As part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Harper Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Library, Student Engagement, and Wellness organized an informative event called Understanding Domestic Violence: Red Flags and Legal Remedies in Building D-154 from 12-1 pm on April 2nd, 2025.

This event aimed to educate people about the different forms of domestic violence, its nature, warning signs, and what to do if you or a loved one is experiencing abuse. Michelle Knipmeyer, a Senior Social Worker for North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic’s Domestic Violence practice, led the event.

Michelle Knipmeyer is a Senior Social Worker at North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic’s Domestic Violence Practice. Knipmeyer is an experienced licensed social worker who has worked in a variety of situations & circumstances to help vulnerable families and individuals in need.

Organizers like Beth McPartlin, the Wellness manager at Harper, were inspired to choose Knipmeyer as the speaker because of her extensive work experience in the area of domestic violence.

“It’s important to bring folks like Michelle [Knipmeyer] to Harper College because we don’t know who might be experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault and so, sometimes it’s an invisible issue and we know statistically that there are students and even employees at Harper who are experiencing sexual assault and domestic violence,” McPartlin said. “it’s important to provide individuals with the resources and the knowledge to understand what it is and to be able to identify it.”

The event started off with a brief technical issue with connecting to the computer in the room to project the presentation. However, Knipmeyer quickly adapted by adopting a more personal approach and opting to sit in front of the audience, facing them, to facilitate a more intimate presentation and discussion.

Later in the presentation, Knipmeyer discussed various forms of manipulation, some of which were intentional while others were not, which took some attendees by surprise.

Madison Stein, a student at Harper who attended the event, discussed a manipulation trick she wouldn’t have known if she hadn’t attended the event.

“One thing I learned is that you shouldn’t control a survivor by saying things like, ‘If you get back together with them, I won’t talk to you,’ because that only makes things worse for them,” Stein said.

Despite the event’s small turnout, a peak attendance of 6 people, there were some attendees asking Knipmeyer questions while also enjoying the light refreshments provided.

Once the event ended, Knipmeyer had one main goal in mind: she wanted the audience to take away from this event.

“The more that we’re talking about it, the better chances people who are suffering from domestic violence have,” Knipmeyer said. “So much of putting an end to domestic violence rests on breaking down that stigma and having awareness and spreading information as much as possible.”