LETTERS TO HARRIET: Domestic Violence and Marital Rape

Tonight Black Women in Conversation will feature Antonia Vann, a Nationally Certified Domestic Violence Counselor and Chief Executive Officer and founder of Asha Family Services.

There will be a special focus on the issue of marital rape, a subject still taboo and still very much ignored by community. We need some honest conversation on sexual abuse and sexual assault within the context of interpersonal relationships.

Black Women in Conversation will be discussing the dynamics and the actual occurence of domestic violence in Black communities. We will engage in debate about how domestic violence is defined and focus on the various ways domestic violence shows up in the lives of women of African descent across a continuum and along their life span. Physical abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, emotional and psychological abuse and spiritual abuse will be defined, and are all part of the continuum of violence. We wil discuss some of the commonly identified causes of domestic violence and send a call to action to individuals and families to prevent and end violence in our homes.