The murder of UW staff member Rebecca Griego just over a month ago has sparked many questions nationwide regarding how to prevent violence in the workplace.

It has also led one local organization to use the incident as an example in their fight against the broader spectrum of oppression against women.

Last night, the Radical Women, a community activist women’s group, met to discuss the reasons and possible solutions for preventing violence against women in all settings. The group also addressed the need for stricter policy and an overall greater awareness in order to protect against future tragedies.

Attendees touched on a myriad of issues and presented differing opinions concerning the current problems and some steps to preventing discrimination and domestic violence towards women.

Yet, a consensus existed regarding Griego’s case: action must be taken immediately.

“We cannot wait until someone is killed to enforce protection,” attendee Helen Gilbert said.

The meeting held an overall focus on urging both the University and the UWPD to explain their policy with the workplace violence-prevention assessment team at the Department of Human Resources, under which Griego was protected at the time.

Group member Mary Ann Curtis called for the UWPD to answer questions as to why that policy seemed to fail at such a critical time.

“We want a town meeting asking for police to answer why they didn’t follow policy and what they will do in the future,” she said. “The UW’s negligence has been widely publicized, and to date they haven’t said anything as to why.”

The group is collecting names for a petition to be sent to President Mark Emmert, asking for a public hearing with the UWPD, and training and funding to prepare administrators and staff for the dangers of violence in the work place.

One attendee seemed shocked that more action was not taken even when Griego stepped forward.

“I was really surprised how public she was [with] this whole thing,” attendee Gina Petry said.

Another cited the cooperation and help from Griego’s co-workers.

“Her supervisors and co-workers tried their best to protect her, even putting themselves in jeopardy,” Bernadette Logue said.

The group hopes the UW will acknowledge their efforts and take action as early as next month.

“We want to make something happen before the students leave school in June,” Curtis said. “We also want to call on our organizations on campus to do more and respond.”

One attendee couldn’t help but ask the question on many group members’ minds.

“Why wasn’t the system used? Why aren’t we hearing ‘why?’” Susan Platt asked. “There has to be a sense that the ball was dropped on the procedures in place.”

Reach reporter Brad Zimmerman at news@thedaily.washington.edu.