The Red Flag Campaign
With a grant from the Verizon Foundation, Doorways has partnered with Northern Virginia college campuses on The Red Flag Campaign, a new dating violence awareness campaign developed by the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance.
Dating Abuse on College Campus’s in an epidemic crime affecting 1/3 women between the ages of 16-24 nationally. Below is more information on the issue and the importance of raising awareness:
- Women age 16 to 24 experience the highest per capita rate of intimate partner violence. (US Department of Justice)
- 22% of all rape victims are between the usual college ages of 18-24. (Kilpatrick, Edmunds, CN, Seymour)
- 75% of male students and 55% of female students involved in date rape had been drinking or using drugs. (Koss)
- Victims of dating abuse are not only at increased risk for injury, they are also more likely to engage in binge drinking, suicide attempts, physical fights, and currently sexual activity. (CDC 2006)
- Rates of drug, alcohol, and tobacco use are more than twice as high in girls who report physical or sexual dating abuse than in girls who report no abuse. (Plichta 1996).
- Dating abuse is associated with unhealthy sexual behaviors that can lead to unintended pregnancy, sexually-transmitted diseases, and HIV infections. (Silverman et al. 2001).
- Abusive dating experiences during adolescence may disrupt normal development of self-esteem and body image. (Ackard and Neumark-Sztainer 2002).
- Adolescents in abusive relationships often carry these unhealthy patterns of abuse into future relationships. (Smith et al. 2003).
The ultimate goal of the Red Flag Campaign is to increase awareness about these issues and what is healthy and unhealthy in a dating relationship. Ultimately we want to educate friends, family members, and co-workers on how they can help someone experiencing dating abuse by being aware of the warning signs. This campaign educates students, faculty and staff and what resources are available in the Arlington community.
For more information about the campaign and upcoming events, please contact the Doorways Community Resources Manager at 703-522-8858 x 13 or volunteer@doorwaysva.org
Sponsored by the Verizon Foundation
