Shippensburg University’s Pride and Gender Equality (PAGE) Center held the annual Tulip Planting Ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 1, outside of Lackhove Hall in the Wright Memorial Garden to remember victims of domestic violence.
The ceremony is held each year in early October to begin Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), both to educate students on DVAM and raise awareness about what it means.
This year’s theme was “with survivors always” and featured many speakers. These included domestic violence survivor Megan D., who told her story, and Starr Hoffman, who shared her experience with someone who experienced domestic violence.
Other speakers included Shippensburg University criminal justice majors along with representatives from Domestic Violence Services of Cumberland and Perry Counties (DVSCP); YWCA Carlisle and Cumberland County; and Women in Need (WIN) Victim Services.
According to the Department of Justice, domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner.
Last year in Pennsylvania, there were 106 deaths caused by domestic violence, with 71 being women and 35 being men.
“When people think of domestic violence, they think that just being a thing that happens to married women. Clearly, [that] is not the case,” said Anna Nasser of DVSCP. “We don’t rationalize how much domestic violence attacks someone’s self-sufficiency, emotional well-being and even their financial ability to sustain themselves.”
This makes access to resources for victims all the more important.
PAGE Center Director Miller Hoffman said, “They are our colleagues. They are our community partners. They are our friends.”
More DVAM events will be hosted by the PAGE Center throughout October. Visit the PAGE Center website for more information.
For on-campus resources, please contact the sources below.
PAGE Center: 717-477-1291
Counseling Center: 717-477-1481
SU Police Department: 717-477-1444
Organizations with off-campus resources can be found below
Domestic Violence Services of Cumberland and Perry Counties (DVSCP): 1-800-852-2120 or https://dvscp.org/
YWCA Carlisle and Cumberland County: 1-888-727-2877 or https://ywcacarlisle.org/
Women in Need (WIN) Victim Services: 717-264-4444 or https://winservices.org/
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