There have been three reports of dating violence from UCAPD since Feb. 8.

According to UCAPD’s Clery Annual Security and Fire Safety Report from 2022 to 2023, there were eight dating violence on-campus incidents in 2020, four in 2021 and three in 2022. 

There were six residence hall incidents in 2020, four in 2021 and one in 2022. 

UCAPD arrested a man for public intoxication Feb. 17 after he harassed his ex-girlfriend.

The victim said he called her 17 times, demanding his belongings. 

She retrieved them, but he refused to leave and demanded several gifts he had given her back.

He refused to let her return to her dorm by herself, and she said that she tried to walk away for the next 20 minutes and that he grabbed her arm at one point. 

Surveillance footage corroborated the woman’s story and showed the man grabbing her arm several times to pull her back forcibly.

According to the UCAPD report, the police heard him calling her a “whore” and “slut” several times when she called.

Another female victim said her ex-boyfriend threatened to kill her Feb. 15 if she didn’t unblock him on her phone and to shoot up the dorm if she didn’t let him in. 

After letting him in, he made sexual advances, and she demanded that he leave.

He returned and threatened her to let him in again; she did, and he tried to make advances on her again.

According to the UCAPD report, the man sent messages to the woman’s friend instructing her to tell his ex-girlfriend, “I’ll kill that mf [motherfucker].”

The woman said she didn’t want to press charges, and the officer banned him from campus and said if she allowed him back, she would be charged.

Another female victim said a male suspect on Feb. 8 refused to leave her dorm, threw her TV to the ground and pushed her down. 

When she fell, her phone’s screen protector cracked.

The man said it was self-defense and that she pushed him first. 

He refused to provide a statement and UCAPD advised him not to return to campus.

The police said that he might be investigated and could receive domestic charges because of their history of an intimate relationship.

Susan Sobel, director of the Counseling Center, said sometimes red flags start as yellow flags, such as jealousy or always wanting to be with you, that people may think are attractive.

She said some red flags to look out for in relationships are “people being very disrespectful, cruel, trying to isolate you, being demeaning, if they are not respecting your space in terms of always wanting to be around you … if they don’t respect your space physically — want to have physical or sexual contact when you’ve said no.”

“The most common dynamic or dyad is male perpetrator to female victim, but it can happen the other way,” Sobel said. “Women can be abusive to men …  and it can happen in same-sex or nonbinary [relationships]. Any type of couple can have a domestic violence situation.”

She said dating violence can negatively impact a student’s academic performance and mental health.

“It can make it harder to get things done, to feel good about yourself, to concentrate. If it’s repeated and ongoing … there are cases of women who suffer pretty much chronic head injuries, which starts to affect their ability to regulate emotions and concentrate.”

Sobel said, “It can be difficult for people who are essentially trapped — the relationship has gotten pretty well-established — it can be very difficult to leave. In fact, it can be dangerous.”

She said the Counseling Center offers individual counseling and resources on their website for victims.

“We can offer other resources, as far as access to, if it’s extreme enough, shelter,” she said. “If the person needs financial help, we can connect them with the offices that manage that and talk to them about their options if they decide it’s something they want to try and report.”

Sobel said if a student wishes to report it, they have the options of UCAPD, the Dean of Students Office and the Title IX Coordinator Adam Rose.

“Whatever we do here is confidential unless we think somebody is in imminent danger,” she said.

She said students can fill out a “student of concern” form to report alarming or threatening behavior, which can be obtained at the Dean of Students Office and UCAPD, and the CARE Team will assess the report and provide resources.

“No one deserves to be treated poorly to where they feel bad about themselves, or they’re actually being injured,” she said.

Sobel said, “Even if people aren’t directly involved in or aware of domestic violence, I think it’s important for any college student to know what healthy relationships are.”

Haley Harold, an advocate at Rise House, an emergency shelter for adults and children facing domestic violence located in Conway, explained the difference between dating and domestic violence.

“I feel like domestic violence usually would involve an already-established relationship, and there’s a pattern of behavior that goes on over a certain amount of time, as opposed to dating violence, and you can be together for a short amount of time and then a violent incident would occur,” Harold said.

“We are a 21-bed shelter, where we help men, women and children. We have group nights, which include art therapy, life skills. We provide transportation … we help people get jobs, file for an order of protection,” she said.

Harold said the average stay is three to six months, and it stays “pretty full.”

“We’ll get new people regularly,” she said.

The National Domestic Hotline number is 800-799-7233.

Rise House’s hotline is 866-358-2265.