CHAPTER 7: Anti-Domestic and Dating Violence Efforts on Campus: A Case Study of A Holistic Program

Domestic and dating violence are considered among the world’s worst human rights violence, impacting one-third of the world’s women and many men and children. Although typically domestic violence is used to refer only to intimate partners, advocates today use a more holistic definition of the problem that recognizes it as abuse occurring within a family as well as among dating partners (typically called dating violence). While abuse knows no bounds—it can impact anyone regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, social class, sexual orientation or other factors—one group that is particularly vulnerable to abuse is college students (Leonard, Quigley, & Collins, 2002; Sellers & Bromley, 1996; Straus 2008). Despite these high numbers, the problem remains significantly under-reported, in particular on campuses (Schwartz & DeKeseredy, 1997) for many reasons, including lack of knowledge and lack of resources. Campuses may have made rudimentary efforts to address the issue but are often seriously deficient in terms of preventative measures.