Sunday, October 31, 2010
By Sean Barron
VIENNA
It’s probably safe to say that more women who could be victims of domestic violence will be a bit safer, thanks to the efforts of 8-year-old Rodney E. Hill II.
“Everyone’s the same because we’re all humans, so it doesn’t make sense to say girls are weak,” said Rodney, of Liberty, a third-grader at Akiva Academy, a private school in Youngstown.
Rodney took part in a recent school contest to collect used cell phones that were reprogrammed to allow domestic-violence victims to automatically dial 911 if in a threatening situation.
He collected about 30 phones that are to go to women in the Sojourner House Domestic Violence program.
He also was one of a few hundred males and females of all ages who attended Saturday’s “A Call to Men” breakfast at Avalon Golf & Country Club - Squaw Creek, 761 Youngstown-Kingsville Road SE.
The event featured several speakers who gave the men tools to challenge attitudes condoning violence against women and empower them to be part of the solution to stop it.
The keynote speaker was Anthony Porter, an educator, activist and co-founder of A Call to Men, a national organization dedicated to ending violence against women and girls while advocating for healthy manhood.
Sponsoring the two-hour gathering was the Youngstown chapter of The Links Inc., a national friendship and service organization that, among other things, conducts community- service projects.
Roughly one in four women suffers physical, sexual, financial or emotional abuse, noted Krishmu Shipmon, the local chapter’s president.
“It’s a pattern of behavior we cannot tolerate in our society,” Shipmon added.
Rodney, son of Dr. Rodney and Lenora J. Hill, credited his mother for the idea of gathering the phones. Lenora Hill also helped organize Saturday’s program.
Elijah Walton, 8, of Niles came away with a firmer handle on the importance of treating girls with respect.
“I learned that it’s not OK to hit girls,” said Elijah, a second-grader at E.J. Blott Elementary School in Liberty.
Elijah came with his parents, Eddie Jr. and Janice Walton, as well as other boys from Phillips Chapel Church of God in Christ in Hubbard, where Eddie Walton serves as a minister.
Between 15 percent and 20 percent of men engage in sexual or domestic violence against women, Porter estimated in his keynote address, noting that more laws alone have not led to a decline in such crimes.
Well-meaning men must free themselves from the “man box,” a collection of stereotypical beliefs regarding both sexes that provide a breeding ground for attitudes that often lead to violence and abuse toward females, Porter explained.
Such socialization includes the notions that men must be successful, powerful, protective, heterosexual, above seeking help and able to hide emotions, and that it’s all right for them to view women as property and objects, he continued.
For example, many adults and peers admonish boys for crying or “acting like a girl,” he pointed out. A message they receive is that females are inferior and should be subservient to men, he continued.
“[Such males] fear the boy will be viewed even remotely as anything like a woman,” Porter said.
Many ads, movies and magazines reinforce these ideas, Porter said, noting that seeing women as less valuable than men, combined with perceiving them as objects and property, often is a formula for violence.
Most men who cling to such attitudes have a lot in common with abusers, except that “the bad guys just go too far,” Porter observed.
In addition, he said, the “man box” often is a foundation that leads to sexual assault, pornography, stalking, harassment and violence in dating situations.
Remarks also came from Detective Sgt. Dave Lomax of the Youngstown Police Department’s family services unit; Virginia D. Banks-Bright of The Links Inc.; and the Rev. Dr. Lewis Macklin II, pastor of Holy Trinity Missionary Baptist Church in Youngstown.