ABSTRACT
Th e Expect Respect Program at SafePlace in Austin, Texas has partnered with local schools to prevent dating violence, sexual harassment, and bullying for more than 20 years. Th e prevalence of these behaviors and their negative impact on students’ health and safety is widely reported (e.g., AAUW, 2001; Lenhart, 1996; Foshee et al., 1996; Ackard & Neumark-Sztainer, 2002; Coker et al., 2000; Olweus, 1993; Silverman, Raj, Mucci, & Hathaway, 2001; Th ompson, Wonderlich, Crosby & Mitchell, 2001). It has also been suggested that bullying, sexual harassment, and dating violence represent a continuum of interpersonal violence in students’ relationships (Stein, 1995) and studies have linked perpetration of bullying with perpetration of sexual harassment (Pellegrini, 2001) and aggression in dating relationships (Connolly, Pepler, Craig & Taradash, 2000). Molidor, Tolman, and Kober (2000) concluded that dating violence, like other forms of school violence, should be addressed in order to maintain a safe and equitable learning environment for all students.
