More than 90 percent of women in prison have experienced violence in their own lives. "Any One of Us: Words From Prison" will reveal the connection between women in prison and the violence that often brings them there. Presented by the University of Idaho Women’s Center’s V-Day College Campaign, this event brings raw voices of fierceness and honesty written by local women in Latah County and from prisons across the nation. These monologues will be performed by campus and community members, moving forward toward healing, understanding, and change, ultimately impacting laws and treatment of incarcerated women.
The University of Idaho Women’s Center will premiere its 2015 V-Day production, "Any One of Us: Words from Prison" at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12 in the Pitman Center International Ballroom.
To see a sneak peek preview of the show, watch this video.
For more information about the production, please visit the event webpage, call 208-885-2777 or email wcenter@uidaho.edu.
As the number of women in prison continues to grow, issues concerning the safety and
dignity of women in such settings become ever more pressing. ... Amnesty International has previously highlighted a number of issues of concern regarding women in prison and particularly expressed concerns at the incidence of custodial sexual misconduct and shackling of women in labor and during birth.
Domestic violence and physical and sexual abuse in the home and control of women in prison are linked.
According to Lori B. Girshick:
As gendered modes of punishment--one in the private realm and one in the public--the movements concerned with private battering and state incarceration of women should be more closely connected. Threatened and actual violence against women is one of the strongest modes of the control of women under patriarchy. The sexualized nature of this violence begins as early as infancy and extends without limit. Females of every age are subject to possible sexual abuse, reinforced by gendered sex roles in a culture where women are sexualized in the media and throughout every societal institution.
Additional performances will take place Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13 and 14. Tickets are available for $10 (students with valid ID, $8) at the Women’s Center, Safari Pearl and One World Café. Tickets will also be available at the door. Ticket sales directly benefit the local sexual assault and domestic violence agency, Alternatives to Violence of the Palouse, the international V-Day campaign, and ongoing campus initiatives to counteract rape culture through the Women’s Center.