Encore performances of
Love Does Not Hurt...
Thursday, December 3, 6pm Reception, 7pm Showtime
Satruday, December 5, 8pm
Tickets $10 students with valid ID / $15 General Admission / Groups of 10 or more, $10 each.Love Does Not Hurt...
written & directed by
AquaMoon
choreographed by
Ni'Ja Whitson and AquaMoon
featuring
Krishauna Anderson, Rebecca Cotter, Shanara Fornett, Carmen Jones, Tierra Winston, R. Kova Hayse, Boaz McGee, Michael Johnson, Chris Jones, Mike Smith and Kenton Williams Chantal' Hill, Jessica Newman and Devon Thompson.
AquaMoon returns to Links Hall after exceptional audience attendance in a 2 night only encore performance of love does not hurt…love does not hurt…is a synergetic and multimedia performance and art exhibit that unapologetically addresses violence against womyn, by speaking healing and love into existence. Both men and womyn are given voice on the inner most details in this pattern of abuse. There is no finger pointing, but the empowered evolution of five couples journeying through intimate partner violence.
Buy your tickets for Love Does Not Hurt...http://linkshall.org/09-pp-dec.shtml
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Turkey, dressing and domestic violence...
To the families that were affected by domestic violence this holiday week, we speak your name and lift you up in prayer.
http://domesticviolencenews.blogspot.com/
http://domesticviolencenews.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Saturday/Sunday Audience Responses...
Audience responses...
Saturday’s responses to image of the womon on the cross:
- The painting depicts a womon who loved with her sexual being, however the heart on the floor in a pool of blood clearly indicates it was a slow painful experience and she feels trapped or stuck in pain.
- The image appears to be showing a womon going through sexual violence. As seen by the blood flowing down her private parts.
- The image represents faith and self-preservation.
Sunday’s responses to image of the womon on the cross:
· Never thought of a womon on the cross before.
· This image means pain, suppression, hurt, broken womb--a reflection of the world today.
· Bloodshed should only be done by Jesus--that already happened. Terrible.
· Jesus sacrificed himself so that we don’t have to. We should not crucify ourselves because of guilt or because we feel deserving, it is not our burden to bear.
· I understand the concept of the Black woman sacrificing herself for the love of her family and her need to provide for her family (physical and cultural family). However, I think you all’s analogy doesn’t remember that Jesus rejected the religion he fought against. Where is the rejection of the abuser in our society? Why are the criminals welcomed back into families?
Sunday’s response to the statement, “love does not hurt”:
· Love is a verb. And yes love hurts. There should not be physical or emotional violence in love. I don’t condone rape and dv, so when I say love hurts, it’s because I know we are all in a process of growth and empowerment of ourselves and community. The hurt I speak of is the hurt when we are critics of ourselves and when we’ve lovingly come to others to stop the cycle of violence in our communities. Encountering the violence and facing our part in the system hu4trw. Out of love we will change all of that with the love and support of one another.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
October 30: love does not hurt! Opening Night responses....
Friday, October 30
Opening Night audience comments on what "love does not hurt…" means to them
*"Love is caring about yourself, your community, your God and your family. The phrase "love does not hurt" is powerful in itself. Love doesn’t hurt, shouldn’t hurt and won’t hurt. I hate that domestic violence is only in the media when it’s someone famous. We as a community need to stop ignoring this problem."
*I think of the Bible –I Corinthians…love is patient. Love is kind. Love is not envious, boastful, arrogant or rude. It doesn’t insist on its own way.
We asked, "Would you recommend this production to someone else?
The responses were:
Yes, because this topic is always swept under the rug.
Yes, informative and a healing tool for our communities.
Yes, especially to high schools. Need more workshops for young people.
Yes, because this production can benefit every human being it’s not only for those experiencing DV, it’s also for everyone in a relationship.
Yes, Domestic Violence Awareness should be discussed more so that those who are unaware can recognize the signs and help when possible.
Monday, October 12, 2009
What does your love look like?
Domestic Violence Awareness Month...
What is domestic violence?
Domestic Violence is a pattern of physical, sexual, spiritual, emotional, psychological, and /or economic abuse, threats, intimidation, isolation, or coercion used by one person to exert power and control over another person in the context of a current or former dating, family, household, or care giving relationship. (We also include teen dating violence in this.)
Events commemorating this month...
http://spokenexistence.com/2009DomesticViolenceAwarenessMonthEvents.html
love does not hurt... campaign
http://spokenexistence.com/love_not_hurt_campaign.html
October 25, Sermons
October 28, Community Forum
October 30-November 1, love does not hurt... play
Purchase tickets for love does not hurt... play
What is domestic violence?
