Often with a struggling economy, decisions must be made to reduce expenditures in the most practical manner possible, with cuts to non-vital programs coming first. In February, Gov. Bob McDonnell proposed a budget that promised to cut many of the life-saving services in Virginia. His proposed budget promised to cut services for victims of domestic violence, child advocacy groups and shelters for the homeless. Fortunately, thanks to pressures from the community and activist groups, the General Assembly did not accept these drastic cuts and instead proposed cuts that were closer to the proposed cuts of former Gov. Tim Kaine. Now, McDonnell must sign the proposed budget for 2011-2012. Still, according to Claire Kaplan, Director of Sexual and Domestic Violence Services at the University, the proposed cuts are the largest she has seen since 1991. While the state government faces difficult economic times and choices, the issue of gender violence should not be neglected, but rather should be a priority. College women across America and within the University community will be directly affected by our political decisions and for some women, it could be a matter of life and death.
Gender violence is universal. It transcends race, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, education level and economic status. In America, domestic violence is endemic, affecting approximately 25 percent to 50 percent of all women according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Although domestic and sexual violence affect men as well, women are more often the victims of such abuse. The Shelter for Help in Emergency defines domestic violence as "a pattern of physically, sexually and/or emotionally abusive behaviors used by one individual to maintain power over or to control a partner in the context of an intimate or family relationship." The statistics are staggering. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, one in four women in the U.S. indicate that they have experienced a physical assault or rape by an intimate partner. Despite these numbers, violence against women remains a characteristically silent phenomena and clearly is not a top priority for McDonnell.
At the University, there are many resources for victims of sexual and domestic violence. These include the Women's Center, Sexual and Domestic Violence Services, the Sexual Assault Resource Agency, the Sexual Assault Leadership Council, the police, deans, professors and Resident Advisors. There are also three peer-education groups around grounds: Sexual Assault Peer Advocates (SAPA), Sexual Assault Facts and Education (SAFE) and One In Four. Despite the resources at the University, the issue of domestic and sexual violence is fundamentally a community problem. As a community, we must look to the way we understand domestic and sexual violence in general before we attempt to reach other solutions.
Claire Kaplan points to silence as one of the largest problems facing college women and survivors of domestic violence: "Generally speaking, intimate partner violence creates a climate of distrust and fear. Silence, that's the bottom line really." Abused women and survivors of sexual violence often remain quiet about their abuse. On average, 4.8 million women are battered and raped every year in the United States, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Of these women, less than 20 percent seek medical help following an attack. Shame, fear and other societal pressures prevent women in abusive relationships from seeking the help they need. Kaplan indicated that silence stems from how survivors feel internally. By changing the way we view and react to domestic and sexual violence as a community, we can help more of the silent survivors of intimate partner violence.
According to the University's Sexual and Domestic Violence Services, approximately 27 percent of college women have been physically abused and 36 percent have been sexually abused. Cartie Lominack, Executive Director of the Shelter for Help in Emergency, pointed to another major problem facing college women: "There is also an isolation piece." Often survivors feel isolated from the community and even from the resources that are available. Both Lominack and Kaplan point to the underlying "ignorance about violence" in society and at the University which contributes to both the silence and isolation that survivors feel. Kaplan added, "It is the internal culture among students. There is still a lot of victim blaming." For example, women who are raped must often deal with victim blaming and questions regarding their alcohol intake or physical appearance at the time of an assault. Too often, there is an attempt to rationalize domestic abuse, sexual assault and rape with such justifications. These common misconceptions about gender violence often stem from a fundamental lack of understanding and absence of education. Imagine if a man drank too much on his birthday, left his party intoxicated and was subsequently attacked on the street. Is he responsible? The answer is no. Just the same, there is no excuse for physical or sexual assault, or rape. Kaplan also highlighted the self-censorpship that occurs in the community: "A lot of people say that the University covers things up, but what's really happening is we are censoring ourselves." She added that "Administrators can only act when they are given information to act upon."
In 2005, 58 sexual assaults or rapes were reported by survivors or a third party at the University, according to the University's Sexual and Domestic Violence Services. Nine incidents of domestic violence and 5 incidents of stalking were also reported. These numbers do not account for the number of unreported cases and are considered to be low when compared to national averages and statistics. When yearly statistics are analyzed, an increase in reports of sexual or physical violence at the University can actually be viewed positively, as it indicates that more women are breaking their silence and coming forward to report their abuse. The implications of gender violence are far reaching. As a community we must work to understand domestic and sexual violence. Through a better understanding, we can make the community a safer place for the survivors among us. We must pressure our politicians to make issues of gender violence a priority. When it comes down to it, budgetary cuts to domestic violence services and shelters affect the lives of our friends, sisters, mothers, grandmothers and other loved ones.
Ashley Chappo's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at a.chappo@cavalierdaily.com.
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