/father and other men/women? How does he/she refer to men/women? Do they respect any men or women in their life? How do their friends look at men or women? Does he/she believe in stereotypic male/female roles?
Theses are some signs to look for in case you are concerned. More information can be found at either the Women’s Resource Center located in room 356 of the EMU student center or at Counseling Services located at the Snow Health Center on the top floor. If you don’t feel like going in person or are too busy you can visit their website and email them. The WRC is http://www.emich.edu/wcen, their email is emu_womenscenter@emich.edu. There is always help for those in need, and in dealing with domestic violence and any other kind of abuse, these are the two best places to go to on campus. They can help you figure out your options, help you with any legal advice in case the law needs to be involved. The best part of it is that it’s one hundred percent confidential.
Another option is the campus police. If you chose to talk to one of the campus police officers, remember this, that it’s their job to arrest someone if they hear of any criminal activity. Even if you’ve had a bad experience with them before never stop trying to look for help. It’s their job to help students if they’re in trouble
How can you stop this? Be there for them, become their support system; because it probably has been withered or destroyed. It’s important to be educated on this matter, for yourself and in case you know of or witness this type of thing happening to someone you know. Domestic violence isn’t something that should be tolerated, what are you going to do about it?
By: Jim Franks
