Some of you may have noticed recent media attention given to sexual assault on college campuses.  Nationwide research indicates that 1 in 5 young women have been sexually assaulted while they’re in college. In response to the disturbing statistics, President Obama created the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault in January 2014.  This task force later issued an extensive report, Not Alone, with recommendations for preventing and addressing occurances of sexual assault. Please be assured that The College of New Jersey is committed to preventing sexual assault and other forms of power- based personal violence.  Moreover, TCNJ has been noted as an institution at the forefront of prevention and utilizing strategies cited in the White House Report as best practice.  However, despite TCNJ’s commitment to student safety, these crimes have occurred here on campus just as they have in every other community across the nation.

Please know:

• People between the ages of 16 to 24 years old are most vulnerable to experiencing sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, and stalking.
•  AVI offers confidential counseling and support services for students who have been directly or indirectly impacted by power-based personal violence (i.e. sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, and stalking).  Resources, information, advocacy and referrals are offered to ensure survivors’ emotional, physical, and legal needs are addressed.
• Sexual assault is against state and federal law and is in violation of the TCNJ Student Conduct Code. Behavior of this kind will not be tolerated and could ultimately result in expulsion from this institution.
• TCNJ utilizes campus-wide initiatives, such as the Green Dot Strategy and Student Anti-Violence Education (SAVE) Peer Educators, to establish a culture of safety at TCNJ, increase awareness, enhance skills, and promote pro-social bystander behavior.

Rather than simply hope power-based personal violence goes away, TCNJ’s office of Anti-Violence Initiatives is dedicated to raising the visibility of these issues, leading the violence prevention efforts, and providing counseling and advocacy services to victims and survivors.

---

Anti-Violence Initiatives was created through the Grant to Reduce Violent Crime Against Women on Campus program from the U.S. Department of Justice – Office on Violence Against Women. The Office operates according to the CARE philosophy of CHOICE ~ ADVOCACY ~ RESPECT ~ EMPOWERMENT, emphasizing these values in all aspects of the victim-service response.