Event commemorates abuse victims

By Marcelle Richards
Daily Bruin Contributor

Domestic violence claimed the lives of more than 450 people in
1999.

In memory of these victims, the Student Welfare Commission
sponsored an event Thursday titled “Remember My Name”
to raise awareness about domestic violence.

A poster covered with names of victims served as a silent
reminder of the cause of their deaths, the majority of them between
the ages of 16 and 24.

“It’s very shocking to see all those names,”
said Student Welfare Commissioner Julie Ryu. “It is a really
good way to show everyone how prevalent it is.”

The commission is part of the Undergraduate Students Association
Council, the student government at UCLA.

Tables brimming with information, forget-me-not flowers and
stickers also lined the pavement of Westwood Plaza as guest
speakers in Kerckhoff Hall addressed specialized topics of
abuse.

People have been conditioned to accept violence since the media
trivialize it, said Christine Rongey, director of Sexual Assault
Awareness.

“We see abuse portrayed as being OK,” she said.
“Sometimes we accept this violence and pass it off even
though we know it’s really wrong.”

Indifference to violence perpetuates feelings of isolation among
abuse victims, said Maiteeneey Pumpuang, a ’99 UCLA alumna
with Break the Cycle, an organization which works to halt
intergenerational abuse. Victims often remain silent to avoid
conflict with an abusive partner.

“Domestic violence between couples has always been behind
closed doors,” Pumpuang said. “Like any other crime, if
everyone is aware of it, people can be held accountable.”

Victims of same-gender violence are further silenced for fear of
disclosing their sexuality. According to Stephen Machado, clinician
with the STOP Domestic Violence Batteries Treatment Program, rates
of abuse are similar between homosexual and heterosexual couples,
but most victims of same gender abuse will not come forward because
they’re ashamed.

“There are a lot of over-arching situations, but when you
add homophobia on top of it, you double the problem,” Machado
said.

Lack of education and stereotypes of women as the weaker sex may
also perpetuate domestic violence.

“It’s about the power and control issue and thinking
women don’t have a say,” said Debi Biederman, community
outreach coordinator of the Jewish Family Service Family Violence
Project.

But knowing self-defense can help prevent people from becoming a
victim, said Peggie Reyna of the LA Commission on Assaults Against
Women during a self-defense presentation in Westwood Plaza.

“The foundation of self-defense is awareness and effective
assertive communication,” she said. “Training is
empowering, and it works.”

In the past couple of decades, laws have been revised so that
victims of domestic abuse no longer need to make a verbal complaint
to authorities before police take action if injuries are
observed.

“By law we have to take action and we do, regardless of
whether the party consents to prosecute or not,” said Robert
Sadeh, a university police officer.

In some cultures, definitions of abuse don’t exist,
resulting in fewer reported cases of domestic violence, said Gene
Lee, outreach coordinator of the Center for the Pacific-Asian
Family.

“There’s a myth Asians are a model minority and that
domestic violence doesn’t occur,” he said. “A lot
of times, it’s accepted because it’s
ignored.”

“Domestic violence doesn’t discriminate on race,
gender, religion, sexuality,” Lee continued. “It
affects everyone.”