Sexual assaults, relationship violence and stalking incidents are happening in our community, both locally and nationally, on an appallingly frequent basis.

It is estimated that between 20 percent to 52 percent of high school and college-aged dating couples have engaged in physical abuse, according to a special report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Among National Violence Against Women Survey participants, the lifetime prevalence of all intimate partner victimization for women aged 18 and older was nearly 25 percent and 7.6 percent for men.

A study by the National Institute of Justice found that one out of every five college-aged women report being forced to have sexual intercourse.

At least 10 percent of men in our country have suffered trauma as a result of sexual assault, according to the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. And 74 percent of stalking victims are between 18 and 39 years of age.

I would like to share a resource on the campus that is actively addressing these issues. In order to respond to this widespread problem of sexual and relationship violence, the University Health Center has established a new Sexual Assault Response & Prevention Program.

The program was created to combine the client services of the Office of the Victim Advocate and the outreach programs of the Student Advocates for Education about Rape into one program, coordinated by a full-time staff member.

SARPP provides both direct advocacy services through the SARPP Advocate Office and educational interactive workshops to classes and organizations through the SARPP Education Office. SARPP advocacy services are available to anyone directly or indirectly impacted by sexual violence, relationship violence, stalking or sexual harassment.

SARPP education services are designed to prevent this violence on our campus and in the larger community. Our services are free and confidential.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, which provides many opportunities for our campus community to demonstrate its commitment to ending violence on the campus and in the larger community.

SARPP would like to invite you to participate in the events scheduled this month: the Survivor Garden Oct. 14 (planting from noon to 3 p.m. with a ceremony at 5 p.m. in front of the health center), the Clothesline Project T-shirt making (Oct. 16-17, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Art and Learning Center at the Stamp Student Union) and the project itself (Oct. 22 on Hornbake Mall, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

Please feel free to contact our office for more information on these or other upcoming anti-violence events on the campus.

Allison Bennett is the coordinator of SARPP. She can be reached at abennett@health.umd.edu.