Student Health/Wellness: Domestic Violence

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month!

Soon you will begin to see red flags in the ground around buildings and you will also see a multitude of posters from the Red Flag campaign around campus. This is a Virginia sponsored program to promote dating violence awareness. If you have any concerns about where these posters are placed please let Student Health know!

There will also be a talk given by a speaker of the James House Intervention/ Preventions Services on the First floor of Patriot Hall on October 6th. All students are invited just bring an ID! It will begin promptly at 7:00 p.m.

Definition

Domestic violence and emotional abuse are behaviors used by one person in a relationship to control the other. Partners may be married or not married; heterosexual, gay or lesbian; living together, separated or dating.

Examples of abuse include:

• name-calling or putdowns
• keeping a partner from contacting their family or friends
• witholding money
• stopping a partner from getting or keeping a job
• actual or threatened physical harm
• sexual assault
• stalking
• intimidation

Violence can be criminal and includes physical assault (hitting, pushing, shoving, etc.), sexual abuse (unwanted or forced sexual activity), and stalking. Although emotional, psychological and financial abuse are not criminal behaviors, they are forms of abuse and can lead to criminal violence.