Danielle Herrera walked in silence Saturday morning to honor her mother, a survivor of domestic
violence.
The second-year psychology student said her father often abused her mother when they were together, but the strength she has shown is an inspiration to Herrera.
“There were no events like this to allow her to say it wasn’t okay,” Herrera said.
The event, called “Walking in Silence for the Silenced,” was co-programmed by multiple campus organizations along with Women of Concern Professionals, a networking and women’s support organization. The event took place at multiple locations around the world Saturday morning.
Herrera, along with 31 other participants, walked the track of Drake Stadium sporting white shirts with a picture of a purple ribbon – a symbol for domestic violence awareness.
The Undergraduate Students Association Council’s Student Wellness Commission, the Campus Assault Resources & Education Speak Out & Support Coalition, Run for Courage and the 7,000 in Solidarity campaign were some of the groups who helped put on the event.
Ronni Savage, competitive sports administrative specialist at UCLA Recreation and a member of Women of Concern Professionals, brought the Walking in Silence for the Silenced event to UCLA for the first time this year.
Savage said she wanted to hold the event on UCLA’s campus because she experienced domestic violence when she was in college. Savage said she could not find the resources she needed when she was abused, and that she wanted to educate students at UCLA
about available resources through the walk.
Savage said she felt silenced by domestic violence.
“It’s so tragic to live in fear where you don’t know when your guy is going to come home, if he’s going to come home in a good mood, if he’s going to hit you today, if you’re going to have to fight for your life or if you’re going to even live through today,” Savage said.
Herrera said she liked the event and thought it was helpful to educate people about how to tell if someone is experiencing domestic violence.
Participating student groups set up booths to educate students about the campus resources available to them in case of assault, and students could sign up for educational workshops at these booths. Participants at the event could also donate money to support centers for women who experienced domestic violence, Savage said.
Some regular morning runners noticed the purple balloons and decided to join the event.
One runner, third-year economics student Anthony Maltore, said he has several friends who have experienced domestic abuse, although he has not experienced domestic violence himself.
After the walk, participants stood in a circle at Drake Stadium and shared their personal stories about abuse. Some of them wore name tags with the names of the people they were walking for.
Savage recalled her first husband, who claimed her as his property and later physically and mentally abused her. “At that time I was ashamed, I was silenced until a voice inside me said ‘This is not who you are and you can get out’ and I walked out of that relationship,” Savage said.
Savage said that she hopes to continue trying to educate students about domestic abuse and that she plans to hold another event next year.
Contributing reports by Camille von Kaenel, Bruin contributor.