Why do men abuse? Why do women stay? How can the community stop the cycle of domestic abuse in a state that is among the most dangerous for women?

Across America, one out of every four women has been the victim of domestic violence during her lifetime—and the epidemic strikes at every segment of our community. Understanding how and why abuse occurs, and raising awareness of the issue play major roles in making Mississippi a safer place for women.

Jackson Free Press Editor-in-Chief Donna Ladd will moderate a discussion about what we all can do to both help abuse victims, and stop the cycle of abuse. The free forum is at Eudora Welty Library (300 N. State St.) from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Women at the forefront of the issue in the Jackson area will be among the panel members.

"Each of us has to deliberately get involved to stop domestic abuse. We each play a role. Our entire community must work toward teaching young men and women to break the cycles of abuse in their own families. The women on tonight's panel can help guide this change," Ladd said.

Tonight's panel members are: Regina Meadors, victim assistance coordinator with the Hinds County Sheriff's office; Sandy Middleton, director of the Center for Violence Prevention in Pearl; Voncele Savage, author, speaker and domestic violence survivor; Heather Wagner, special assistant attorney general, domestic violence division; and Anna Walker-Crump, director of the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Join these experts and the Jackson Free Press for a frank discussion, which will include information on the new Duluth Model abuser intervention program. Everyone is welcome; please stay for refreshments afterward.

For additional information, call 601-362-6121, extension 16.

Also, see the Jackpedia Help for Domestic Abuse topic.

Previous Comments

ID

153374

Comment

Wonder how I missed this? Certainly would have been there, had I known anything about it.

Author

Queen601

Date

2009-11-17T08:50:35-06:00

ID

153375

Comment

Queen, it was in the paper, in the JFP Daily, online here, in several Twitter accounts, and I pushed it on Facebook! But we all know you're busy. There will be more. I think we're going to have them at different libraries around Jackson over the next year. It went great. Thanks to all the people who turned out (young, older, men, women, multi-racial). People care about this issue!

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-11-17T08:53:41-06:00

ID

153377

Comment

LOL. Donna, I'm at a technical disadvantage these days because I can only get to my email and FB on weekends and I don't do twitter. However, I do come here from time to time - still missed it.

Author

Queen601

Date

2009-11-17T09:21:33-06:00