Gilroy
– Women are still the second sex across the globe, said Perla
Flores, but in Santa Clara County, a Saturday conference aims to
challenge that status.
Gilroy – Women are still the second sex across the globe, said Perla Flores, but in Santa Clara County, a Saturday conference aims to challenge that status. It’s called ‘The Different Faces of Violence Against Women,’ and it brings scholars, artists and the community together to learn about issues ranging from human trafficking to sexual assault.
“We think we’re so far ahead on social equality, but that’s really not the case,” said Flores, who manages domestic violence and sexual assault programming at Community Solutions, which helped plan the conference as part of the county’s Domestic Violence Advocacy Consortium. “Anything that harms women harms all women, and it’s all of our responsibility to make the situation better.”
Saturday’s event is the first of this magnitude to mark International Women’s Day (March 8) in the county, said Flores. The 10-hour event includes discussions, a short film screening, an art exhibit, Persian and Aztec dancers and an evening concert by music group Niyaz. Attendees can network and ask in-depth questions of panelists and lecturers between sessions. Assembly Member Jim Beall will introduce the event.
Some of the topics may sound foreign – female genital mutilation, stoning and war zones – but unfortunately, the issues hit close to home, said Flores.
“We all think women are afflicted with issues only in Third-World countries,” she said. “But it happens in our own country, on a regular basis.”
