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Society & Culture

Annual Stanton/Anthony conversations event to focus on domestic violence and health

In order to better understand domestic violence and the long-lasting effects it can have on people and the communities in which they live, the University of RochesterÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™s Susan B. Anthony Center will focus its 2015 Stanton/Anthony luncheon and conversations event on the widely discussed topic. The annual event will take place on Friday, Oct. 9 as part of the UniversityÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™s Meliora Weekend and is one of several events in October held in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness month.

ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½œIn order to prevent intimate partner abuse, we need to understand the root of the problem,ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½� says Catherine Cerulli, director of the Susan B. Anthony Center and the UniversityÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™s Laboratory of Interpersonal Violence and Victimization (LIVV). ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½œThis includes the emotional, psychological, and physical aspects of the issue.ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½� Cerulli says it is essential to look back at childhood experiences and family dysfunction, which is where adversity is often experienced first.

ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½œInstead of thinking about the effects of intimate partner violence in an isolated kind of way, we need to look at it across the lifespan and across the developmental stages,ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½� says Dr. Tasneem Ismailji, a pediatrician, educator, and researcher on the health effects of violence and abuse. She will be delivering this yearÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™s keynote speech at the luncheon, titled, Intimate Partner Violence: An Update for Healthcare Professionals.

ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½œThrough this talk, I hope to change peopleÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™s mindset and perspective on this issue. Research shows that what happens when youÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™re young affects health outcomes, so in order to understand the effects of violence on health we need to think of experiences of abuse, adversity, poverty, racism, and more,ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½� said Ismailji.

After completing her pediatric residency at the University of Rochester Medical Center in 1974, Ismailji went on to establish a successful practice in pediatric and adolescent medicine. In 2005, she co-founded the Academy on Violence and Abuse in Shakopee, Minnesota as a way to prevent, recognize, and treat people affected by violence. Having grown up in a patriarchal society in Pakistan, Ismailji said she often saw violence towards woman and children and the cultureÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™s lack of accountability towards males. She believes this is what led her to ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½œquestion social conventions and challenge assumptions towards violence and abuse.ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½�

Joining Ismailji for this yearÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™s conversations panel discussion are three other experts in the field of domestic violence. Dr. David Corwin, professor of pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine; Dr. Dianne Morse, a physician, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and director of WomenÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™s Initiative Supporting Health-Transitions Clinic (WISH-TC); and Jamie Saunders, CEO of the Willow Domestic Violence Center of Greater Rochester.

The 2015 Stanton/Anthony Conversations will take place Friday, Oct. 9 at the Interfaith Chapel on the University of RochesterÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½™s River Campus. The keynote speech and luncheon begin at noon on the river level of the Interfaith Chapel. Tickets are $45 for the general public and University faculty and staff, $20 for University students. Scholarships are available. To register, visit /SBA/ or call 275-8799. The panel discussion, which begins at 1:30 p.m. in the chapel’s sanctuary, is free and open to the public.