Dating violence discussed at seminar

Thirty-two percent of students report dating violence by a previous partner, and 21 percent report violence by a current partner, according to the Dating Violence Resource Center and the National Center for Victims of Crime.

During Thursday’s brown bag seminar, sponsored by the Catherine S. Eberly Center for Women, students were provided with information on domestic violence and educated on the dangers of dating violence.

The Dating Violence Resource Center also reports that 39 to 54 percent of dating victims remain in physically abusive relationships. Twelve percent of rapes, 35 percent of attempted rapes and 22 percent of threatened rapes occur on a date.

Lynn Jacquot, director of Young Women Committed to Action, led the presentation.

According to Jacquot, most victims of dating abuse that occurs on college campuses remain quiet about their experience.

Dating violence is abusive, controlling and aggressive behavior and can include physical, as well as verbal, emotional and sexual abuse between partners who are romantically involved, Jacquot said.

Jacquot expressed her concern that students are not properly informed about how to handle situations of domestic violence.

“There’s nothing in the [student] handbook that relates to domestic violence, nothing about civil rights prevention,” she said.

The student handbook suggests mediation between two parties with unresolved issues, but Jacquot said this is actually more dangerous in situations of domestic violence because the victim will likely be afraid to speak about their experience.

While 88 percent of domestic violence victims report their encounters to a friend, only 20 percent report their encounters to criminal justice authorities, she said.

According to Jacquot, student action is required to address the problem of domestic violence on campus.

“Only the students can change what happens on campus, we need to find grants, raise money to change these policies on campus to make it easier for [victims] to seek help,” she said.

Dating violence is a serious issue on campus because it can cause the educational sabotage of victims because people who commit domestic violence crimes are generally controlling, said Director of the Catherine S. Eberly Center for Women, Charlene Gilbert.

According to Gilbert, the majority of domestic violence crimes are acts against women.

“It’s about control and power,” Gilbert said. “He could be keeping her out late and making her skip class. It starts out with something small and gradually builds over time.”

Leia Love, a graduate assistant who works in the Office of Multicultural Student Services, said men should be educated about domestic violence as well as women.

“Men need to be educated as well so that they can tell other men of the issue,” she said. “Men will be more prone to listen to a male voice rather than hearing it from women.”

Jacquot said jealousy, aggression, unstable temper and control are all red flags that could indicate a possible abusive relationship. This includes embarrassing the victim in public, physically restraining the victim and forcing unwanted sexual activity, she said.

Brittany Strickland, a sophomore majoring in education said more people need to be involved in the prevention of domestic violence.

“Domestic violence on campus needs to be addressed because people overlook it; it’s not really at the forefront,” Strickland said.