Because the youth are the future of our society, we must do what is necessary to ensure that they are not experiencing undue violence in relationships.
Continue ReadingThe last three months of the year are among the busiest on college campuses–even when there’s a pandemic. Midterms quickly give way to final exams. Homecoming celebrations push homework aside for many students in the early fall, and a significant number of undergraduate and graduate students prepare to walk across the stage and into a new world. With so much happening at the institutional and individual levels, it’s easy to forget that October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month or that Teen Dating Violence and Sexual Assault Awareness Months are both in the first half of the new year. However, the busyness of campus activities should not force the business of creating a culture of safety for students, and domestic violence out of the picture. Two out of five college women have experienced some violent and abusive dating behaviors, and more than one in five women report physical violence. Cohabitation continues to rise among young adults between the ages of 18-24, with nearly one in ten living with an unmarried partner based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau. These numbers do not take into account students with separate dorm rooms, apartments, or homes who effectively cohabitate by “sleeping over,” […]
The purpose of this toolkit is to provide institutions of higher education with information, strategies, and resources to develop a coordinated community response to addressing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking (DVSAS) on campus.
Continue ReadingThe research reported here was designed to identify the range and scope of policies and practices related to the investigation and adjudication of sexual assault on college campuses in the U.S. The Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) with the assistance of an expert panel of advisory board members has
documented and classified the current landscape (the breadth and differences) of campus approaches to investigations and adjudication of sexual assault.
OVW TA provider, IACP is pleased to announce the publication of a new resource for law enforcement and others who interview victims, the “Successful Trauma Informed Victim Interviewing” document. This document demonstrates how trauma-informed interview techniques can be used to reframe interview questions that may be perceived by a victim as blaming them for their actions in a manner that helps victims retrieve memories from a traumatic event and assists law enforcement in gathering more information while making the victim feel more supported. VIEW DOCUMENT
“A lot of the time people think that we’re young, and so it [the domestic violence] can’t be that bad.” View Kim’s Story “Over the last year of our 4-year relationship, I cannot begin to count the number of times I attempted to break up with him. When I would try he would threaten the safety of me and my family, or threaten to commit suicide.” View Survivors Story “I stayed because I was afraid. I stayed because I was full of shame and embarrassment. I stayed because I knew I would be judged if people found out the truth.” View Survivors Story As difficult as it is to acknowledge, dating violence can happen to anyone. Even children as young as 12 have reported being assaulted by their date or intimate partner. Each February, we highlight the prevalence of dating violence among teens and work together to raise awareness about our campuses and in our community for National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month (TDVAM). Teen dating violence is a community-wide issue that requires youth, parents, schools, organizations, health care providers and entire communities to take intentional and practical steps to reduce the number of young people who are […]
Stalking is a very serious and all-too-common crime. An estimated 6 to 7.5 million people in the United States are stalked every year, according to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey. In fact, because of the prevalence of stalking, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classified it as a public health issue that is critical for individuals and organizations to understand and work to prevent. National Stalking Awareness Month, which is observed each January, is a time to raise awareness about the warning signs of stalking and promote ways people can stay safe if they believe they have a stalker. Throughout this month, we encourage you to learn, take action, and share information to prevent and end stalking on your campus and in your community. LEARN The first step to staying safe is to learn the behaviors that constitute stalking. Stalking can include unwanted appearances or contact at a person’s home, work, or school; leaving strange or potentially threatening items for a person to find; watching, following, or tracking a person; or sneaking into a person’s home or car. As we’ve become more connected digitally, people are also experiencing an increased rate of cyberstalking–stalking […]