Regional Roundtable: Engaging Men in Prevention of Violence Against Women

Regional Administrator Rick Garcia discusses prevention of violence against women

The event was titled: "Men taking the lead: Preventing Dating Violence and Sexual Assault." On the afternoon of October 25th, 2011 approximately 75 people gathered at the Multicultural Lounge of the Tivoli Student Union. It is located on the Auraria campus, in Denver, CO.

The event was sponsored by the Region VIII U.S. Departments of Health & Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Education (Ed.) This event was a response to a directive from the Office of the Vice President Joe Biden. They offered events for men across the 10 regional divisions of HHS to raise awareness about men's role in intimate partner violence prevention. The also sought to elicit recommendations from attendees at the events.

The event at the Tivoli consisted of a Welcome and Introduction to the event by Susana Calderon, Regional Women's Health Coordinator. She was followed by a message from the Vice President presented on a DVD. Rick Garcia, Regional Administrator of HUD and Marguerite Salazar, Regional Director of HHS presented welcoming remarks to set the tone of the panel presentations and dialogue that followed.

Two separate panel presentations commenced. "Panel I: Young Men Taking the Lead" featured 3 young men from East High School, Denver, CO. They have attended workshops and have been trained to perform skits on healthy relationships and intimate violence prevention by the organization "Project Pave". Mitch Trebesh from the Ft. Collins Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Center was the fourth youth panel member.

The second panel: "Sharing the Torch: Advocates and Mentors" consisted of three men who have worked in violence prevention and in community advocacy for many years each. Their perspective is derived from wisdom and experience, in addition to their desire to be part of social change. The event ended with questions, comments and recommendations from the audience.

Project Pave (www.projectpave.org/)

Content Archived: October 24, 2013