Violence Against Women: History Month Programs At WCSU

DANBURY — Two programs at Western CT State University this month will be part of a series of activities to provide education about violence against women and girls during Women’s History Month.

On Monday, March 15, Rebecca Butler of Equal Connections in Boston will share her personal experiences with rape and domestic violence.

Ms Butler is a Boston-based 1996 cum laude graduate of Wellesley College, where she obtained a BA in psychology and peace studies and was a high profile activist leader on numerous social justice initiatives.

On Tuesday, March 16, David Sloane Rider, the director of consulting and training for Men Can Stop Rape, will lecture about ways men can stop rape.

Washington, D.C.-based Men Can Stop Rape (formerly Men’s Rape Prevention Project) empowers male youth and the institutions that serve them to work as allies with women in preventing rape and other forms of men’s violence. Through awareness-to-action education and community organizing, MCSR promotes gender equity and builds men’s capacity to be strong without being violent.

Both programs will run from 5 to 7 pm. They will be presented in the WCSU Student Center Theater, on White Street on the university’s midtown campus.

Admission is free but donations will be accepted and forwarded to The Women’s Center of Greater Danbury. Personal hygiene items such as combs, toothbrushes, etc, will be collected for girls who are escaping genital mutilation in Africa. These items will also be forwarded to the women’s center.