This October, CAPE is holding multiple events in observance of Domestic Abuse Awareness Month and hopes to help educate Doane students on what healthy relationships look like and how to construct them.
CAPE has three events planned. Purple Out on Oct. 24 encourages the entire campus to wear purple to show support and raise awareness about domestic abuse. On Oct. 25-30, on their Instagram, CAPE will have an online campaign called “My Costume is NOT my Consent,” which stresses the importance of consent, no matter what someone is wearing for Halloween.
Finally, CAPE will host “Boo! Your Relationship Shouldn’t Be Scary” on Oct. 31 and will go from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lakeside for information on healthy relationships, dating violence, and resources available to students, along with CAPE Halloween merch.
“Since it was first declared in 1989, this (Domestic Abuse Awareness Month) month has been a time to acknowledge survivors of domestic violence and advocate for its victims. Domestic violence affects all communities, regardless of age, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, or nationality,” CAPE Director Jaden Hilkemann said.
To Hilkemann, these events are opportunities for students to learn about healthy relationships and how they should be constructed. Inter-relationship violence can be overlooked due to the victim wanting to avoid conflict or preserve the relationship. Hilkemann knows that domestic abuse can be common, so education is a form of preventing further abuse.
“According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, nearly one in three college women and one in ten men have been victims of dating abuse. More than half (57%) of college students who report experiencing dating violence and abuse say it occurred while they were in college,” Hilkemann said. “We encourage students to attend these events to learn more about domestic and dating violence and how to support those experiencing it. Our goal is for students at Doane to have happy, healthy, and equitable relationships, and that begins with understanding what these relationships look like.”
The first CAPE event of the month takes place on Oct. 24 and CAPE encourages the entire campus to wear purple to show support and raise awareness about domestic abuse. More updates on further CAPE events will be sent out via Doane email.
If you or someone you know is experiencing dating violence, please contact jaden.hilkemann@doane.edu, titleix@doane.edu, or the Hope Crisis Center 24-hour hotline at 1-877-388-4673.
