Beyond the Silence: NevadaCARES and the Fight for Healthy Relationships at UNR This Domestic Violence Awareness Month
October marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a critical time to shine a light on an issue that impacts countless lives, including those right here within our University of Nevada, Reno community. At UNR, NevadaCARES stands as a beacon of support, working tirelessly to foster a campus culture where seeking help is not only accepted but encouraged, and where every individual can access the services they need to heal and thrive.
Since 2015, NevadaCARES has been deeply committed to addressing sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking on our campus, primarily through vital prevention efforts. You’ve likely seen their impact through comprehensive outreach, engaging training, and impactful educational programs designed to empower the community. Recognizing the profound need for more direct support, the project significantly expanded in 2022 adding an advocacy center. This expansion allows us to offer confidential advocacy services directly to UNR students, and the university community ensuring that support is readily available for those who have experienced these traumatic events.
Confidential Advocacy: A Lifeline on Campus
The Advocacy Center provides a safe, discreet space where individuals can receive personalized support. Advocates assist clients through the complex process of making informed decisions, accessing crucial support networks, examining their feelings, and exploring the profound impact and meaning of their experiences. A vital component of healing from trauma is connection to resources, and The Advocacy Center serves as a crucial link – connecting individuals to essential campus-based services and broader community programs. Privacy is a priority, and all advocacy services are confidential. NevadaCARES is there to listen, support, and guide without judgment, empowering individuals to navigate a path forward.
Breaking the Cycle: How Advocates Offer a Path to Safety
Domestic violence is insidious because it often follows a predictable Cycle of Violence, trapping individuals in a pattern that can feel impossible to escape. This cycle typically includes:
Tension Building: Stress, arguments, and growing hostility; the victim tries to appease the abuser.
Incident of Abuse: Physical, emotional, sexual, or financial violence occurs.
Reconciliation/Honeymoon Phase: The abuser apologizes, makes promises, showers the victim with affection, and downplays the abuse.
Calm: The abuse stops for a period, making the victim hope for lasting change. (Walker, 1979)
Without intervention, this cycle repeats, often escalating in severity over time. This pattern can be particularly confusing and damaging for young adults, many of whom are navigating their first serious, long-term relationships during their time at university. They may lack prior experience of what a healthy, fulfilling relationship truly looks like, making it difficult to identify controlling behaviors as abusive or to understand that they deserve more.
This is precisely where a NevadaCARES advocate steps in to interrupt this destructive pattern. An advocate provides:
Validation and Education: Helping individuals understand that what they are experiencing is abuse, not their fault, and that the cycle is a common dynamic. This knowledge can be a powerful first step out of denial and self-blame.
Safety Planning: Working collaboratively to develop strategies for physical and emotional safety, whether it involves leaving the relationship, securing housing, or navigating legal protections.
Resource Connection: Linking individuals to academic accommodations, counseling services, legal aid, medical care, and off-campus domestic violence shelters or support groups.
Empowerment: Supporting individuals in regaining their autonomy and making their own choices, restoring a sense of control that abuse often strips away.
During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we urge everyone in the UNR community to be informed, to speak out, and to remember that help is available. NevadaCARES is here for you, offering a confidential hand and a clear path toward safety, healing, and the healthy relationships everyone deserves.
References
Walker, L. E. A. (1979). The battered woman. Harper & Row.
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