Clark State College has ushered in the new year with a new name and a newly adopted campaign aimed at keeping students safe and aware of domestic violence.
The Red Flag Campaign, established and made national in 2007, was developed by sexual and domestic violence prevention experts, college students, victim advocates and college personnel in Virginia.
The Red Flag Campaign uses a bystander intervention strategy to address and prevent sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking on college campuses. The campaign encourages friends and other campus community members to say something when they see warning signs - or "red flags" - for sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking in a friend’s relationship.
“It’s a public awareness campaign aimed at changing social norms,” said Melinda Van Noord, counseling services coordinator at Clark State. ‘The intent is to focus on bystander intervention and helping students recognize when their friends are in troubled relationships; when they see the red flag, the warning signs, [we want them] to say something. We want people to speak out when they see something wrong.”
Van Noord said the Red Flag Campaign is visual with the main focus being literal red flags posted around campus. Educational posters will also be displayed explaining the different forms of abuse from coercion to sexual assault, and how to properly respond. Social media and awareness education programming will also be a part of the campaign.
Clark State's Sexual Violence Prevention Team, established in 2020, will utilize the Red Flag Campaign in campus programming such as awareness events and prevention trainings. The purpose of the campaign is to encourage students to "say something" when they see warning signs ("red flags") for dating violence in their friends’ relationships.
“According to the CDC, 36 percent of college students have experienced some sort of abusive behavior,” said Van Noord. “It’s one of the common reasons that people seek counseling at Clark State. I think the Campaign will work well with our campus. Because we aren’t a residential campus, a lot of students come to us with concerns happening at home.”
In recognition of Stalking Awareness Month, Clark State's Sexual Violence Prevention Team is holding Stalking Awareness training as part of the college's Red Flag Campaign programming
The Stalking Awareness training will begin at 3 p.m., Wednesday, January 27 with Emily Parsons, Victim Advocate for Project Woman presenting.
This session will cover how media portrayals of stalking behavior influence perceptions of healthy vs unhealthy relationships, signs of stalking, stalking rates, and resources for victims.
For more information, contact Clark State Counseling Services at vannoordm@clarkstate.edu or 937.328.7961.
The Red Flag Campaign's goal is to help college students harness their power to change the cultural tolerance of violence in relationships. For more information about the campaign, visit theredflagcampaign.org.
If you or a friend needs immediate help, contact Counseling Services at 937.328.7961, your local domestic violence agency or the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800.799.7233.