Domestic Violence is a pattern of physical, sexual, spiritual, emotional, psychological, and /or economic abuse, threats, intimidation, isolation, or coercion used by one person to exert power and control over another person in the context of a current or former dating, family, household, or care giving relationship. (We also include teen dating violence in this.)
Events commemorating this month...
http://spokenexistence.com/2009DomesticViolenceAwarenessMonthEvents.html
love does not hurt... campaign
http://spokenexistence.com/love_not_hurt_campaign.html
October 25, Sermons
October 28, Community Forum
October 30-November 1, love does not hurt... play
Purchase tickets for love does not hurt... play
Friday, October 2, 2009
Violence affects girls too...
Violence affects many girls, young women, report states
Study cites 'lack of security' -- but groups aim to help
By Joanna Broder Special to the Tribune September 30, 2009
Eighteen-year old Chelsea Whitis tries to forget what happened that night two summers ago. While walking near her family's home in southwest Evanston, a man grabbed her from behind and dragged her into a nearby alley. He ran off when a car turned into the alley.
Now a senior at Lane Technical High School in Chicago's North Center neighborhood, Whitis keeps memories of the attack bottled up inside. She hasn't had any professional assistance to help her cope.
"I just feel like I'm never going to be safe," she said. "I'm so close to my house and I get attacked. ... I never feel safe."
A report released earlier this month found that many girls in Chicago and Illinois "face serious violence in their lives," including physical and sexual abuse, threats and injury in school, and assault on the streets. The report, "Status of Girls in Illinois," -- notes that 10.7 percent of girls in Chicago's high schools skipped school in 2007 because of safety concerns -- nearly double the national average of 5.6 percent -- and that "many girls also report a pervasive feeling of threat and lack of security."
The report pulls together existing survey data about girls in Chicago and Illinois and makes recommendations about a variety of development, health and wellness issues such as access to health care, mental and emotional health, sexuality, safety and substance abuse. It also found that depression and other forms of mental illness pose a serious health issue for area girls.
The report, released Sept. 10, draws mostly from well-known national surveys, including the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System survey of more than 14,000 high school students from across the country. That survey asks about students' sexual behavior, tobacco and alcohol use and other risky behaviors. It also includes statistics from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, which said there are more than 1.5 million girls age 17 and younger in Illinois.
Alida Bouris, an assistant professor in the school of social service administration at the University of Chicago, called the report "ambitious." Bouris, who specializes in how parents can influence their children's sexual behavior, said the report shows that overall most girls in Illinois are doing well, but some are developing key health issues in adolescence and young adulthood that have long-term effects for their health and well-being.
Melissa Spatz, the executive director of Women & Girls Collective Action Network, the lead group behind the report, said that nonprofit groups serving girls need the type of statistics outlined in the report when applying for funding, but lack the time or manpower to find them.
"We wanted to gather this information in one place and put it out there so that it could impact policy; it could impact funding," Spatz said. The network, which helps women and girls develop leadership skills, led the collaboration of at least 30 area groups in producing the report.
In response to the violence girls face, the report recommends that policymakers pay closer attention to the stories that girls can share about their experiences.
Whitis, who was assaulted but not raped that night two years ago, belongs to the Rogers Park Young Women's Action Team, a group of girls ages 11 to 21 that came together in 2003 with the goal of raising awareness about street harassment and domestic violence.
In 2007, 36.9 percent of young women in Chicago's high schools said they had been depressed in the last year. More than a third (36.1 percent) of girls across the state who said they needed mental health care did not get any type of treatment.
Lisa Machoian, who has a doctoral degree in psychology and wrote the book "The Disappearing Girl: Learning the Language of Teenage Depression," said the high rates of adolescent depression in Illinois resonate with what she sees in her clinical practice in Cambridge, Mass., where she treats girls and young women who have anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.
Beatrice, 19, who asked that only her middle name be used, was on a self-described path toward prison given the way she acted out as a youth. She once knocked out two of a boy's teeth when he refused to let her ride his scooter. Beatrice found her way to clinical services at Alternatives Inc. when she was 9. The center, on Chicago's North Side, serves the emotional health and development of young women. Since then, she and her family have received free counseling services. Her mother's meager health insurance coverage would have made it difficult, if not impossible, to get therapy elsewhere, she said.
Today, Beatrice, a college student, has learned how to express her feelings through words and not aggression. She has become a resident adviser at Northern Illinois University and a youth leader at Alternatives Inc., where she talks to other girls about issues of social justice and police brutality.
