It’s that time of year again: college campuses are welcoming students for the start of a new semester. Incoming first years are buying books, moving into dorms, and brimming with excitement about what lies ahead. Of course, knowing that one in five college women is sexually assaulted or raped on campus and one in three teens experiences dating violence, we all want to make sure they stay safe.
September is National Campus Safety Awareness Month, which aims to call attention to issues of campus safety and help young adults learn how to stay safe and help keep others safe, too. Throughout the month, our friends at loveisrespect are focusing on bystander awareness and discussing how active bystanders can help prevent assault and violence.
According to loveisrespect, being an active bystander means:
- Speaking up if you witness violence or assault
- Taking action if you sense that someone needs help
- Knowing what consent is and what it looks like
- Calling out words or ideas that perpetuate rape culture, misogyny, or gender stereotypes; check out this NPR segment on the power of the peer group in preventing campus rape
The Clery Center is providing professional development trainings each week in September on topics ranging from dating violence and sexual assault to fire safety. Sign up with them to receive email updates and learn more about how your school can keep students safe!
We believe that everyone deserves safe and healthy relationships, on campus or off. If you have a child who is attending college this fall, there are a few things you can do to help them stay safe and cultivate healthy relationships while away at school:
Keep the lines of communication open. Your child might be gaining more independence, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need you anymore. Regular check-ins by phone, email, or Skype can keep you up to date on what’s happening in their lives and let them know that you’re still there for them.
Familiarize yourselves with relevant laws, university policies, and available resources. The Clery Act and Title IX are important to know. Not sure what a school’s sexual assault policies are? Here are 18 questions to ask. Not Alone, the White House’s official website on campus sexual assault, also lists pertinent resources and information about campus sexual assault.
Talk to them about healthy relationships. This should be an ongoing conversation, but it’s always good to go over the basics.
Talk to them about consent. What it is, what it looks like.
Reiterate digital safety. Technology plays a big role in the lives of college students, so staying safe online is still a good topic to discuss
*Article from The National Domestic Violence Hotline*
http://www.thehotline.org/2014/09/campus-safety-awareness-month/