88 OCTOBER IS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

MTSU Events Highlight Definition, Prevention, Exposition of Fear and Fatalities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 27, 2006
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

(MURFREESBORO) –The dramatizations of actors who speak for thousands and the testimony of those who can no longer speak for themselves will mark the June Anderson Women’s Center’s observance of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month at MTSU.
In 2004, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reported 66,619 victims of domestic violence, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. In 2004, 40 percent of all crimes against persons and 50 percent of all simple assaults in Tennessee were crimes of domestic violence.
The “Silent Witness” exhibit will be shown from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 2-6, 9-11 and 23-25 on the second floor of the KUC. This powerful and effective display is intended to promote healing for the victims. It features blood red T-shirts, each of which is emblazoned with the story of a different domestic violence victim. One T-shirt tells the story of 26-year-old “Dorothy” of Murfreesboro, who was stabbed four times and left for dead by her boyfriend. The perpetrator, who had been charged previously with domestic assault, was tried on a charge of first-degree murder and convicted.
To dramatize how dating violence traumatizes the lives of young adults, the JAWC and Women 4 Women, a student organization, will present “It’s Love, Isn’t It?” from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, in the KUC Theatre. The original play, written and produced with ABC grants from Allied Arts of Chattanooga and the Tennessee Arts Commission and directed by Dr. Ayne Cantrell, follows the travails of a female college freshman whose boyfriend has jealousy and anger management issues.
All Domestic Violence Awareness Month events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the JAWC at 615-898-2193 or jawc@mtsu.edu.

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