Understanding College Staff's Experiences in Responding to Student Domestic Violence Victims

The purpose of this study was to explore campus violence from the perspective of the campus staff members who work with directly with domestic violence victims. Current research that focuses on the experiences that campus staff members have in working with student domestic violence victims is limited. A qualitative approach using exploratory and inductive research was used to analyze seven interviews from campus staff who had personal experience working with student domestic violence victims. Participants were asked to describe their thoughts about campus violence and their thoughts on ways to improve existing campus policies, procedures, and programs to continue reducing violence on campus. Participants identified key themes and ideas that could improve campus safety, such as continuing using Green Dot and having a more collaborative campus message that does not tolerate violence towards women. Participants also mentioned services such as anonymous reporting or confidential reporting was important to help increase reporting of domestic violence. These themes demonstrate an importance for understanding college staff perspectives as these staff have an intimate working knowledge of the campus and how to improve safety measures for all students.