A multi-year research project on domestic violence, under the direction of professor , will be highlighted in a community education symposium at 草莓社区 (EMU) this spring. The March 19 symposium, 鈥淐onversations on Sexual Violence: Cultivating Community Resilience,鈥� focuses on both preventative education and 鈥減ost-traumatic growth,鈥� according to Stauffer, with the aim of 鈥渃reating deeper awareness of resilience strategies for both individuals and communities in response to intimate partner violence.鈥�
The event 鈥� which includes speakers and interactive arts-based opportunities for reflection, learning and healing 鈥� is Saturday, March 19, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in EMU鈥檚 Suter Science Center. It is free and open to the public as well as the campus community.
鈥淪exual violence doesn鈥檛 just impact individuals,鈥� Stauffer says. 鈥淚t is a breach of relationship. How can we rebuild community in the face of violence? If we can build toward a healthier definition of community, I think we鈥檒l all feel safer and provide an environment for profound healing.鈥�
Stauffer鈥檚 project, titled 鈥�,鈥� began in 2012 with research among domestic abuse survivors from within communities of homeless women, undocumented Latinas and Mennonite women from Old Order or conservative church communities. Stauffer employed a strengths-based approach, with particular focus on the resilient ways in which women survive in spite of gaps in societal support networks. Her project employed strategies that empowered study participants, integrating storytelling interviews with circle processes and healing arts workshops.
Last spring, MA in biomedicine students were integrated into the project with a about adverse childhood experience. Most of the students are future health care providers, and the experience asked them to reflect on the symptomatic and diagnostic implications of personal narratives as they participated in storytelling, communication activities and playback theater events with co-facilitators, some of whom were domestic abuse survivors.
Stauffer and the planning committee have included some of these same components in the symposium, she says. 鈥淭his is an interdisciplinary event with planning, support and participation coming from various groups and departments across campus,鈥� she added, the representation of which is important to the idea of both community response and support.
Plenary presenters include , assistant professor of restorative justice and peacebuilding at EMU鈥檚 Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, and University of Notre Dame doctoral researcher Sheila McCarthy. Turner will speak on 鈥淗ealing in Community鈥� and McCarthy on 鈥淪exual Violence through the Lens of Moral Injury.鈥� , an EMU graduate whose published writing has explored her identity as a survivor of sexual abuse, will share her poetry. Inside Out, a campus theater group which has also participated in other parts of Stauffer鈥檚 multidisciplinary project, will host a session on the innovative and healing art of playback theater.
鈥淭o me, this type of witness moves our peace stance from the rubric of a privatized individual journey to a much more collective awareness of the church鈥檚 role in embodying the challenge to 鈥榮peak truth鈥� to abuses of power,鈥� Stauffer says. 鈥淚t invites us as a community of faith to higher levels of transparency, truth and grace for all parties involved.鈥�
Afternoon breakout sessions in two 90-minute blocks options provide attendees with a variety of options, including:
- 鈥淗ow to Appropriately Respond to Disclosures,鈥� by Mike and Lavonne Yoder of in Milton, Pa.;
- 鈥淏ody Work and Response Mechanisms of Memory Storage and Release,鈥� by , director of EMU鈥檚 (STAR) program;
- 鈥淎rts Approaches to Trauma Recovery,鈥� with Janine Aberg;
- 鈥淚nternational Perspectives on Sexual Violence,鈥� by Diana Tovar Rojas and Myriam Aziz of EMU鈥檚 Center for Justice and Peacebuilding;
- 鈥漊npacking Consent, Unhealthy Relationships and Sexual Assault,鈥� by Chris Ehrhardt and Laurel Winsor of James Madison University鈥檚 (CARE) program;
- 鈥淪afe Church Protocols of Prevention,鈥� by Ross Erb and Jackie Hieber of , which provides sexual assault crisis services and other programs in Harrisonburg;
- 鈥淐ircles of Support and Accountability (COSA),鈥� by Sarah King and Daniel Foxvog;
- 鈥淩estorative Justice Dialogues in Crimes of Severe Violence,鈥� by , restorative justice coordinator for Mennonite Central Committee;
- 鈥淟GBTQ Perspectives on Sexual Violence,鈥� by , assistant professor of education at EMU;
- 鈥淚 Am Your Broken Place: The Grief of Sexual Violence,鈥� by , director of at EMU.
Stauffer says the project has involved 鈥渕any hands coming together.鈥� Members of the faculty and staff planning committee include Mansfield, the STAR director; Comer, director of counseling services; Roger Foster, co-founder of playback theater troupe; , history professor and department chair; Teresa Haase, director of the graduate program in counseling; and , professor of social work. The student-led has also helped to advise and support the symposium, and students are being encouraged to attend.
鈥淗aving students as an integral part of what we鈥檙e doing is key,鈥� Stauffer says. 鈥淭he investment and energy that students bring adds huge value to the whole process.鈥�
A final educative component, designed for EMU faculty and staff and focusing on institutional dynamics, is being planned for this coming fall.
The 鈥淪ilent Violence鈥� project has been funded by a JustPax Fund grant since 2014. focuses on individuals and organizations working for effective change through innovative approaches to societal challenges relating to gender, environmental and/or economic justice. The fund is administered by through the Everence affiliate, Mennonite Foundation. Due to that support, the event is free and open to the public. No pre-registration is required.