Name: Margot Story
Social Justice Group: 2020-2021, Violence Against Women
Date of Fieldwork: January 28, 2021
Name of Organization:
Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Anne Patterson, Division Director at STEPS To End Family Violence
Type of Fieldwork: Interview
What I did:
What I learned:
What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:
From interviewing Anne Patterson, Wyeth and I learned many things. Anne is well-versed in a variety of topics relating to domestic violence and abuse. We learned about the importance of working with people who have caused harm and helping them understand that there is a choice in abusing someone, and that we must treat them as whole people, not just abusers or perpetrators (it’s important not to refer to them as abusers, instead as people who have caused harm). STEPS has a program where they train young men and teenagers who have acted in a violent way towards their partners, and help stop the violence when it starts. We learned about the different types and tiers of shelters in New York City. Anne talked about how shelters currently have curfews and orders that make domestic abuse victims an survivors feel restricted and how legislation is being passed to change that. We learned about the importance of working with abused parents and their children together, and how being raised in a household with domestic abuse isn’t the “end all, be all” for children. There are so many different facets of this issue – even if you narrow it down, there is still so much more to learn. It was amazing to learn from Anne Patterson and inspiring to know that her dedication to this subject started when she was only 18.
