Monday, November 2, 2015

Safe Passage Domestic Violence Awareness Month Podcast Series


Laura Penney is the Community Engagement Manager at Safe Passage and the project director of the Say Something Prevention Initiative.  

Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) occurs every October and is a time for sharing information and resources, as well as encouraging action in our community to work towards a world where peaceful, loving relationships are the norm. In honor of #DVAM, I took the opportunity to sit down and talk with various colleagues, members of Safe Passage’s staff and board, as well as friends and affiliates of the agency in the hopes of clarifying some of the questions and discussing domestic violence in our community.

In this four-part series of podcasts, we covered various topics related to domestic and sexual violence:
Survivors often describe living through a silent nightmare. The isolating tactics used by controlling partners, threats that talking to someone will result in more violence, and our culture’s feelings about privacy contribute to silence about the experiences in our homes and relationships.  I sat down with Safe Passage's Executive Director, Marianne Winters, and Board President, Diane Curtis, to discuss the basics of domestic violence including: What is domestic violence? How does an abusive relationship differ from an unhealthy relationship? What sort of supports are there for folks who are living with violence or trying to escape? 

DVAM 2015 Podcast Series: #2 Intersectionality and Oppression:
Safe Passage seeks to help individuals and families find safety, resources, and hope. We also have a vested interest in social justice and work each day towards establishing equality in our community. I chatted with Anthia Elliott, Safe Passage’s Director of Programs, to talk about intersectionality and oppression, as well as the ways our agency works each day to help our clients overcome the barriers to seeking safety that are impacted by their various identities.
At Safe Passage, we hold the belief that everyone is negatively impacted by violence regardless of their role as survivor, witness, or perpetrator. People of all genders experience violence across the span of their lives, and our community as a whole must be part of the process of healing. We believe that engaging men and boys in our efforts is a vital component as we work towards a world where loving and safe relationships are the norm in our community. For the third podcast in the series, I had the opportunity to sit down with Steven Botkin to discuss the impact of violence in the experiences of men and boys and the importance of engaging men and boys in our efforts to end domestic and sexual violence.
Our agency provides support, service, healing and hope to individuals and families who have experienced domestic violence and relationship abuse.  We also aspire to a world where loving, safe, peaceful relationships are the norm.  In order to work towards this ultimate goal, we are committed to prevention work in our community. In the final podcast, I was able to reunite with my colleague, and co-author of the Say Something Field Guide, Lynne Marie Wanamaker to discuss one of our all-time favorite topics: prevention of domestic and sexual violence

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