VPVA and October’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month

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By: Angelina Cheng

Domestic Violence (DV) Awareness is a month-long event in October with the intent of raising awareness to domestic violence and supporting individuals who have been affected by it. DV is a type of abuse that occurs within intimate relationships and can encompass any form of abuse: emotional, physical, psychological, sexual, and financial. According to VPVA’s Laura Luciano, “domestic or dating violence is a pattern of controlling or coercive behaviors that occur from one person in an intimate relationship to maintain power and control over another…individuals who abuse use tactics such as intimidation, threats, isolation and stalking.” The last campus climate survey revealed that 56% of Rutgers students have experienced at least one form of abuse in relationships, with emotional abuse being the most common type.

Laura Luciano is the director of the Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance (VPVA) office on campus, a program that focuses on issues of interpersonal violence; sexual violence and harassment, domestic/dating violence, and stalking. “We focus on 3 main areas: direct support for student survivors, awareness and educational programs and primary prevention initiatives. We are a confidential office on campus, however, [and] students are encouraged to attend programs to learn about these issues and how to support friends, engage in primary prevention initiatives to build skills in bystander intervention and healthy relationships and to reach out for support regardless of where or when they experienced violence or abuse.” One healthy relationship series the VPVA offers is called “Don’t Be Afraid to Catch Feels”, which helps participants build skills around boundaries and communication within relationships and is open to all students, regardless of their relationship statuses.

In support of October’s DV Awareness, the VPVA is hosting a myriad of events throughout the month with some including a bystander intervention program called Up2US, another healthy relationship series called “Boo’d Up: Starting a Relationship”, Wear Your Purple Wednesdays and more events that can be found in Rutgers’ Engage page. On September 24th, the campus’ annual Clothesline Project was held. The project is “a visual display to raise awareness about various forms of interpersonal violence and to provide a space for survivors/victims and their loved ones to share. The project is an international initiative and Rutgers Camden has held a line since 2013 — with an annual event since 2017,” according to Luciano. Students, staff, and faculty were able to participate by choosing a shirt that is color-coded to represent a different form of violence and use provided materials to decorate the shirt. Participants often decorated the shirt using their own experiences in the form of quotes or illustrations before adding it to the clothesline. The next VPVA-hosted awareness month takes place in April; Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), of which there will be more events that can also be found on Rutgers’ engage website.

Overall, VPVA works to encourage community support and responsibility in addressing DV — “we are all part of this community, and we all play a role in ending this form of violence. We can work to safely intervene in situations that don’t feel right, share resources and support survivors.” There are resources on campus in conjunction with VPVA, including the Wellness Center and Title IX for victims on campus. Title IX is a federal law that is focused on gender equity in relation to sexual violence and harassment, domestic and dating violence, and stalking. The law requires institutions of higher education to work toward preventing these types of

violence, for employees to report disclosures to university authorities and to provide support and process to address behavior. Regardless of whether or not students pursue the Title IX process, the VPVA is a confidential resource that any affected student can utilize. Students who are affected by domestic violence are not alone, and have access to resources that can help them get out of current situations or find support for previous experiences.

If you or anyone you know has questions or is experiencing any form of violence, you can visit VPVA’s website; https://camden.rutgers.edu/vpva

You can also contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-SAFE) or visit them at https://www.thehotline.org