By Mitchell Mylius
@mitchellmylius
Relationship violence happens. And it happens at LPC.
That’s the reason behind “Escalation,” a workshop capping off National Sexual Assault Month. Escalation was held April 26 at the main theater in the Mertes Art Center
Psychology student Katia Dadgar attended event and realized shewas in an abusive relationship.
Dadgar described how it took a second attendance at the relationship abuse workshop to realize that she was in that same position. She said this experience would help her prevent future relationship abuse against her and those around her.
“Only thing I can do is notice these things for other people,” said Dadgar.
Escalation is put on annually by the One Love Foundation, which was created by Sharon Love in honor of her daughter, Yeardley.
Yeardly was the senior lacrosse player at the University of Virginia, just three weeks shy of graduating. When her mother would drop her off in Charlottesville each year, her biggest concern was she may be injured playing lacrosse or in a car accident.
Relationship violence was not on her radar. Love was beaten to death by her ex-boyfriend on May 3, 2010.
The workshop includes a video based on Yeardley’s story, and how her relationship escalated negatively. After the video, representatives from the Health and Wellness Center, Tri-Valley Haven and the Public Safety program gathered with students to converse about these issues.
The One Love Foundation travels to universities across the country. LPC Nurse Practitioner, Dayna Barbero was glad to have the workshop come to the college.
“It’s a way of empowering the students to gain the knowledge of recognizing what’s unhealthy in a relationship,” said Barbero.
And it’s workshops like this one that not only raise awareness about these issues, but help shed light on the signs that could possibly escalate to physical abuse.
