Title: ELCA Domestic Violence Workshop ELCA NEWS SERVICE July 11, 1996 "STOP BLAMING WOMEN" 96-WO-04-KSE MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- We must stop blaming women, said Dr. Charlotte Fiechter, executive director of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, to 50 participants in a Domestic Violence workshop. The workshop preceded Women of the ELCA's Third Triennial Convention meeting here July 11-14 under the theme "Proclaim God's Peace." The goals of the workshop were to: provide women with a religious perspective and biblical background on the topic of domestic violence; present helps in recognizing abuse and domestic violence, and practical strategies for dealing with concrete situations; and to learn from survivors how each coped with a difficult situation. The Rev. Pamela Cooper-White, an Episcopal priest and author, was the keynote speaker at the workshop. Her book, The Cry of Tamar: Violence Against Women and the Church's Response was recently named one of the top 10 books of the year by the Academy of Parish Clergy according to Christian Century magazine. In her keynote address, Cooper-White used the Biblical story of Tamar from 2 Samuel to illustrate the situation of women affected by domestic violence and sexual abuse. Tamar was assaulted by her half-brother, and the process for justice was removed from her hands and became "the men's business." Cooper-White said that the sexual assault against Tamar was not principally about sexual lust but rather about the exercise of power and domination -- primarily treated as a property crime. According to Cooper-White, the church is called to break the silence and bear witness to violence against women .... to cry out for truth, justice, and the release of the oppressed. She cited frequent media images of women as mere body parts as a way that women are portrayed as objects, to be used. She said we need to examine these images -- to take them out of context -- to lift the veil of denial, "to name the violence, as violence." Cooper-White charged the group and the church to mobilize their anger to work for justice for victims: "We are called to restore right relations not just between men and women but within the whole community ... we are reconcilers ... we have a prophetic and pastoral ministry." After the keynote address, a panel of four women -- all survivors of domestic violence -- told their stories. One panelist encouraged women who are abused to know that "the fight for your dignity and self-worth is worth the struggle." Another panelist quoted an author who wrote, "Tears are a river that takes you somewhere." And a panelist lifted up words of hope: "All things can be made new in Christ." Charlotte Thompson, Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women, finished up the morning by explaining the dynamics of abuse. She said: "Battering is a systematic pattern of violent, controlling, coercive behaviors intended to punish, abuse, and ultimately control the thoughts, beliefs, and actions of the victim." Hung on the walls around the workshop room were 200 simple black strips with white-lettered names. Women from the around the country sent in the strips to recognize women they knew who have suffered from domestic violence and abuse. For information contact: Ann Hafften, Dir., ELCA News Service, (312) 380-2958; Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Dir., (312) 380-2955; Lia Christiansen, Asst. Dir.,(312) 380-2956