VCU news

By Brian McNeill

A public service announcement created by Virginia Commonwealth University students aims to draw attention to the problem of intimate partner violence.

The video, "Power of Touch: An Intimate Partner Violence PSA," was produced on behalf of YWCA of Richmond to underscore the prevalence of domestic violence and to let survivors know about available resources in the Richmond region.

"Intimate partner violence is more prevalent than many of us realize," said Jessica Mancuso, a senior in VCU's School of Social Work, who created the PSA as part of her internship at YWCA of Richmond. "The reach of [intimate partner violence] exceeds physical violence and includes psychological, emotional, financial and sexual abuse."

The PSA was created as part of what will be an ongoing series of public service announcements being developed by the YWCA's Community Outreach and Public Education department to raise awareness about issues such as domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, bystander intervention, racism and early childhood education.

Students and recent graduates of the Cinema Program of VCU's School of the Arts filmed and produced the PSA.

Sheree Chen, a Cinema Program alumna who is finishing minors in sociology and English in the College of Humanities and Sciences, directed the PSA. Chen teaches a class of freshmen in the Cinema Program, and 11 of her students worked on the PSA's crew. Caleb Plutzer, a cinema alumnus, was director of photography. Maurice Vellas, a cinema senior, worked as a mentor alongside Chen and Plutzer.

"Everyone working on the project volunteered their time. This was not attached to any official class. We shot a little bit every day, Friday through Sunday, one weekend in mid-October," Chen said. "We shot in the Pollak courtyard, Meadow Park in the Fan, a residential neighborhood up in Northside and the parking lot of Diversity Thrift."

"While we were shooting, people would pass by, stop, and ask us what we were doing," she added. "I think it was very touching how often someone would say 'Oh, I was a victim of domestic abuse.' They would take the time to share their stories with us."

A key concept of the PSA was to strip away the common images — such as bruises and glass shattering — that are associated with domestic violence as portrayed in the media, Chen said.

"We wanted to show normal people in their daily lives, to abolish the otherness of survivors, if that makes sense," she said. "Too often, people stay in abusive relationships because they deny the abuse. They think, well, it doesn't look like the way it does on TV, so it's not abuse. Or, people who've never experienced abuse will feel so distanced from the issue because the images of battered victims simply do not present themselves in their own lives."

The project was supported by the Cinema Program, which gave the students free reign to produce the PSA and also provided film and equipment.

"The program gave us all the leftover 35mm film from the summer shoots, and footed the bill for developing the footage," Chen said. "[It was] a very generous donation. So if you were wondering why the colors were so beautiful — we shot the whole thing on film."

Mancuso said she hopes the PSA raises awareness of intimate partner violence, as well as highlights the Greater Richmond Regional Hotline for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and stalking in the Richmond region. The hotline can be reached at 804-612-6126.

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