At CAPS, we’re dedicated to the prevention of power-based personal violence in our community. Power-based personal violence is an umbrella term we use for sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, and stalking. We have a specialized branch of services dedicated to preventing and addressing violence through a collaborative team of professional staff, student interns, and peer educators. You’ll hear this small group of people and larger community efforts referred to as “Anti-Violence Initiatives.”
We work with our community partners to create a campus environment that is intolerant of abuse and responsive to the needs of victims/survivors. Our objective is to establish a campus culture for safety, free from power-based personal violence, resulting in a safer living and learning environment. In providing services to the campus, we boil it down to three words: counseling, advocacy, and prevention.
Counseling – Victim/Survivor Services
The AVI counselors within CAPS are specially trained to treat the impact of trauma through a variety of modalities. The experience of each person impacted by power-based personal violence is unique. Tuning into what you want or need may help determine which kinds of treatment you choose to pursue. Consistent with all services at Counseling and Prevention Services, counseling at the AVI branch is free and confidential. We offer brief, individual counseling, referral assistance, and crisis intervention appointments, as well as psychoeducation-focused group workshops. If you want to begin your healing process but are unsure how to start, AVI can be a great option.
Advocacy
AVI counselors are also trained advocates and can assist you in identifying your needs and help you understand the many options available to those impacted by power-based personal violence. These options can include medical resources, long-term counseling options, legal and campus (Title IX) adjudication options, academic and/or housing accommodations, and more. AVI can also provide a service called “safety planning”, which can help to ensure your physical and emotional safety. This service may involve other offices or services around campus, to which we can facilitate connection and provide accompaniment.
Prevention
Anti-Violence Initiatives (AVI) leads the power-based personal violence prevention efforts in our TCNJ community. In order to do this, we implement an array of research-based programming and tools that show effective promise in decreasing the prevalence of violence in higher education communities. We aim to not only meet standards set by federal and state legislation but also to address various subtle aspects of our culture/society that are known to contribute to violence. In accordance with CDC guidance, AVI employs a multi-vector approach to violence prevention that aims to engage the individual student, their surrounding systems, and larger spheres of influence and incorporates multiple exposures to prevention education and skill-building across each student’s time at TCNJ.