Relationship Violence Awareness Month (RVAM) brings people together to create and generate discussion and skill-building on how to prevent relationship violence in our schools, workplaces, and communities, Since most of our campus remains learning and working remotely, we won’t be able to physically come together this October to do this critical work in person… but it doesn’t mean that learning is cancelled!

The Women’s Center is creating weekly postings to help guide your self-learning that we’ll share with you each week in October. We’ve arrived at week 2!  Below is a short list of relevant webinars or events, podcasts or blogs, and on and off-campus resources dedicated to cultivating awareness about relationship violence, posting your skills and knowledge around the intersecting issues, and increasing access to important resources.

While some of the learning content we’re sharing is all-encompassing, we’re also narrowing down on  few key themes this year to include: The Covid-Crossings of Relationship Violence, Relationship Violence’s Matrix of Oppression, and Un/Healthy Relationships for Young Adults. Through self-guided learning, you can dig deeper by listening to a podcast, reading a blog, attending a webinar and more. 

We’ll also be sharing this content on social media so let us know what you’re learning or what questions you have in the comments! 

• Brave Space Forums with the Women’s Center discuss intersectional feminist topics. This year, our Brave Space Forums will have topics under the theme “COVID-19 Crossings”. Join us this week, Thursday, October 15th at 4pm for our Brave Space Forum: Gender in a Pandemic. We will be discussing the ways the pandemic has reshaped, interrogated, and made us reflect on gender roles. Click here to RSVP for this week’s event!

• Last week we shared the Power and Control Wheel, but have you heard of the Equality Wheel? The Equality Wheel offers a view of a healthy relationship that is based on equality and nonviolence. It is applicable to all forms of relationships; with friends, dating partners, intimate partners, life partners, or family members. One of the misconceptions about relationship violence is that it is usually discussed in the context of heterosexual relationships. However, this is far beyond the truth. Intimate partner violence is also an issue in the LGBTQ+ community. Because of this misconception, it was challenging to find an equality wheel that was not explicitly emphasizing one sole gender identity 

• Here is a recent news article titled “ Should You Call The Police If You Hear Your Neighbors Fighting?” A domestic violence expert explains why dialing 911 can sometimes cause more harm than good. This is part of a HuffPost series looking at alternatives to policing.

• TurnAround is an off-campus resource that provides services for all survivors of relationship violence. They also promote resources and information that bring awareness for intimate-partner and sexual violence. Follow TurnAround on their Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter account, where they provide daily posts dedicated to bringing awareness regarding sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and human trafficking. For more information about their services, click here.