Breaking the box

“What does it mean to act like a man? What does it mean to act like a lady?” Sam Mickey, ’22, asks middle school students these questions in an exercise called “Breaking the Box” at the YWCA Richmond. Rigid views on gender roles are one of the risk factors in domestic and sexual violence, which Mickey’s work aims to address.

Their career goals solidified during their years at UR. One of Mickey’s favorite classes was a Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies seminar taught by Nathan Snaza called Care, Touch, and Collectives. “I came to understand that the root causes of sexual violence are systems of oppression,” they said.

Mickey joined the on-campus student organization Spiders Against Sexual Assault and Violence and later led the team as president. “I felt drawn to creating a culture where sexual violence is unacceptable,” Mickey says. “Working at CARE — the Center for Awareness, Response, and Education — with Kaylin Tingle also allowed me to implement prevention programming aimed at making campus healthier and safer for all Spiders.”

Mickey now teaches emerging leaders how to become advocates. Mickey brings their students before the Virginia General Assembly to discuss policy as well as help them curate social media accounts and host podcasts. “I would love to deepen the work I am able to do,” Mickey says. “Building a sense of empowerment is key to showing them they can step into these spaces and feel comfortable navigating these conversations.”

YWCA Richmond hosts volunteering opportunities for those looking to get involved. “I see violence prevention as something everyone can be doing,” Mickey says. “[We can all] make spaces safer for survivors. Modeling these behaviors is something that will absolutely change our culture. [Consider] the second part of the prompt [above] … What would it mean to break out of this box? Who would you be?”