Group Debrief of "Behind Closed Doors"

Reflection by Lydia: Speaking with Audrey was really important because it allowed us to see the perspective of somebody who has to deal with the mental aspects of domestic violence. While we have been and will be talking to be people who are involved with these issues through the legal system, actually understanding the hardships of what victims go through can be very hard but important and humbling to do.

Reflection by Lydia: I think as we go through this process of learning more about domestic violence, we focus a lot on the people who consciously seek help, but we don’t really look at the people who are forced to turn themselves into hospitals. As we talked to Dr. DiFazio, I was able to understand that every victim shows different signs of the violence they have faced, and that violence can be defined in so many ways, that it is important to sometimes just take a step back and look at who needs help in general, because many of those signs will point to violence(at least a lot more than just asking up front).

Individual Reflections

Lydia

Today was a very important day for us because even though we did not travel anywhere, we were able to talk to two people who talk with and help domestic violence victims. We were also able to get organized for the days ahead and make progress on our website. We have also been looking into stories of domestic violence, and the documentary, as well as talking to Mr. Corliss’s wife and Ms. DiFazio, was really eye-opening about how hard victims’ lives can be after they leave their partner, in addition to how hard the law system can be on victims.

Catherine

Although we weren’t able to leave campus today, I actually thought it was one of the most informative and interesting days that we’ve had so far. We were able to take advantage of resources and people on campus by speaking to Audrey (Mr. Coralis’s wife) who is a therapist and social worker as well as Dr. DiFazio to get a more medical perspective on domestic abuse. We were also able to hear first person narratives from the women in the documentary “Behind Closed Doors” which will be helpful going forward. I think it is important for us to remember that, while we are primarily focused around the legal systems and policies surrounding domestic abuse, there are real people behind these stories. The documentary as well as the two medical specialists played an important role in helping us to remember this.

Skylar

Although we spent the day on campus, we were very productive in our research—both through internet sources and in watching the Behind Closed Doors documentary—and had the opportunity to interview two on-campus sources, Audrey (a therapist with a degree in social work and Mr. Corliss's wife) and Ms. DiFazio (an emergency room worker and Dom Mongillo's mother). These interviews, the first quite long and the second rather brief, gave us greater insight into victims' experiences and how the rehabilitation process may work (or may not). In my opinion, it was especially helpful to talk to Audrey because she knew a lot more about the mental and emotional process for both adult and child victims, and rather than talking about just legal policy she was able to speak to the more therapeutic and psychological sides of being a victim of domestic abuse or a witness to domestic abuse. The free on-campus time also gave us time to plan next week more as well as brainstorm questions to ask the people we will be talking to.