press releases

"Domestic Violence: Views On Campus" Survey Highlights
(conducted in Summer 1995)

Domestic Violence is a Top-of-Mind Concern for College Students

  • 75% of college students consider domestic violence a major problem in our society and rank it third (along with poverty) among fourteen social problems. Only violent crime and AIDS rank higher.
  • 68% of students disagree that recent media attention to domestic violence has exaggerated how common it is.
  • 59% report they personally know friends, relatives or someone else close to them who have been affected by domestic violence.
  • 62% of students believe programs to make the public more sensitive, fostering an atmosphere of cultural intolerance in our society (61%), and intervention programs such as toll-free numbers and hotlines (58%) would make a difference.
Students Are Nearly Unanimous About the Issue and Where the
Responsibility Lies
  • 98% of college students view domestic violence as a crime and believe the public has a responsibility to help people deal with it.
  • Those surveyed overwhelmingly believe the family (97%) should be in the forefront of addressing this issue. However, most don't believe that domestic violence is solely a family matter (89%). Many think domestic violence service organizations (91%), the court system (83%) and police (81%) have meaningful roles to play, too.
  • 70% of students report they would take action on the spot if they witnessed an act of domestic violence.
Female vs. Male
  • Male and female college students often differ in what they think would be most helpful to themselves and their friends. Although counseling or large-scale national education programs are considered equally effective, nearly three times as many women as men think self-esteem training (45% vs. 16%) would help them.
  • Female students (78%) are even more inclined than their male counterparts (58%) to disagree that despite the abundance of attention to domestic violence, the media has not exaggerated how common it is.
  • Both agree that the public has a responsibility to help people deal with the serious problems of domestic violence (94 % female vs. 92% male). However, female students are considerably more likely to disagree (97%) than male students (81%) that domestic violence is a family matter and others shouldn't get involved.
  • Female and male students indicate different preferences as to how they would get involved. Women would be more likely than men to seek the help of the police (59% vs. 35%), while men would be more inclined to approach the victims at another time (28% vs. 16%).
This survey was commissioned by Liz Claiborne Inc. and conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide. It was based on telephone interviews with 300 college students on campuses across the United States. Complete findings from the survey are available on request from Philip Stevens at pstevens@ptanaka.com.