If you’ve been around campus lately, you may have seen purple ribbons tied to trees, and wondered, “What’s up with that?”
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. In recognition of that, UNF has decided to have ribbons tied to trees throughout campus for the entirety of the month.
Even though the month is bringing awareness to domestic violence, we should all recognize that this is just a blanket term for the many different forms of violence that both men and women experience.
Domestic, dating, and sexual violence, as well as stalking and interpersonal violence, are all being represented by the purple ribbons that you see around campus.
While this month is meant to open our eyes to the problems surrounding domestic violence, it is also meant to mourn those who have lost their lives due to domestic violence, celebrate the survivors, and connect those who work towards putting a stop to these violences. (You can find out more about the fight against DV and all about the month’s events here.)
The bottom line is that this month is bringing awareness to the fact that these forms of (high unnecessary) violences occur throughout the nation. So, we are very proud of our campus for helping to bring attention to and eradicate these problems.
Cheers to you, UNF!
And to those who have been effected by any of these forms of violence, please realize that you are not alone. Talk to your family, friends, counselors. If you are not comfortable doing any of those, there are anonymous hotlines that you can call for advice. (The phone number for the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233.)
Take care of yourselves, collegiettes.
Photo Credit:
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