Confidence Coalition:

Friends Say the Tough Stuff … So Say It

Kappa Delta has joined forces with the National Domestic Violence Hotline and www.loveisrespect.org, the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline, to launch a dating abuse awareness campaign during International Women’s Friendship Month. The campaign, “Friends Say the Tough Stuff … So Say It,” encourages friends to offer support, advice and intervention when they believe a friend is in an unhealthy relationship.

All 140 KD collegiate chapters will promote awareness, which may include hosting speakers, manning information tables, distributing fliers or placing copies of the poster, pictured at right, around their campuses.

This past June, 1,385 KD collegians participated in a survey sponsored by the sorority about dating abuse on their campuses. Eight-five percent said college women need more information about dating abuse; 46 percent said they have at least one friend who has been in an abusive relationship; and only 30 percent said they would definitely discuss their concerns with friends they believed were in unhealthy relationships.

According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline:
• One in three teens report knowing a friend or peer who has been hit, punched, slapped, choked or physically hurt by his/her partner.
• On the average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends every day.
• Ninety-two percent of women say that reducing domestic violence and sexual assault should be at the top of any formal efforts taken on behalf of women today.

“College should be fun and a place to develop and nurture healthy relationships, yet young women ages 16 to 24 experience the highest rates of relationship violence,” says Dyanne Purcell, CEO of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. “Loveisrespect is proud to partner with Kappa Delta to raise awareness of relationship violence on college campuses and the power of friendship to impact the life of someone being abused.”

For more information on dating abuse, go to www.loveisrespect.org or www.ndvh.org.

PCAA Joins Confidence Coalition

KD announced on Aug. 27 that Prevent Child Abuse America has joined the Confidence Coalition. PCAA was founded in 1972 by Kappa Delta Donna Stone Pesch who was ahead of the times in promoting this cause. Donna brought her belief to Kappa Delta that child abuse cuts across educational and socioeconomic lines. In 1981, the sorority created Shamrock Events to raise funds that would help create awareness and education for the prevention of child abuse. At the heart of PCAA’s work is support for expectant and new parents to get their children off to a healthy start, to promote positive parenting and to prevent the loss of self-confidence that can lead to child abuse and neglect.