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| Courtesy Topeka Capital-Journal |
Eve Ensler’s play, The Vagina Monologues, recently performed at WSU to a sold-out audience, includes the line: “My short skirt is not a reason to rape me.”
Marilynn Ault ’60 knows that. She knows there isn’t any reason for rape or domestic violence. But as the former director of the YWCA’s Battered Women Task Force, Topeka, Kan., she also knows a staggering statistic: One in five women will be abused in their lifetime. Ault retired from the BWTF in January and is enjoying her well-earned rest. For more than 30 years, she was a reassuring presence for the many victims who needed her help.
Although Ault misses the camaraderie of the staff at the BWTF, she’s discovering other ways of spending her time. “There’s life after retirement,” she says with a laugh. “I’ve been reading and going to lunch with friends and just doing things I didn’t have the energy to do before.”
She pauses. “It’s nice not to have to watch the clock like I used to. But I do miss my work — especially hearing about the people we helped.”
— Kerry Jones ’00
