In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Office of Women’s Programs is bringing attention to an issue that usually remains behind closed doors: domestic violence.

“The main thing we hope to accomplish with this month is allowing students to know that if it’s happening to them or a friend, they deserve better and there is help available to them,” said Pat Morey, director for the Office of Women’s Programs.

Morey said recent research on dating abuse at the University found that 86 percent of students who were currently dating or had been in a dating relationship said they had been abused. Of those, Morey said 22 percent reported physical abuse, about 15 percent reported sexual abuse and the vast majority said they had experienced psychological or verbal abuse.

Based on the study, which was published in 2002, Morey said psychological abuse is just as likely to happen to males as females, but females are “overwhelmingly” more likely to experience physical and sexual abuse at the hands of male perpetrators.

“I’ve worked with students who say their former partner calls them 20 times in one night and instant messages them 100 times in a day,” Morey said. “It’s intense behavior that wears on you. It just exhausts you both emotionally and physically to have to deal with that kind of thing.”

She said students may not realize the full impact of the abuse because they tend to have short relationships, but the long-term effect of abuse can be devastating to an individual’s self-esteem.

Laurie Barbee, fiscal manager at A Woman’s Fund, said it is important to teach young people that they have a right to be safe because, otherwise, they may stay in an abusive relationship. ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ

“If we can educate people early, then they’re less likely to carry on with the violence,” Barbee said. ÿ

Barbee also said a relationship does not have to be intimate to be domestic; students have come in for roommate conflicts, and parents have come in because of violent children.

“Domestic violence does take a huge impact on the economy in general. It touches almost every part of our lives,” Barbee said. “As soon as we realize that we can’t tolerate this in our society, everybody will be a lot safer.” ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ

To raise awareness and introduce students to resources, the Office of Women’s Programs will have several programs during October. Morey said they are showing commercial films that depict domestic violence such as “In the Bedroom” and “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” every Thursday this October at the Digital Computer Lab Building. A discussion about the portrayal of domestic violence will follow each film.

Kiran Somani, freshman in LAS, said she believes movies are an effective tool against domestic violence.

“Some people are in relationships that are violent and they think it’s normal, but it’s not. Movies seem life-like, so they understand that this is not right,” she said. ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ

Another program for the month is “I think my friend needs help,” a workshop to teach people how to help someone who is in an abusive relationship.

Morey said students have to realize that domestic violence will not resolve itself.

“Unless the relationship breaks up or there is help for the abuser, the abuse is going to escalate,” Morey said. “So that’s our purpose: to intervene, to interrupt the cycle of abuse.”