2011 • NYS Psychologist - New York State Psychological Association

can be heard, and to help shape policy related to IPV, sexual assault
and other gender related matters throughout CUNY.
Creating a Methodology for Addressing IPV on Campus:
Recommendations
The emotional and psychological effects of relationship violence
can be pervasive and longstanding. For students experiencing
such abuse, their academic futures may be in jeopardy. For
this reason, it is imperative for college campuses to be proactive
in their efforts to address intimate partner violence. A campuswide
coordinated response is needed to address IPV and to educate
the campus community of its inherent dangers. Any such
model should be designed to: 1) educate the college community
about the nature and scope of intimate partner violence; 2) offer
training to key personnel (e.g. counseling, health service providers,
public safety, academic advisors) to respond to student complaints
of IPV; 3) provide campus-based support services to students
in need; and 4) to establish clear standards and a unified,
campus-wide protocol to address IPV that will be put into effect
and enforced.
Educating Students, Educators, Student Support Personnel
and Administrators
In order to prevent occurrences of partner violence, students
need to be aware of what constitutes abusive and coercive behaviors
in relationships and the specific norms of racially and culturally
diverse groups that promote or sanction gender violence. In
order to foster this type of learning, counseling and student affairs/
student support personnel may want to promote a “healthy relationship
campaign” that provides clear definitions and culturally
sensitive examples of the elements of productive relationships
and those of corrosive relationships. Using forums such as new
student orientations, freshmen seminars, and encouraging student
programming among diverse student groups, fraternities,
sororities and clubs is a good start. Such activities should specifically
highlight national statistics of IPV so that students can understand
that they are not alone; identify cultural definitions of intimate
partner violence, noting how they are colored and shaped by
personal experiences, familial background, and racial/ethnic heritage;
explore how cultural pressures to conform to gender role
expectations create opportunities for abuse; and clearly describe
the signs of an abusive personality.
College faculty, staff and administrators, like students, are
frequently unaware of the problem of intimate partner violence.
As such, professional development, faculty support and support
staff training should be made available to educate all members of
the college community. Colleges should develop task forces to
study the problem of IPV on campus and make use of Women’s
Centers that can provide training, workshops and presentations
on issues of partner abuse. Specialized training should be made
available to counseling professionals in learning to identify the
presence of intimate partner violence and treating student victims.
Male students should be actively encouraged to act as allies to
support the eradication of violence against women through their
participation in men’s organizations or other student groups that
encourage advocacy and activism. Faculty too should become
involved and encourage their students’ participation in workshops,
campus-wide presentations, and town-hall summits that address
partner violence. Faculty can bring their classes to such events
and create class assignments attached to them. Encouraging
students to write about and research what they have learned at
such forums can be invaluable. As part of routine health screenings
at college health centers, health center personnel should ask
about the presence of partner violence (just as one would about
alcohol or drug use). Student volunteerism at women’s shelters
should be encouraged so that students may learn, first hand, the
impact of partner and family violence. Finally, academic administrators
should be encouraged to look at the problem of IPV as a
possible cause for student attrition and develop research strategies
to examine the relationship between partner/family violence
and student retention.
Conclusion
Academia, still considered an ivory tower, is not immune to
societal problems. Violence perpetrated against women can be
found on many college campuses. Commuter college students
who experience partner violence at home bring these real world
problems with them into the classroom. Similarly, students living
on campus bring personal lifestyle choices and behaviors into
their new living quarters. Academia cannot afford to ignore these
substantial issues that have every possibility of impacting their
students. Moreover, as colleges become more and more culturally
diverse, our students will bring with them norms from their cultures
and societies that may denigrate women by our standards,
and encourage abusive behaviors. Women students are being
raped, stalked, threatened and violated in a variety of ways, in
their homes and in their relationships. As they attempt to develop
newly defined roles, they risk being confronted with negative responses
to their efforts. Husbands, boyfriends, and lovers who
resent their partner’s efforts toward autonomy and movement
from culturally defined roles may feel incited to violence in order to
restore the order and balance of power in the relationship. Thus,
college counselors, mental health practitioners, and other health
care professionals can take a lead role in addressing a public
health concern and enhancing the experiences of all of our students.
Unless we take an active role in creating policies and procedures
to help students manage these experiences in their lives
and help to cultivate a level of understanding of what constitutes
healthy and appropriate relationships, we will continue to fail
where it matters – in the creation of a civil, peaceful and respectful
society.
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Vol. XXIII No. 2 • Fall 2011 • NYS Psychologist