“Educate, train, empower.” This is the motto of one of UNC’s newest female empowerment groups: Wonder Women.
The group, which focuses specifically on preventing sexual violence, will be hosting a series of workshops on Monday and Tuesday centered around understanding and preventing domestic violence.
Monday’s workshop, titled “Breaking the Silence,” will feature a speaker from the Compass Center for Women and Families, a local organization that provides support for those impacted by domestic violence.
The speaker, a survivor of domestic violence herself, will discuss how to help survivors of sexual assault and how to prevent it from happening. Attendees will help create care packages for the women served by the Compass Center.
“It’s a presentation to give folks the foundational information to understand what domestic violence is and to talk about the power and control tactics that abusers use to maintain the domestic violence,” Valerie Sauer, director of education programs at the Compass Center, said.
Titled “Empowering Yourself and Others,” Tuesday’s workshop features a discussion from UNC nurse practitioner Margaux Simon, who will explain how Campus Health can help survivors of sexual violence. The discussion will be followed by an introductory self-defense class.
“Unfortunately trauma, in its many forms, touches a lot of people's lives,” Simon said. “Being aware of how trauma may have affected your life can help you provide a better response to those around you.”
Olivia Proops started Wonder Women last semester after transferring from a small school in Philadelphia where women made up only 20 percent of the engineering program.
“I faced a lot of harassment and stalking and things like that because I was a woman in this environment that was predominantly male and my school didn't really do anything about it,” Proops said.
