The Know Your Power Bystander Social Marketing Campaign originally developed by researchers in New Hampshire has found a new home at the University of California Merced. A grant of $45,000 was made to support the domestic violence prevention program aimed toward college students. The campaign is focused on preventing domestic violence, sexual violence, and stalking through instructing and encouraging the community to become allies in this cause.

Over 250 UC Merced students were involved in creating a portrayal of four typical college scenarios in which bystander behaviors against sexual violence or stalking were demonstrated. The campaign also includes posters displayed throughout the campus, bookmarks distributed with orders, dining hall table tents, products with the Know Your Power logo, and an interactive website.

The movement encourages the community to speak out against sexual violence and to further demonstrate support for survivors. Intervention and prevention of sexual violence, domestic violence, and stalking are key parts of the Know Your Power campaign. The knowledge provided is aimed toward building skills in order to address societal norms that support such violence.

The campaign’s display will run from August to October on the UC Merced campus, and the results will be shared with the University of New Hampshire in order to assess its effectiveness. The evaluation results should be available in spring 2012. Movements such as this one across campuses are a vital part of exchanging information and building power. The campaign images can be viewed here: www.know-your-power-UCMerced.org.

For the rest of this article view http://calcasa.org/campus/ucmerced/.