Spatz said she hopes that for all the problems highlighted in the report, it also conveys how, when girls get opportunities to overcome the challenges they face, they often thrive. The report profiles programs for adolescent girls throughout the city that are helping to make a difference in their lives. One such program, Girls in the Game, provides girls ages 7 to 18 the chance to play sports, develop leadership skills and learn to have a healthy lifestyle. "If you work on their strengths, it very much helps girls blossom," Machoian said.
The report is available online at statusofgirls.womenandgirlscan.org.
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
Study cites 'lack of security' -- but groups aim to help
By Joanna Broder Special to the Tribune September 30, 2009
Eighteen-year old Chelsea Whitis tries to forget what happened that night two summers ago. While walking near her family's home in southwest Evanston, a man grabbed her from behind and dragged her into a nearby alley. He ran off when a car turned into the alley.
Now a senior at Lane Technical High School in Chicago's North Center neighborhood, Whitis keeps memories of the attack bottled up inside. She hasn't had any professional assistance to help her cope.
"I just feel like I'm never going to be safe," she said. "I'm so close to my house and I get attacked. ... I never feel safe."
A report released earlier this month found that many girls in Chicago and Illinois "face serious violence in their lives," including physical and sexual abuse, threats and injury in school, and assault on the streets. The report, "Status of Girls in Illinois," -- notes that 10.7 percent of girls in Chicago's high schools skipped school in 2007 because of safety concerns -- nearly double the national average of 5.6 percent -- and that "many girls also report a pervasive feeling of threat and lack of security."
The report pulls together existing survey data about girls in Chicago and Illinois and makes recommendations about a variety of development, health and wellness issues such as access to health care, mental and emotional health, sexuality, safety and substance abuse. It also found that depression and other forms of mental illness pose a serious health issue for area girls.
The report, released Sept. 10, draws mostly from well-known national surveys, including the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System survey of more than 14,000 high school students from across the country. That survey asks about students' sexual behavior, tobacco and alcohol use and other risky behaviors. It also includes statistics from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, which said there are more than 1.5 million girls age 17 and younger in Illinois.
Alida Bouris, an assistant professor in the school of social service administration at the University of Chicago, called the report "ambitious." Bouris, who specializes in how parents can influence their children's sexual behavior, said the report shows that overall most girls in Illinois are doing well, but some are developing key health issues in adolescence and young adulthood that have long-term effects for their health and well-being.
Melissa Spatz, the executive director of Women & Girls Collective Action Network, the lead group behind the report, said that nonprofit groups serving girls need the type of statistics outlined in the report when applying for funding, but lack the time or manpower to find them.
"We wanted to gather this information in one place and put it out there so that it could impact policy; it could impact funding," Spatz said. The network, which helps women and girls develop leadership skills, led the collaboration of at least 30 area groups in producing the report.
In response to the violence girls face, the report recommends that policymakers pay closer attention to the stories that girls can share about their experiences.
Whitis, who was assaulted but not raped that night two years ago, belongs to the Rogers Park Young Women's Action Team, a group of girls ages 11 to 21 that came together in 2003 with the goal of raising awareness about street harassment and domestic violence.
In 2007, 36.9 percent of young women in Chicago's high schools said they had been depressed in the last year. More than a third (36.1 percent) of girls across the state who said they needed mental health care did not get any type of treatment.
Lisa Machoian, who has a doctoral degree in psychology and wrote the book "The Disappearing Girl: Learning the Language of Teenage Depression," said the high rates of adolescent depression in Illinois resonate with what she sees in her clinical practice in Cambridge, Mass., where she treats girls and young women who have anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.
Beatrice, 19, who asked that only her middle name be used, was on a self-described path toward prison given the way she acted out as a youth. She once knocked out two of a boy's teeth when he refused to let her ride his scooter. Beatrice found her way to clinical services at Alternatives Inc. when she was 9. The center, on Chicago's North Side, serves the emotional health and development of young women. Since then, she and her family have received free counseling services. Her mother's meager health insurance coverage would have made it difficult, if not impossible, to get therapy elsewhere, she said.
Today, Beatrice, a college student, has learned how to express her feelings through words and not aggression. She has become a resident adviser at Northern Illinois University and a youth leader at Alternatives Inc., where she talks to other girls about issues of social justice and police brutality.
Spatz said she hopes that for all the problems highlighted in the report, it also conveys how, when girls get opportunities to overcome the challenges they face, they often thrive. The report profiles programs for adolescent girls throughout the city that are helping to make a difference in their lives. One such program, Girls in the Game, provides girls ages 7 to 18 the chance to play sports, develop leadership skills and learn to have a healthy lifestyle. "If you work on their strengths, it very much helps girls blossom," Machoian said.
The report is available online at statusofgirls.womenandgirlscan.org.
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
Thursday, October 1, 2009
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