Bridgewater College will participate in a public awareness effort aimed at stopping dating violence on college campuses from Oct. 3-7.
The project, called “The Red Flag Campaign,” helps students identify “red flags” for dating violence in their friends’ relationships and encourages them to intervene. It features a series of eight posters that illustrate “red flags” that might be present in a relationship in which dating violence is occurring. The campaign is a result of the combined work of students, faculty, and victim advocates from nearly 20 colleges and universities.
According to Heidi Hoover, Bridgewater College’s Title IX coordinator, college students are at extremely high risk of either acting as perpetrator or being a victim of dating physical or sexual violence during their college years. She said that 32 percent of college students report dating violence by a previous partner, and 21 percent report violence by a current partner. Hoover also noted that 12 percent of completed rapes, 35 percent of attempted rapes and 22 percent of threatened rapes occur on a date.
More than half of college males admit perpetrating one or more sexual assault incidents during college.
“Friends have an influential role in intervening in dating violence not only with the victim, but also with the abusive partner,” Hoover said. “Peer groups have the ability to provide safety and support and can also dictate what behaviors are unacceptable. The key is helping college students harness their power to change the cultural tolerance of violence in relationships.”
For more information on what constitutes dating violence, how to help, or how to get help for a friend, visit www.TheRedFlagCampaign.org.
Bridgewater College is a private, four-year liberal arts college located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Founded in 1880, it was the state’s first private, coeducational college. Today, Bridgewater College is home to nearly 1,900 undergraduate students.
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