By: Rucha Kapshikar
October is National Relationship Violence Awareness Month, a month dedicated to raising awareness on the causes, impacts, and prevalence of relationship violence as well as promoting access to resources for survivors. Relationship violence is also referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV) or domestic violence (DV). This form of violence impacts approximately one in three women and one in four men in the U.S. (3). UNC’s dedicated Violence Prevention and Advocacy Services team works throughout the year to plan events for the month of October that promote the awareness of relationship violence and resources on UNC’s campus.
What is Relationship Violence?
At UNC, Relationship Violence is defined as a “broad spectrum of abusive behavior committed by a current or former romantic or intimate partner.” This abusive behavior includes, but is not limited to, physical, emotional, sexual, and economic abuse as well as the threat of action. Additionally, these threats or abuses can be committed against loved ones (including pets) of the victim or reporting party.
Systemic Causes and Impacts on College Students
43% of college women in the U.S. have reported experiencing violent and abusive dating behaviors. This includes but is not limited to, physical, sexual, digital, emotional, verbal actions and other controlling behaviors. Furthermore, an estimated 80% of incidents of abusive behavior go unreported on a college campus. A major reason for this is that college students typically lack experience in healthy relationship practices, and therefore are more susceptible to missing so-called “red flags” in their dating and intimate lives. Universities fail to provide an accurate depiction of assault statistics on their campus and lack resources on prevention practices. On top of the lack of resources and experience, survivors of violence fear cultural and societal isolation and judgment resulting from reporting their experience.
What Can We Do?
UNC’s Relationship Violence Awareness Month initiative aims to mitigate the lack of awareness college students have on violence prevention and support resources. However, violence occurs all year round, and the need for awareness of resources is rising more than ever. On an individual level, students and faculty can support their peers by utilizing UNC’s frequent HAVEN (Helping Advocates for Ending Violence Now) and OneACT trainings, which educate trainees on best practices for providing support to survivors of violence. It is also important to remain up to date on the available resources at UNC by accessing safe.unc.edu, a one-stop website for all of UNC’s violence prevention and survivor support resources.
The university can support the safety of its students by promoting transparency on assault and violence statistics, as well as integrating education on healthy relationships and sexual practices in the curriculum. It is vital to provide support to survivors once violence has occurred, by supporting them throughout the legal process as well as providing resources for mental and physical healing to promote the survivor’s well-being. Finally, it is important to ensure that repercussions are effective and carried out against perpetrators, as well as promoting prevention practices.
UNC Resources
Violence Prevention Coordinators (VPCs) and Gender Violence Service Coordinators (GVSCs) are located at Suite 101 in the Stone Center (150 South Road, Chapel Hill, NC)
safe.unc.edu
vpas.unc.edu
gvsc.unc.edu
eoc.unc.edu
Chapel Hill Resources
Compass Center
compassctr.org
24 hour DV crisis line: 919-929-7122
210 Henderson St, Chapel Hill, NC
Orange County Rape Crisis Center
ocrcc.org
24 hour phone and text helpline: 919-967-7273
1229 E Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC
Resources
Hi there,
Relationship violence, or intimate partner violence, affects so many individuals in the U.S., and the fact that UNC's Violence Prevention and Advocacy Services team is actively working to raise awareness on their campus is commendable. UNC's Relationship Violence Awareness Month initiative sounds like a step in the right direction, but you're right; awareness and support are needed year-round.
The definition of Relationship Violence you provided covers the different forms of abuse, and it's essential to acknowledge that it's not limited to physical violence but also includes emotional, sexual, and economic abuse, along with threats.
The statistics on college campuses are alarming, with a significant number of college women experiencing abusive behaviors. It's unfortunate that many cases go unreported,…