UH works with hui against dating violence

Amid federal mandates calling on college campuses to better protect students from dating violence, the University of Hawaii is working with nearly two dozen domestic violence service providers to support student victims and survivors of abusive relationships.

The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which President Barack Obama signed in 2013, expanded the rights afforded to campus survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. Under the law, colleges and universities are required to adopt policies to address and prevent campus sexual violence.

“The recent legislation around college campuses includes what they’re now calling the ‘Big Four’: sex assault, which was always there, stalking, domestic violence, dating violence. So those three are newer, and campuses, I think, are only now beginning to understand the prevalence,” said Jennifer Rose, who leads the UH system Office of Institutional Equity. “Now we have this issue of these prohibited behaviors that we have to address, but how do we do it responsibly?”

The university is finalizing an agreement with the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which represents more than 20 organizations, as well as working with the Honolulu-based Domestic Violence Action Center to provide on-site resources at some campuses.

“We are excited to partner with two respected community organizations that share the goal of improving responsiveness to gender- based violence,” UH President David Lassner said. “A critical part of the university’s efforts to ensure safety for everyone on our campuses is building an institutional infrastructure that supports victims.”

Nanci Kreidman, CEO of the Domestic Violence Action Center, said her organization recently secured a two-year, $388,474 grant through the attorney general’s office that will fund a pilot program at four UH campuses: UH West Oahu and Honolulu, Leeward and Windward community colleges. She said the program will provide on-site services that run the gamut from advocacy and case management to legal resources.

“It’ll be support for a person as they navigate their way from danger to safety. That could be a different set of challenges for everybody,” Kreidman said.

“So maybe they need housing, maybe they need to communicate with their kids’ school, maybe they need a restraining order, maybe they need their tires replaced after they’ve been slashed, maybe they need a divorce,” she said. “It’s sort of a windy path; it’s not a straight line. Our staff help people make the decisions to take the steps to get there, which is safety and self-sufficiency.”

Advocates say domestic and dating violence — which can include verbal, emotional, physical and sexual abuse — are far more common than sexual assaults, especially among college-age women.

Rose, a former attorney and an advocate for domestic violence victims before joining UH, said the public generally doesn’t understand the complexity of domestic violence.

“That’s what good advocacy does: It speaks for someone who doesn’t have a voice,” Rose said. “We can’t just give brochures.”

Mykie Ozoa, 26, who’s in her final year of law school at UH-Manoa, said she was in an abusive relationship while she was an undergraduate at UH. Ozoa, who describes herself as an outspoken domestic abuse survivor, gave the Honolulu Star-Advertiser permission to use her name.

She said she would have benefited from the types of support and resources the university now has available for victims and survivors.

“I was on campus every day for class, and he was tracking everything — he knew my class schedule, he knew my work schedule, he knew where I parked for school,” she said. “Knowing that there will be trained experts on campuses who know the dynamics and are trained in safety planning, especially, that makes me extremely happy.”

She added that in her experience, five years ago “the only help that I got was not institutional. It was brave, feminist, loving professors that I had who I felt I could disclose to.”