As Domestic Violence Awareness Month continues, EMPOWER, an interprofessional legacy program of the Service Learning Academy of UNMC’s College of Public Health, will hold several events designed to raise awareness of the issue.
Today is the final day of the shoe drive, which has been extended. Shoes can be dropped off at locations around campus.
Other events for the month include:
- Empower Discussion Group, noon to 12:50 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 14, in the Sorrell Center, Room 2010. The discussion will be facilitated by Surbhi Khullar, a M.P.H. student and EMPOWER board member, on the topic of domestic violence. (Discussion groups are held once a month throughout the year, covering topics relevant to women and selected by discussion group participants.) Lunch will be provided for first 25 attendees.
- Schwartz Center Rounds on “Healthcare Encounters with Individuals Affected by Domestic Violence,” noon to 12:50 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16, in the Sorrell Center, Room 2010. Presenters will include Sue Michalski, a domestic violence survivor and sexual assault nurse examiner; Kim Jones, a WCA crisis counselor and survivor; Shireen Rajaram, Ph.D., UNMC College of Public Health; and Jessica Semin, an EMPOWER student leader.
- Showing of the documentary “Invisible War,” 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 21 in the Sorrell Center, Room 2010. The showing is open to all and free snacks will be provided.
“Our focus is educating students here on campus to raise awareness, and also working with the women at the Women’s Center for Advancement (WCA) to provide their health education pieces,” said Semin, an EMPOWER board member. “Domestic violence is so prevalent in our society, and it isn’t always recognized. So we’re trying to get the word out that it does happen and sometimes people don’t realize that it’s happening right here in our community.
“By educating health care students, we’re educating them for their personal lives, but also their professional lives,” she said.
“This is happening in every walk of life,” said Sarah Vetter, an EMPOWER board member.
“We wanted to have an event that really focused on us as future health care providers,” Semin said. “Sometimes those questions can be uncomfortable to ask – ‘Have you ever been involved in a domestic abuse situation?’ ‘Have you ever been sexually abused?’ Those are important questions, and people aren’t always comfortable saying ‘This has happened to me in the past’ or ‘This is happening to me now.'”
“Part of the issue people have with asking the question is what to do if they say yes,” Vetter said. “So it’s good to educate on what is the next step, and this is part of that education process.”
For more information about EMPOWER, click here.