According to the National Coalition against Domestic Violence (NCADV), domestic and dating violence includes intimidation, emotional abuse, threats, physical violence, and sexual violence. The abuse is part of a “systematic pattern” of behavior the abuser uses to have power over and control of an intimate partner.
It is also something students experience–and something that the Campus SaVE Act (the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act of 2014) compels colleges and universities to know more about.
The Companion app, explain the University of Michigan students, provides more immediate safety. “If the user strays off their path, falls, is pushed, starts running, or has their headphones yanked out of their phone, the app detects these changes in movement and asks the user if they’re OK. If the user is fine, they press a button on the app to confirm within 15 seconds. If they do not press the button, or a real emergency is occurring, the Companion app transforms the user’s phone into a personal alarm system that projects loud noises to scare criminals from the scene, and gives the option to instantly call the police.”
