Pictured: Dean Hedges and a group of JABSOM students are pictured holding a JABSOM banner at the 2017 Men’s March Against Violence.
Led by Dean Jerris Hedges, MD, students of the University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) will join hundreds of other men and boys in the 24th annual Men’s March Against Violence on October 4, 2018. The march begins at noon outside the Hawaiʻi State Capitol Building downtown. The brief march concludes with a rally on the grounds of the ʻIolani Palace.
“This is personal for me,” said Dr. Hedges. “My father had anger management problems and there were some difficult times for my family growing up. Unfortunately, this is not a rare experience.”
In Hawaiʻi, sampling studies suggest there are more than five “9-1-1” calls every hour that involve domestic violence. Each year in Hawai‘i, 50,000 women between the ages of 18 and 64 are harmed by domestic violence.
“The ones hurting those women are primarily men. So curbing violence in our homes has to begin with men,” said Dean Hedges.
The University of Hawaiʻi is a supporter of the march as well. President David Lassner and many others, including the Athletics Department, from Director David Matlin to the coaches and the players all understand that this issue has to be addressed.
“At the medical school, we’re proud to be one of the top schools nationally in our percentage of women faculty. But not every business has a lot of women leaders at the top – they should – but don’t,” said Dr. Hedges. “That makes it even more important that men who do have those positions take a stand, and keep an eye out for women who may be are silently suffering from domestic violence.”
Watch a video: An MD student’s childhood memory: A heartbreaking account read by her classmates
Following the example of Dean Hedges, JABSOM students were asked to tell their own stories involving family violence, if they were comfortable doing so.
One of our students wanted to tell her story, a vivid account of one particular night in a violent household. But she also chose to remain anonymous.
She agreed to allow some of her MD classmates to read her story aloud on this video produced by UH Med Now in 2016. We believe it helps communicate the importance of empathy, and we urge you to support the Men’s March.