2008 Woodie Awards
Center combats gender violence
Minhaj Muneer
Issue date: 9/10/07 Section: Culture
- Page 1 of 1
The term "date rape" has become embedded in society. It is widely used in news pieces and normal conversations.
Violence against women has been an issue not only for legislators, but also for officials at UMKC.
Violence prevention is emphasized at the Women's Center.
Since January, UMKC staff and faculty have received training for issues involving sexual assault, relationship violence, stalking and other important issues.
Aaron Shore, violence prevention coordinator at the Women's Center, has been busy since May giving training sessions. He takes part in event planning and advocacy.
"I have given training on violence prevention and clearing up certain myths dealing with violence against women," Shore said.
He has clear ideas on men's roles in these issues and the Women's Center.
"It's about time men get more involved," Shore said.
Kristen Abell, Assistant Director at the Women's Center, also feels prevention of violence against women is an important issue and the "survivors" may not report a lot of these violent acts.
"A lot of people report it in different ways," Abell said. "Their sexual history is brought up and people are afraid to be re-victimized."
The National Violence Against Women Survey reports that few women, one in five, file a report about their rapes to police.
Women's Center Director Brenda Bethman said the emphasis on violence prevention by the Women's Center is due to under-reporting.
"There is an under-reporting factor and there needs to be awareness for everyone," Bethman said. "The FBI statistics aren't quite accurate due to this factor."
One statistic provided by the FBI in June 2007 states forcible rape had increased in the Midwest states, while declining in other regions.
According to the FBI Annual Uniform Crime Report, in Kansas City, Mo., there were 322 forcible rape reports in 2006, in comparison to 295 in 2005.
According to the 2006 Crime Report from the UMKC Police Department, forcible sex offenses rose at UMKC between 2003 and 2005.
The categories, defined by the UMKC Police Department, that fall under forcible sex offenses are forcible rape, forcible sodomy, sexual assault with an object and forcible fondling.
Bethman thinks the Women's Center is a place for everyone. The people who come can use different resources to prevent gender violence.
"The most important thing is to get the word out and education about the issues," Bethman said.
The Women's Center has events lined up from early September to November.
mmuneer@unews.com
Violence against women has been an issue not only for legislators, but also for officials at UMKC.
Violence prevention is emphasized at the Women's Center.
Since January, UMKC staff and faculty have received training for issues involving sexual assault, relationship violence, stalking and other important issues.
Aaron Shore, violence prevention coordinator at the Women's Center, has been busy since May giving training sessions. He takes part in event planning and advocacy.
"I have given training on violence prevention and clearing up certain myths dealing with violence against women," Shore said.
He has clear ideas on men's roles in these issues and the Women's Center.
"It's about time men get more involved," Shore said.
Kristen Abell, Assistant Director at the Women's Center, also feels prevention of violence against women is an important issue and the "survivors" may not report a lot of these violent acts.
"A lot of people report it in different ways," Abell said. "Their sexual history is brought up and people are afraid to be re-victimized."
The National Violence Against Women Survey reports that few women, one in five, file a report about their rapes to police.
Women's Center Director Brenda Bethman said the emphasis on violence prevention by the Women's Center is due to under-reporting.
"There is an under-reporting factor and there needs to be awareness for everyone," Bethman said. "The FBI statistics aren't quite accurate due to this factor."
One statistic provided by the FBI in June 2007 states forcible rape had increased in the Midwest states, while declining in other regions.
According to the FBI Annual Uniform Crime Report, in Kansas City, Mo., there were 322 forcible rape reports in 2006, in comparison to 295 in 2005.
According to the 2006 Crime Report from the UMKC Police Department, forcible sex offenses rose at UMKC between 2003 and 2005.
The categories, defined by the UMKC Police Department, that fall under forcible sex offenses are forcible rape, forcible sodomy, sexual assault with an object and forcible fondling.
Bethman thinks the Women's Center is a place for everyone. The people who come can use different resources to prevent gender violence.
"The most important thing is to get the word out and education about the issues," Bethman said.
The Women's Center has events lined up from early September to November.
mmuneer@unews.com
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