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Domestic Violence Forum

By Emily Patti
April 2009

Angela Mancuso, co-director of the Sojourner Family Peace Center and Mount Mary College alumnae, presented a lecture on domestic violence on April 14 in Stiemke Hall. According to Caroline Scholars program director Toni Wulff, the purpose of bringing Mancuso to campus was to increase awareness of domestic violence and to educate students on the issue.

“We have been noticing that many of our students have experienced abuse or know someone being abused – it is an issue we need to talk about,” said Wulff.

The lecture and subsequent discussion was centered upon the well-publicized domestic incident involving the singer Rihanna, who was allegedly beaten by boyfriend Chris Brown. Brown was later criminally charged. According to Mancuso, the Rihanna/Chris Brown incident may deter abuse victims from coming forward.

“Any time the media sensationalizes a violent incident (e.g. Rhianna), the message is that violence between couples happens. ‘It’s no big deal,’ ‘One of them provoked it,’” said Mancuso.

Mancuso also criticized the language used by media outlets, phrases such as, “the incident that sparked the fight.” “This language prompts victim-blaming and diminishes the horror, fear, pain, trauma that comes with the victimization through violence,” said Mancuso.

She emphasized the need for the friends and families of victims to remain supportive and nonjudgmental of their loved ones, as victims might later return to their abusers. Mancuso also revealed warning signs for abusive relationships, such as controlling behaviors and excessive jealousy. The abuser might demand to know where the victim is at all times, or isolate the victim.

Women between the ages of 20 and 24 are at the greatest risk for experiencing intimate partner violence, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

“We miss the signs,” said Mancuso.
Mancuso is the former executive director of the Sojourner Truth House, a nonprofit agency dedicated to providing “shelter, safety, support, education and advocacy to break the cycle of violence,” as stated on its Web site. In February, the Sojourner Truth House merged with the Task Force on Family Violence to form the Sojourner Family Peace Center. The two agencies joined forces to increase the “ease of service for our clients and our mission,” said Mancuso. “We are stronger together.”