Una welcomed five women to campus Thursday evening to participate in a discussion panel addressing "Violence Against Women and Community-Based Responses," an event that preceded three performances of "The Vagina Monologues" over the weekend.

The discussion, held in Tegeler Hall's Carlo Auditorium, was moderated by Gretchen Arnold, Ph.D., a professor in the department of sociology and criminal justice. Each of the speakers on the panel works actively in the St. Louis area to help women who are victims of violence, as well as to educate men and women about the prevention of such violence.

"Prevention really is the key to ending violence against women," said Elizabeth Bottje Becker, a prevention educator for Project Humane Education for At-Risk Teens, which travels to schools to prevent violent and oppressive behaviors among teens. Becker also works with Women's Support and Community Services, a domestic-violence agency that sends cabs to transport women to places where they will be safe.

Project HEART looks closely at how boys are being raised, "working against gravity" to break down gender stereotypes and prevent the development of violent behavior patterns, before boys reach high school, Becker said. Educators encourage boys and men to "speak up" and challenge the social norms that propagate violence against women.

"We need to challenge the myths that are out there," Becker said.

Jelena Todic works with Bosnian immigrants and refugees in the Association of Women for Action and Research, a domestic violence organization based in Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Todic explained that an influx of Bosnian refugees began in 1992 when Yugoslavia fell apart; between 30,000 and 50,000 Bosnian refugees are now living in the city of St. Louis. With Todic serving as a translator, the services provided for women at Barnes-Jewish could be extended directly to this community.

AWARE is a "culturally sensitive way of providing services to all women," Todic said.

The program is based upon woman-defined advocacy, which operates on the belief that "women are experts in their lives," Todic said. In a partnership with the victim, counselors discuss options to discover how to improve the woman's situation:

Women will know what will work best in their family and in their community, Todic said.

"It's not cultural," Todic said. "We have to look at domestic violence…as a human-rights issue."

Kathryn Montiegel represented the Women's Safe House, the oldest women's shelter in St. Louis. Women can stay at the safe house, at no cost, for six weeks; once they leave, an outreach program assists them in establishing a household on their own.

Leaving a violent relationship is one of the most dangerous times for a woman, as she is then most likely to be seriously injured or killed by her abuser, Montiegel explained.

She also noted that there is no typical victim of domestic violence: Women who seeking refuge at the shelter come from a variety of ethnic and economic backgrounds, and from all areas of the city.

"Society as a whole is becoming increasingly more tolerant of violence. This shouldn't be a part of someone's everyday life," Montiegel said. "Don't ever accept violence."

Jenny Truax, a graduate of Saint Louis University, spoke about her work at Karen House, a shelter for homeless women and their children that is a project of the Catholic Worker Movement.

Truax explained that violence is not always physical: Racism and sexism, for instance, are injustices perpetrated by groups of people.

"Women are disproportionately affected by this systemic violence," Truax said.

The amount of money that the government spends on defense rises each year, Truax noted, while budgets for social services either remain the same or are diminished. This makes it increasingly difficult for women to find low-income housing where their children will be safe.

Budget cuts such as these reflect our national priorities and "could be seen as violence against women," Truax said.

Gerry Rauch discussed the question of women's ordination, echoing Truax when she said that "discrimination is a form of violence."

While women's situation in society has improved steadily in recent history, the progress women have experienced in the secular world has not been mirrored within the church, Rauch said.

Discrimination is "double the violence when you consider that it's done to someone's spirit," she said.

SLU students in attendance raised issues regarding violence toward women on campus, including date rape and sexism.

"I feel like this University overlooks things that make them look bad," said junior Anna Kinsella. The University, she said, "should stand up and say that this isn't OK."

The issue of sexism within the Greek community, especially in regard to the names of fraternity events and the messages on their T-shirts, was also discussed.

"No one even questions it…it's confusing, and sends a really bad message to women, and men, on campus," said junior Erica Irwin.

While sexist messages such as these are accepted, posters for "The Vagina Monologues" "get ripped down…because it's 'awful,'" Kinsella said, "but we [Una] are sending a positive message."