1. Everynine secondsinthe UnitedStates,awomanis assaultedorbeaten.Mostcommonly,these abused
womenare betweenthe agesof 18 and 24 and unlessthe injurysustainedislifethreatening,actsof
domesticviolence are onlychargedasmisdemeanors.
Withthis,most commonlywhenwomenare killedbytheirpartners,the partnertellsthemexactlyhow
theywill doit.
“The truthabout gender-basedviolence isthatithappensbecause we still live inacountrythat isdeeply
and dangerouslypatriarchal,”saidKitGruelle,domesticviolenceadvocate,survivorandsubjectof the
HBO documentary“Private Violence”.
On Thursday,Jan.21 studentscrammedintoDina’sPlace,some forcedtostandfromlack of room, to
discussa serioustopicthataffectsmenandwomenacrossthe entire country:domesticviolence.
The VoicesPanel DiscussiononDomesticViolence wasmoderatedbyDr.JenniferDisneyandfeatured
expertsonthe topic,includingKitGruelle,JadaCharley,HeatherLitzninger,TonyPorter,Katie Reidand
Angie Wells.
The panel itself wasmeanttohighlightthe subjectmatterof the art exhibitof the same name byartist
Cat Del Buonothat is currentlyondisplayatthe WinthropUniversityGalleriesfromnow until Mar.11.
The exhibitisaseriesof electronicmonitorsshowingvideosof onlywomen’smouths. Eachare
accounts fromacross the countryof womenwhohave sufferedandsurviveddomesticviolence,all
playingsimultaneously.
“We beganwhenIcurated the twoexhibitionsbasedonrelationships,”KarenDerksen,the Directorof
WinthropUniversityGalleriessaid.“Ifeltthatwe neededtosortof come togetherasa campus,because
whenyoutalkabout relationshipsandespeciallyhealthyrelationships,itimpactsall studentson
campus.So eventhoughitstartedintermsof lookingatcreative art work,we feltlike,again,different
departmentsanddifferentorganizationsthatdeal withviolence thatitwouldhave alargerscope and
perspective.”
Currentlyone insevenwomenhave experiencedsome formof domesticviolence.Thatstatisticdropsto
one infour and evenlowerwhendrugs,alcohol,race andsocioeconomicstatusare takenintoaccount.
A yearago, whenGruelle metwiththe SouthCarolinaAttorneyGeneral thathe saidthatinthe state a
“man getfive yearsinjail forbeatinguphisdog, butonly30 day for beatinguphiswife.”
“WhenI was a police officerandIwouldgeta call and it’sobviousthatthe wife isbeingabusedbyher
partner,and youask themcan we call someone,”saidOfficerAngie Wells,the youthservice officerwith
the Rock Hill Police Department,“theysaynobecause Momsays I needtostay withhimbecause he has
a good jobor familyman.Sotheystay, because of whattheirfamilymightthinkif theyleavethat
situation.”
Wellsalsosaidthattheyoftenstayto “stick itout for theirkids.”However,thisisnotalwaysthe best
move fortheirchildren.One in15 childrenare exposedtointimate partnerviolence eachyear,and90
percentof these childrenare eyewitnessestothisviolence.Thiscouldleadtochildrennotlearningthe
appropriate wayto expressorreceive affection.The panel alsospoke onthe importance of teachingkids
the difference betweenhealthyandunhealthyrelationships.

2. Winthropstudentsrespondedpositivelytothe message andwere activelyengagedwiththe panelists.
The eventitself wasmeanttolastfrom7 p.m.till 8:30 p.m.,but lasteduntil about9:15 p.m.
“It was a wonderful turnout,”Derksen said.“Itwasso nice to see thatstudentsare engagedwiththis
kindof subjectmatter.”