To the Editor:
While I appreciate the coverage that Kevin Walsh's column gives to Meredith Davis' "Family Values," currently on display in the Hop rotunda, relying completely on Thomas Sowell to "prove" that "the traditional family is the safest setting for a woman" is a mistake.
While I do not disagree that people in same sex partnerships are also at risk for relationship abuse, statistics from a variety of sources show that most frequently, women are the victims and men are the perpetrators of domestic violence. The FBI's Uniform Crime Reports of 1991 show that one woman is beaten by her husband or male partner every 15 seconds in the United States, and 1990 U.S. Senate Hearing documents show that 3 to 4 million women in the U.S. are beaten in their homes each year by their husbands, ex-husbands, or male lovers. The "Human Rights Quarterly" also refutes Sowell's claim, saying that statistics "[indicate] that the home is the most dangerous place for women and frequently is the site of cruelty and torture."
But while the Davis piece is certainly powerful, I agree with Walsh that one lone art installation is not nearly comprehensive enough to inform the campus about domestic violence and physical abuse in other types of relationships.
That is why, in conjunction with a national observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a series of programs entitled "Domestic Violence Touches Everyone" has been organized by the Women's Resource Center, WISE, the Sexual Abuse Awareness Program, and the Health Resources Department. Events from October 6 through October 10 will include a reception with Meredith Davis (creator of the "Family Values" piece), a showing of "Once Were Warriors" at the Nugget, programming about domestic violence by WISE and the Tucker Foundation, and a lecture by Academy Award-winning filmmaker and battered women's activist Stacy Kabat, along with a viewing of her documentary "Defending Our Lives."
It is my hope that Walsh and others will take the time to attend these events, and continue the community discussion about domestic violence that the disturbing yet accurate "Family Values" has sparked.
