2008 Woodie Awards
Women's Center lends support
Rachel Cabamongan
Issue date: 1/23/08 Section: News
Two deaths in two weeks has left the local community horrified and searching for ways to help victims of domestic abuse and find solutions to decrease domestic violence crimes. The Women's Center, located in the Queen Lili‘uokalani Student Services Center, offers professional counseling and other services to all students.
"When students meet with us, it's all about providing options and letting them know what those options are," said Christine Quemuel, director of the Women's Center.
"The main thing is that students realize that they are not alone and there are lots of trained staff and resources here on campus that can help them," she said.
On Jan. 9, Jenny Hartsock was stabbed to death in her Kalihi home. Neighbors responded to a call for help and found Hartsock in the hallway fronting her apartment, lying in a pool of blood with a knife protruding from her chest. Police arrested her husband, Roy William Hartsock, in suspicion of second-degree murder.
On Jan. 16, Janel Tupuola was clubbed to death on Maluniu Avenue in Kailua. Alapeti Siuanu Tunoa Jr., Tupuola's estranged boyfriend, was arrested and booked for second-degree murder. According to eyewitnesses, Tunoa used the handle of a shotgun in an ax-like manner to beat Tupuola as she screamed for help and attempted to run away.
The deaths of the two women are a grim reminder of the dangerous consequences of domestic abuse.
"It is very sad and it hit close to home for me because my mom was abused. She wasn't killed by the abuse but she was abused as a wife," said sophomore Shamara Brown.
A student survey taken in 2003 by the Program Against Violence to Women revealed that 11 percent of undergraduate women at UH Mānoa experienced partner violence, 10 percent experienced stalking, and nine percent experienced sexual assault. Thus, the survey found that about 1 in 10 women experienced partner violence, stalking or sex assault. About two percent were raped. (Full survey results can be found at the Women's Center.)
Junior Donald Foster believes that being in an abusive relationship is a matter of self-control and personal choice. "For the people who are involved, you could really stop if you wanted to," he said.
However, Jill Nunokawa, a civil rights counselor at the UH Mānoa Advocacy Office, explains what makes leaving such a relationship difficult.
"What goes on in domestic violence is not limited to physical abuse, but it's the totality of the psychological and emotional ripping of the soul and the theft of the spirit," Nunokawa said.
Nunokawa once worked as a public defender for individuals charged with domestic violence. "Most of the individuals that I worked with were law abiding citizens, but when it came to that one person, it was an obsession that they had to control," she said.
If an argument escalates to violence on campus, Quemuel advises to call campus security and avoid personal involvement by attempting to stop the argument.
"If I saw a girl getting hit, I would more than likely try to intervene somehow, maybe not to stop it, but to push him somehow. If not, I would immediately call the police," Foster said.
Nunokawa advises if family members or friends are suffering from abuse, endless support is vital for their success in leaving the relationship. "Our goal in the community is not to judge them but to help them work through the process of becoming self-empowered," she said.
Nunokawa said everyone is affected by domestic violence and that it needs to be seen as the social crisis it really is. "We all have a moral and sacred obligation to get involved and end it," she said.
Warning signs of Domestic Abuse:
Death threatening
Constant criticizing or belittling behavior
Constant accusations of cheating
Possessiveness and jealousy
Forces isolation from family and friends
Displays extreme anger when things are not done properly
Additional Important Numbers:
Campus Security: 956-6911
Women's Center: 956-8059
Gender Equity Counselor: 956-7077
Civil Rights Counselor: 956-4431
Women's Health Clinic: 956-6221
Sex Abuse Center (24hr line): 524-7273
Suicide/Crisis (24hr line): 832-3100
"When students meet with us, it's all about providing options and letting them know what those options are," said Christine Quemuel, director of the Women's Center.
"The main thing is that students realize that they are not alone and there are lots of trained staff and resources here on campus that can help them," she said.
On Jan. 9, Jenny Hartsock was stabbed to death in her Kalihi home. Neighbors responded to a call for help and found Hartsock in the hallway fronting her apartment, lying in a pool of blood with a knife protruding from her chest. Police arrested her husband, Roy William Hartsock, in suspicion of second-degree murder.
On Jan. 16, Janel Tupuola was clubbed to death on Maluniu Avenue in Kailua. Alapeti Siuanu Tunoa Jr., Tupuola's estranged boyfriend, was arrested and booked for second-degree murder. According to eyewitnesses, Tunoa used the handle of a shotgun in an ax-like manner to beat Tupuola as she screamed for help and attempted to run away.
The deaths of the two women are a grim reminder of the dangerous consequences of domestic abuse.
"It is very sad and it hit close to home for me because my mom was abused. She wasn't killed by the abuse but she was abused as a wife," said sophomore Shamara Brown.
A student survey taken in 2003 by the Program Against Violence to Women revealed that 11 percent of undergraduate women at UH Mānoa experienced partner violence, 10 percent experienced stalking, and nine percent experienced sexual assault. Thus, the survey found that about 1 in 10 women experienced partner violence, stalking or sex assault. About two percent were raped. (Full survey results can be found at the Women's Center.)
Junior Donald Foster believes that being in an abusive relationship is a matter of self-control and personal choice. "For the people who are involved, you could really stop if you wanted to," he said.
However, Jill Nunokawa, a civil rights counselor at the UH Mānoa Advocacy Office, explains what makes leaving such a relationship difficult.
"What goes on in domestic violence is not limited to physical abuse, but it's the totality of the psychological and emotional ripping of the soul and the theft of the spirit," Nunokawa said.
Nunokawa once worked as a public defender for individuals charged with domestic violence. "Most of the individuals that I worked with were law abiding citizens, but when it came to that one person, it was an obsession that they had to control," she said.
If an argument escalates to violence on campus, Quemuel advises to call campus security and avoid personal involvement by attempting to stop the argument.
"If I saw a girl getting hit, I would more than likely try to intervene somehow, maybe not to stop it, but to push him somehow. If not, I would immediately call the police," Foster said.
Nunokawa advises if family members or friends are suffering from abuse, endless support is vital for their success in leaving the relationship. "Our goal in the community is not to judge them but to help them work through the process of becoming self-empowered," she said.
Nunokawa said everyone is affected by domestic violence and that it needs to be seen as the social crisis it really is. "We all have a moral and sacred obligation to get involved and end it," she said.
Warning signs of Domestic Abuse:
Death threatening
Constant criticizing or belittling behavior
Constant accusations of cheating
Possessiveness and jealousy
Forces isolation from family and friends
Displays extreme anger when things are not done properly
Additional Important Numbers:
Campus Security: 956-6911
Women's Center: 956-8059
Gender Equity Counselor: 956-7077
Civil Rights Counselor: 956-4431
Women's Health Clinic: 956-6221
Sex Abuse Center (24hr line): 524-7273
Suicide/Crisis (24hr line): 832-3100
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