Social Justice and Health
The relationship between dignity and health is gaining new appreciation and attention among health-care and public health professionals. As one researcher stated in a recent journal article, "It is increasingly evident that violations of dignity in our communities are pervasive events with potential severe and sustained negative effects on physical, mental, and social well-being." (Mann, 1999).
Several
Prevention and Wellness Services programs address the relationship between
social justice and health. These programs stimulate students to consider
questions like these:
- How does a civil, caring, and tolerant campus community contribute to conditions in which all people can be healthy.
- What does poverty and limited access to quality health care in our communities have to do with Western students? Why should you care? What can you do?
- How does a hate
crime on campus affect all students' perception of safety and acceptance?
- How does intolerance in a classroom affect students who are the object of that intolerance and students who are not its direct target?
- How do jokes based on sexual innuendo and role stereotypes contribute to a culture where violence against women is tolerated?
- What is the relationship between people who belong to groups who experience intolerance or discrimination on a daily basis and their level of stress-related illness?
- What does privilege mean and what is its relationship to health?
- How does working
to understand people who belong to groups different from our own contribute
to our health and wholeness?
The mission of the Ally Building Network is to raise awareness among Western Washington University students about what it means to be an ally, and what the benefits of being an ally are. We will work to promote a civil and caring campus community with the knowledge that people often lack the initiative to speak out against injustice. We hope to share the skills and resources which encourage and motivate students to support diversity; speak up as allies in social and academic settings; and translate egalitarian beliefs into practical action on Western's campus and beyond.
Student Social Justice Groups
If you are interested in the relationship between human dignity and health, get in touch with one of these groups or attend one of their programs:
Ally
Building Network
Committed to encouraging
and motivating students to:
a) support diversity;
b) speak up as allies in social and academic settings; and
c) translate egalitarian beliefs into practical action on Western's campus
and beyond.
Western
Men Against Violence
Committed
to fostering awareness of men's roles in stopping sexual assault, violent
crimes, and hate crimes by:
a) promoting activities that stop the cycle of violence in their lives
and in the culture;
b) supporting each other in finding new, non-violent forms of masculinity;
and
c) fostering an understanding of how traditional masculine roles influence
men's health and
well-being.
Will
Act for Change
Committed
to bringing health and social justice issues to life through performance,
interaction, discussion, and facilitation.
WEAVE (Women's Empowerment and Violence Education)
Committed to providing
women information, resources, and opportunities to get involved in:
a) breaking the silence that masks sexual violence and;
b) healing through mutual support and empowerment.