Domestic violence affects men and women of all economic and academic backgrounds, even those at OU. The Sigma Gamma Rho sorority and the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity came together Monday night to talk about domestic violence issues.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but domestic violence is a problem all year long, said Keisha Calhoun, Sigma Gamma Rho parliamentarian.
"In light of the recent articles, we are trying to raise awareness," said Calhoun. She said OU will be more prestigious if it looks at the problem instead of highlighting the football games.
"Everybody knows that girl who is in that situation," Calhoun said. However, she said the problem can only be solved if men become advocates as well.
"Men always say this is a women's issue," Calhoun said. "We wanted to target men and women."
Jonathan Still, second vice president of Phi Beta Sigma, said he wants to be the type of man who takes a stand against domestic violence, particularly among black men.
"I can try to stop the trend with domestic violence among black males," Still said.
Stopping the domestic violence cycle starts with the men, Still said.
Lynnsey Weber, sociology and pre-law senior, said the power structure of a relationship determines whether it will become abusive or not. She said it shouldn't be bad if a man or a woman has more power, but culture perpetuates that men should be more powerful and have more money than women.
"If a relationship is based on equality, domestic violence is less likely to occur," Weber said. "That is what we strive for."
She said society needs to shift the focus away from just women and focus on people.
Self-defense techniques were also taught at the meeting.
Elizabeth Kvach, sexual assault intern for the Women's Outreach Center, said she would love for men to take a more active role in preventing domestic violence. Next month, the Women's Outreach Center will begin holding support groups for survivors of domestic violence.
"As long as rape exists on a college campus, there needs to be support for survivors," Kvach said.
Kvach also said next month the Women's Resource Center in Norman will open a 24-hour center to help survivors of domestic violence.
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