Staff Submission: Call it what it is

Call it what it is:

This morning on OPB, I heard a story about a man who shot and killed a civilian woman working at the Fort Lewis PX, then shot himself. The reporter cited the woman's mom, who told investigators that the shooter was the woman's ex-partner, that they had broken up seven months ago, but that he "wouldn't let her go" and "threatened to kill himself". This clearly illustrates the fact that this was a domestic violence fatality. Despite this information, the reporter said that investigators are not clear on the "motive" for the killing. The words "domestic violence" were not used once - and checking the New York Times and the Oregonian, neither paper is naming this as a domestic violence fatality.

The WSCADV Fatality Review Project cites recent separation as a significant factor in domestic violence fatalities: "In at least 47% of the homicides committed by a
domestic violence abuser in Washington state, the victim had left, divorced, or
separated from the abuser, or was attempting to leave or break up with the abuser at
the time of the murder. In a Florida study, 60% of the women killed were separated or
in the process of leaving"

They also found that "firearms were the most common weapon used in domestic violence homicides" and that homicide-suicides "comprised a significant portion of domestic violence homicides."

Stalking behavior, threats of suicide, recent separation, and gun ownership - all red flags for lethality within the context of domestic violence. I hope the investigators name this situation for what it is, and that the media follow suit - we can't effectively support survivors or move forward in ending domestic violence if we don't acknowledge how lethal it can be.

PSU: Capstone Creates Sexual Assault Awareness PSA

Eyes Wide Open: The Clothesline Project

(originally posted 4/09 at wordpress.com)


by Talia Jae Potter

At PCC we have made T-shirts to hang in the main walkway for a week. The t-shirts are messages by women about their own personal experience with some form of sexual abuse or for someone close to them who has had an experience, surviver or not. Its an amazing project to be a part of and I used some club time to make t-shirts with my fellow student parents. It was moving, overwhelming, and cathartic to be a part of these women expressing themselves. I also made my own t-shirt about my own experience with sexual assault.

Hey... its 2009... Playboy... really???

(originally posted 01/09 at wordpress)

by Blythe Pavlik Why is Playboy okay?I don’t get it. I don’t get why Playboy is still considered the “gentlemen’s” magazine or why it is exempt, in some groups, from critical critique. I don’t get it. I grew up in a house with Playboy magazines.

Sexual Assault Capstone: Finding Voice

(originally posted 07/08 at wordpress)


by Kristyn Stolze

I didn’t think enough about acquaintance rape until it happened to someone close to me. Then one of the women I love was raped by her housemate and the light bulb went on.

I grew up learning that sexual violence happened too much and needed to stop, but never went further than knowing, wishing it were different but feeling totally helpless. It took an act of violence against a friend to light a fire under my ass, and I only regret that it took this long for me to really freak out and get busy. I see the fierce, brilliant pack of people answering back to interpersonal violence with action and wish I had joined sooner. I thought I needed to be someone different to do something about sexual violence, someone more educated, more trained, more informed. But I see now that as long as individuals feel powerless, we give our real power as a group away. Fortunately, a lot of people figured this out a lot faster than I did…and they have been busy. For decades. As I learn more about the realities of sexual violence I find some grim statistics, and I used to make the mistake of only seeing the darkness and missing the hope. After my friend’s rape, I felt crazy and powerless, but driven like never before to find out how to get involved somewhere, with something. I decided to take the Sexual Assault Capstone at PSU to connect with the PSU Women’s Resource Center and get more information, and that connection brought me to the shesheet.

I would like to know who is out there reading and what your thoughts, experiences and reactions are to the topic/issue/reality of sexual violence. Because it’s so pervasive in our culture we all live with it in some way every day; this means we all have a story to tell. I want to know what other people are doing to create change. If you aren’t usually comfortable posting responses and comments to blogs, please consider responding to the things you read on the shesheet and to this blog you are reading now. It’s a great space to interact with people who are shaking things up to make much-needed change.

I personally have never blogged until today, but I think it’s an amazing way to connect to a huge community of incredible folks. I want to take part in a bigger conversation about sexual violence with the readers on the shesheet…please join me with some of your thoughts so we can learn from each other!