“I never thought it would happen here.” We hear this statement repeatedly in the aftermath of tragic incidents. Most people want to believe that they are immune from harm, and that their learning and working environments are safe havens. When violence occurs, they often feel blindsided, but in retrospect they can usually identify subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle warning signs.*
The truth is that violence can happen anywhere – even here at NMSU. These are the most common types of interpersonal violence on college campuses.
Relationship Violence can include physical abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, mental abuse, and can be manifested in any of the following ways: slapping, hitting, kicking, shoving, grabbing, choking and biting, the destruction of personal property, prevention from seeing friends and family, belittlement in public and/or private, forceful sex, threats of harming, prevention from going to class/work, controlling & jealous behavior.
Stalking can often begin when an individual has decided to finally leave a domestic violent situation. This is especially true in situations where threats such as “If I can’t have you, nobody will” have been made.
Recently states began to look at “spousal rape” as a serious issue and it is considered to be a third degree felony. Women have a 1 in 4 chances of being sexually assaulted during their college years 98% of victims knew their perpetrators
Child Sexual Abuse
Approximately 3.3 million children witness violence toward their mothers each year. It’s not unusual to have a perpetrator who abuses their spouse, also abuse the children in the home. Many child victims have a greater risk for being re-victimized later in life.
*John Nicoletti, Sally Spencer-Thomas, Christopher Bollinger, from Violence Goes to College