264 purple flags were placed on the great lawn on campus in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Signs were posted with the flags with resources for community members seeking safety if they are experiencing or have experienced domestic abuse or assault.
“The blank space in the display represents the trans and gender non-conforming folk who are not included in this statistic based on lack of data,” reads the sign placed in the center of the display.
There were 246 flags placed on the lawn for the 264 individuals who reported on the 2015 Brandeis Campus Climate Survey that had experienced abuse in a relationship, according to the sign. In the 2015 Brandeis Campus Climate Survey, of the undergraduate class 5 percent were men and 9 percent were women, according to the sign, who had experienced abuse.
One of the signs features a quote from The Network/La Red’s page which defines domestic violence as, “a systematic pattern of behaviors where one person non-consensually uses power to try to control the thoughts, beliefs, actions, body and/or spirit of a partner.”
One of the resources listed on the signs was Prevention, Advocacy and Resource Center (PARC) which is an organization on campus that provides confidential, student-centered aid for those who have been impacted by violence. It is also a resource for students who want to contribute to the anti-violence movement, according to their page. PARC provides workshops, events, and online resources for violence prevention education, according to their website.
PARC has a chat with a peer advocate feature which is available to students Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at brandeis.edu/parcchat, according to the sign. PARC also has a 24 hour hotline, open seven days a week, which can be reached at 781-736-3370.
Another resource listed on the sign was The Network/La Red, which is an organization against partner abuse led by survivors, according to their page. The Network/La Red works specifically to end abuse in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, SM, polyamorous and queer communities, according to their website. This resource is led with anti-oppression principles and survivor-led values, according to their page, with a focus in identifying, confronting and taking action against various forms of oppression while encouraging survivors. The Network/La Red has a 24 hour hotline, open seven days a week. You can reach the hotline at 617-742-4911.
The final resource listed for students on the signs was REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, a program which promotes healthy relationships and works to end domestic violence, according to their website. The REACH program focuses on four key areas of intervention including: safety and shelter, education and prevention, community based advocacy work and community engagement, according to their website. REACH has a 24 hour hotline, open seven days a week, which can be reached at 800-899-4000.
