Over 30 students attended the Domestic Violence Workshop in the Campus Center on Wednesday, March 30th. Nearly 40 percent of the students who attended were male.

In essence, this large male turnout demonstrates that domestic violence applies to both men and women. Amanda Wolfe, the speaker representing the organization Casa Myrna Vazquez, also noted that gay men and women domestically abuse their partners, much like heterosexual men and women abuse their respective partners.

Allana, a guest at the event, reported that she liked how Wolfe discussed the different types of abuse that affect people. For example, victims could be abused psychologically (frequent insults, name calling etc.), physically, sexually, and financially.

“We do not tend to think of financial abuse as abuse so I definitely liked that part of the discussion,” Allana said, “since some women think that as long as they are not in the hospital then they are not being abused.”

Some men and women take away their partner’s financial freedom (going to work on time or working effectively) by starting an early morning argument and delaying them, or leeching their funds on a regular basis.

A senior working on starting up a transition home for sexually abused women, Allana received a boost of motivation to volunteer at Casa Myrna Vazquez.

Wolfe was happy with the turn-out. She said that one could call up SAFELINK if they feel that they want to learn some options for dealing with domestic violence. The number is 1-877-785-2020. If you want to know more about Casa Myrna Vazquez, which is a transition home for women who have become victims of Domestic Violence, please visit www.casamyrna.org.