Montana Tech and Safe Space, Inc. are partnering together to exhibit the Montana Silent Witness Initiative beginning this week at Highlands College. The mission of the Silent Witness Program is to “promote peace, healing and responsibility in adult relationships in order to eliminate domestic murders in the United States by the year 2020.” This event at Highlands College and Montana Tech coincides with President Obama’s Presidential Proclamation recognizing October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
The Montana Silent Witness Program involves dozens of red, wooden silhouettes of female figures. Attached to each silhouette is a plaque memorializing a woman killed in domestic violence in Montana. In addition, children who died with their mothers are also depicted.
“These silent silhouettes are a really dramatic statement of the scourge that is domestic violence in Montana,” said Tech Counselor, Cricket Pietsch. “It is a somber exercise to walk amongst the silhouettes. There are few of us who have not been touched by the effects of relationship violence perpetrated against women and children.”
In our country, domestic violence kills a woman every six hours. Silent Witness began promoting an end to domestic violence in 1990. Their message is one of hope, help, and healing for the victims and perpetrators of domestic violence.
The Silent Witness Display will travel from Highlands College to the Montana Tech main campus on Friday. “Our hope is that this project will highlight our prevention efforts promoting being ‘A Montana Tech Frontstander’ and not to be bystanders. Instead, we are all encouraged to stand up to behaviors that can escalate to violence,” noted Paul Beatty, Montana Tech Dean of Students.
For any further information about this event or any issue pertaining to Montana Tech, please contact Amanda Badovinac at 406-496-4828 or Cricket Pietsch at 406-496-3730.