In March, we ran an article titled SQNews talks to AIDA cofounder Vanessa Silva-Collins. The article said that AIDA (Awareness Into Domestic Abuse) had hosted a first-ever event for survivors of domestic violence at the California Institute for Women.
This information was not accurate, and we would like to extend our apologies to the brave folks at CIW who built the event from the ground up. This was actually CIW’s second Domestic Violence Event, the first taking place in 2021. AIDA did not host the event; rather, as an invitee, they set up a resource booth to offer important information to the incarcerated.
Vanessa Silva-Collins contacted us to make a correction. “AIDA did not host the event and was only a participant,” she wrote. “We don’t want to take credit away from the actual people who hosted the event.”
CIW’s DV event was originally proposed by resident Kym Cano and brought to life through collaborative efforts between prison staff, IAC reps, and incarcerated survivors and abusers alike.
Kym reached out to set the record straight and convey the inspiration behind her original proposal: “I noticed a great need for a [Domestic Violence] event here at CIW,” she wrote, “because the majority of incarcerated women at CIW have experienced DV at some point in their lives. Many inmate survivors and abusers have Post Traumatic [Stress] Disorder, anxiety,
