Peggy Revell
Local residents are invited to attend a community presentation on abuse and violence prevention tonight from 6-8 p.m. at the Urban Multi-purpose Aboriginal Youth Centre on Mowat Avenue here.
“Men of Strength” is one of many presentations being made by abuse and violence educator Joseph Weinberg, who was invited to the area through a partnership between the sexual health program of the Northwestern Health Unit and the Lake of the Woods Child Development Centre.
“The [health unit] has done quite a bit lately in terms of looking at violence in our communities,” said public health nurse Gillian Lunny. “When we did the violence forum in Dryden earlier in the year, it was so wonderful to have community partners together talking about an issue that affects all of us.
“We had the opportunity to bring in a speaker for some sort of education initiative, [and] to have a man speak about violence against women and sexual assault is something we don’t hear very much and something we need to hear more of in our community,” Lunny stressed.
As president of Men Stopping Rape based in Madison, Wis., Weinberg has given thousands of workshops and speeches on how communities can break the cycle of violence and address violence issues.
People can become immune to a message if they hear it over and over again, noted Lunny, adding violence against women often has been seen solely as a women’s issue and problem.
“And it’s not,” she stressed. “It’s a man’s problem and it’s everybody’s problem.”
Weinberg also is visiting high schools across the district, speaking to students about healthy relationships, sexual assault and consent, and the responsibility of working to stop abuse.
He was at Rainy River High School this morning and will be at Fort Frances High School tomorrow.
To find out more about Weinberg’s presentations, contact the health unit at 274-9827.
