ELIMINATION
OF ALL FORMS OF
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAM
This program series, entitled “The Elimination of all Forms of Violence against
Women,” was organized in recognition of Women’s History Month, and includes an
exhibition of poetry and art by Nela Rio, a poetry and art competition, panel discussions
and films, all focusing on the global issue of violence against women. The poetry and
art exhibition relies on the beauty and the healing power of the arts, through a blend of
poetry, painting and music, to make the audience aware of the vastness and complexity of
the problem
An exciting element of the exhibition is the art and poetry competition. Area
artists and writers, as well as UWSP students, were invited to submit works which reflect
on the theme of violence against women. Their submissions will be displayed during the
exhibition and the best among them will be awarded cash prizes at the closing ceremony
on Saturday.
To facilitate open dialog among participants, the exhibition is accompanied by a
number of panel discussions involving university students, faculty members and
community members.
It is our hope that you will find much during “The Elimination of all Forms of
Violence against Women” that is stimulating and thought-provoking. Even more
gratifying would be if you were moved to take action, in even the smallest of ways, to
work toward the eventual elimination of violence against women in our own society and
throughout the world.
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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Nela Rio speaks on “The Poetic Body: Outspoken Art/ Arte Claro”
Wednesday, March 2 at 4:40, Rm 285 Noel Fine Arts Center
Nela Rio is a poet, writer, artist, literary critic, and cultural advocate focusing on issues
related to the abuse of women. She was born in Argentina, and has been a Canadian
citizen since 1977. In her art and poetry, Rio expresses her solidarity with women and
explores situations in which women are subjected to different forms of violence, whether
in the public world of political repression, cultural marginalization, and stereotyping due
to gender and age, or in the private world of domestic abuse. Her work is on exhibit at
the Carlsten Art Gallery.
Lecture recital by Ankie Foell, Dutch concert pianist
“Women’s Role in Piano Music through the ages”
Friday, March 4 at 7:30, Michelsen Hall, Noel Fine Arts Center
Ankie Foell was born in Indonesia of Dutch parents, began her piano studies at the age of
five and at age thirteen won first prize in the Youth Piano Competition in Rotterdam.
She graduated from Muziek Lyceum-Amsterdam Conservatory of Music, and received an
advanced degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has presented concerts
at the Vienna Konzerthaus and other venues throughout the world, including the
Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand. Her recent CD is available on the TrilliumCreations label.
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Wednesday, March 2
2:00-3:00
230 CPS
Student Panel I: American Popular Culture and How We Are
Desensitized to Violence Against Women
Moderator: Saed Engel-Di Mauro, Geography
Panelists: Logan Wandrey, Justin Kohlbeck, Kristen Waklee, Christine Neuber
4:00 – 6:30
Carlsten Art Gallery and Rm. 285, Noel Fine Arts Building
Opening Reception and Presentations
Moderator: Elia Armacanqui-Tipacti, Foreign Languages
4:20 Valentina Peguero, History, “The Tragedy of the Mirabal Sisters and the Origins of
the International Day Against Violence Towards Women” (in Rm. 285)
4: 40 Nela Rio, poet, writer, artist, literary critic, and cultural advocate,
“The Poetic Body: Outspoken art / Arte Claro” (in Rm 285)
6:45 - 9:45
227 CCC
Documentary Film:
“Señorita Extraviada/ Missing Young Women
in Ciudad
Juarez”
Sponsored by SALSA
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Thursday, March 3
3:30 – 5:00
230 CPS
Faculty Panel I: On Violence Against Women
Moderator: Alice Keefe, Religious Studies
Rhonda Sprague, Communication, “Verbal Abuse: Cornerstone for Violence”
Richard Barker, Foreign Languages, “Fascist Violence against
Women during the Spanish Civil War”
Richard Ruppel, Foreign Languages, “Women in Switzerland Then and Now:
Political Disenfranchisement as a Form of Violence in an Ancient Direct
Democracy”
7:00 – 8:00
110 HEC
Self-Defense Workshop
Instruction in basic self-defense techniques for women
Instructor: Hilde Henkel from the Stevens Taekwondo Academy
Sponsored by Women in Natural Resources
7:30 – 9:30
Carlsten Art Gallery, Noel Fine Arts Center
Poetry Reading
Moderator: William Lawlor, English, and City of Stevens Point Poet Laureate
William Lawlor, “Selfish Reasons to Support the Elimination of Violence against
Women.”
Readings by participating poets, introduced by Nela Rio.
7:30 – 9:30
233 CCC
Film: “Osama”
This is the first film made in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. The movie depicts
the situation of women under the Taliban regime which banned women from working or
leaving their homes without a male escort. The story focuses on a 12 year old girl who is
forced to disguise herself as a boy in order to survive.
Host: Pat Gott, English
Sponsored by the Comparative Religion Club
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Friday, March 4
12:30 – 1:45
230 CPS
Community Panel I: Domestic Violence --Testimony and Hope
Moderator: Elia Armacanqui-Tipacti, Foreign Languages
Presenters:
Connie Flores, DV Program Coordinator of the Family Health: La Clínica de los
Campesinos,
“A Survivor’s Testimony”
Elia Farcas, Hispanic Health Educational Program, CAP Services Inc.,
“Resources in the Community for the Latina Immigrant Women”
2:00 – 3:30
229 CPS
Faculty Panel II: On Violence Against Women
Moderator: Leslie DeBauche, Communication
Sally Kent, History, “Rape as a weapon of war in Bosnia”
Howard Eissenstat, History,
“’Honor killings’ in the Middle East: Gender, Politics, and the Straits of Modernity”
Respondent: Theresa Kaminski, History
2:00-3:30
230 CPS
Community Panel II: Local Perspectives on Domestic Violence
Moderator: Gail Skelton, Sociology (Emerita)
Presenters:
Tom Eagon, Portage County District Attorney
Mary Rowan, Family Crisis Center Coordinator
Angela Martin, Family Crisis Center Children's Advocate and former UWSP student
intern
A Survivor of Domestic Abuse
Sally Olson, Victim Advocate, Family Crisis Center
3:30 – 5:00
230 CPS
Student Panel II: Violence against women in Spain and Latin America
Moderator: Renee Craig-Odders, Foreign Languages
Presenters: Zak Blesar, Stacy Musch, Norma Salazar, Megan Singer
4:00-5:00
Carlsten Art Gallery, Noel Fine Arts Center
A reading from Prof. Toumi’s play Madah-Sartre: The Kidnapping, trial,
conver(sat/s)ion of Jean Paul Satre and Simone de Beauvoir as staged by the
Terrorists of the GIA
Host: Kama Almasi, Biology
Presenters: Alek Toumi, Foreign Languages, with Barbara Butler, Anthropology
7:30 – 9:30
Michelsen Hall, Noel Fine Arts Center
Lecture recital by Ankie Foell, Dutch Concert Pianist-Pedagogue
"Women’s Role in Piano Music Through the Ages”
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Saturday March 5
2:00- 4:00
Carlsten Art Gallery, Noel Fine Arts Center
Closing Ceremony
Remarks from Chancellor Linda Bunnell
Presentation by Lynda Pilot, former Stevens Point Poet Laureate
“Voices Against Violence”: A Choral Reading of Poetry by UWSP students
Poetry and art prizes awarded by Nela Rio
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