Safety Imperative
If You are a Victim of Violence…
Many people in the UK community care about what has happened to you. If you would like assistance or support‚ the Violence Intervention and Prevention Center can assist you in accessing medical‚ counseling‚ academic and/or practical services available both on and off UK’s campus. Please call or visit the Violence Intervention and Prevention Center for more information.
(859) 257–3574 or (859) 257–3564
106 Frazee Hall
Compelling us to Listen‚ Feel and Act.
listen
Listen
To the facts.
63% of UK female students have experienced at least one incident of violence victimization in their lifetime. 36.5% of women students will be victims of sexual assault‚ physical assault and/or stalking while attending UK. The vast majority of victims do not report and do not reach out for help.
feel
Feel
The power of their voices.
“The scary thing is that he probably has no idea what he did. He murdered me that night…”
“I’m telling you this so some other dumb bastard like me will read your little story and not screw up. I came damn close to ruining my life – not to mention ruining that girl’s life…”
“How DARE you make me afraid in my own home? How dare you?! When will this end? When??? The restraining order has not stopped your phone calls. Damn you…. You taught me what it is like to be afraid. Too far. You went too far.”
act
Act
In response to President Todd’s call for UK to address women’s safety on campus and the findings outlined by the Center for Research on Violence Against Women in their report “Status of Women’s Safety at UK: The 2004 Campus Victimization Study‚” Women’s Place has developed an annual campaign entitled “UK’s Safety Imperative.”
UK’s Safety Imperative was developed to invite and compel individuals and groups on campus to take ownership of women’s safety. Violence against women is an issue that too often remains “someone else’s problem” because “it doesn’t affect me.” Under President Todd’s leadership‚ the University of Kentucky is bringing this issue into sharp focus and actively seeking solutions that will result in a safe campus for all members of the UK community‚ thus providing the necessary foundation for UK to truly become one of the nation’s top 20 public research institutions.
Effective and permanent improvement in the status of women’s safety on UK’s campus can only happen with broad cultural change. Students‚ faculty and staff must hear repeatedly‚ at all levels‚ that women’s safety is a priority and that any form of violence against a woman will not be tolerated. Through the Safety Imperative‚ Women’s Place will be asking groups and individuals on campus to make a specific annual commitment to creating a culture of safety for women.
Possible commitments are infinite and limited only by the creativity and commitment of our community. With every voice that is added to this mission‚ the potential to reduce the number of victims on University of Kentucky’s campus is exponentially increased.
The Violence Intervention and Prevention Center will work with individuals and groups in the development of Safety Imperative commitments and will be collecting and coordinating the commitments leading up to and during the first weeks of classes. The commitments will then be posted on the Women’s Place website‚ and acknowledged and supported throughout the year.
Commit to Promoting Safety on Campus!
Click here to send the Violence Intervention and Prevention Center your commitment.
violence intervention and prevention center . university of kentucky . 106 frazee hall . lexington‚ ky . 40506–0031 . (859) 257–3564 . fax (859) 323–3646