October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. On college campuses, it is an important reminder that domestic abuse does not always look like the relationships people traditionally associate with domestic violence. Students may not be married, live together, share finances, or have children. A relationship may have lasted only a few months. That does not mean violence within the relationship is any less serious—or that a college has no responsibility to respond.
Federal law expressly recognizes dating violence as a form of sexual harassment covered by Title IX. For college students, that distinction matters. An abusive relationship can affect far more than a student’s personal life when the person who harmed them attends the same school.
Dating Violence Can Become a Campus Problem Even When the Relationship Was Private
One of the difficult realities of dating violence in college is that breaking up may not create meaningful separation.
An ex-partner may live in the same residence hall or apartment complex. The students may belong to the same fraternity or sorority, athletic program, club, or friend group. They may take classes in the same department, eat in the same dining halls, study in the same library, or regularly cross paths walking across campus.
Technology can make that proximity even harder to escape. An abusive former partner may repeatedly call or message a student, monitor their location, access accounts, impersonate them online, threaten to distribute intimate images, contact their friends, or use social media to keep track of where they are.
As a result, conduct that began within a dating relationship can interfere directly with a student’s ability to participate in college life. A student may begin skipping a particular class because their former partner is enrolled in it, avoiding the gym or dining hall, staying somewhere other than their assigned housing, withdrawing from activities, or changing routines simply to avoid an encounter.
That is one reason campus dating violence should not be treated solely as a private relationship problem.
Is Dating Violence Covered by Title IX?
It can be.
Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. Under the Title IX regulations currently being enforced by the U.S. Department of Education, sexual harassment includes sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. The Department returned to enforcement of the 2020 Title IX regulations after a federal court vacated the 2024 regulations in January 2025.
For purposes of these protections, dating violence generally means violence committed by someone who is or has been in a romantic or intimate social relationship with the victim. In determining whether such a relationship existed, factors include the length and type of relationship and how frequently the individuals interacted.
This matters because students sometimes assume that Title IX applies only to sexual assault or traditional sexual harassment. Dating violence is expressly included in the federal regulatory definition.
The facts of a particular case still matter. Title IX has requirements concerning when and where a school’s obligations are triggered, and conduct that falls outside the scope of a formal Title IX proceeding may implicate other school policies or state law.
A Student Does Not Have to Wait for a Title IX Case to Ask for Support
Reporting dating violence does not necessarily mean that a student must immediately commit to a full disciplinary proceeding.
When a college has actual knowledge of sexual harassment covered by Title IX, the Title IX Coordinator must contact the complainant to discuss the availability of supportive measures, consider the student’s wishes regarding those measures, and explain the process for filing a formal complaint. Supportive measures are available whether or not a formal complaint is filed.
Depending on the circumstances and what is reasonably available, those measures can include changes to class or work schedules, housing changes, extensions of academic deadlines, campus escort services, counseling, increased security, or restrictions on contact between the parties.
For someone experiencing campus dating violence, these measures can be significant. The immediate concern may not be punishment. It may be figuring out how to attend class without encountering a former partner, remain in campus housing safely, complete coursework after missing school, or stop unwanted contact from disrupting daily life.
Students at colleges and universities may also have protections under the Clery Act. Institutions subject to its requirements must provide victims of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking with written information about their rights and options, including available assistance and changes to academic, living, transportation, and working situations when reasonably available. These protections do not depend on a victim making a report to law enforcement.
Dating Violence May Involve More Than One Form of Misconduct
An abusive relationship rarely fits neatly into a single legal label.
Physical violence may be accompanied by sexual assault. A former partner may continue contacting or following a student after the relationship ends, potentially raising concerns about stalking. Threats may be delivered through text messages or social media. Technology may be used to track the student’s location or gain access to private information. An abusive partner may possess intimate photographs or videos and threaten to distribute them.
That overlap can affect both the protections a student requests and the evidence relevant to a campus proceeding.
For example, a string of messages that looks insignificant when viewed one message at a time may take on a different meaning when considered alongside repeated appearances outside a student’s residence hall, demands for the student’s location, threats, prior violence, or attempts to contact the student through friends after direct communication has been blocked.
For this reason, a campus dating violence matter should be evaluated based on the full course of conduct rather than only the most obvious incident.
A Campus Process Is Different From a Criminal Case or Protection Order
Students should also understand that reporting dating violence to a college is not the same thing as reporting a crime to law enforcement.
A Title IX proceeding is an institutional process governed by federal law and school policies. A criminal investigation is conducted through law enforcement and prosecutors under applicable criminal law. Depending on the jurisdiction and circumstances, a victim may also be able to seek a civil protection order through the courts.
These options can sometimes proceed at the same time, but they serve different purposes and operate under different rules.
That distinction can become particularly important when a student is deciding where to report, what information to provide, or how participation in one proceeding could affect another. Students facing overlapping campus, criminal, or civil proceedings may benefit from legal advice about how those processes interact before making significant decisions.
Students Can Have an Advisor During Campus Proceedings
College disciplinary proceedings involving allegations of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking include procedural protections for both parties. Students have the opportunity to be accompanied by an advisor of their choice during covered institutional disciplinary proceedings.
An advisor does not have to be a lawyer. But dating violence cases can involve difficult questions about evidence, witnesses, school policies, supportive measures, parallel criminal proceedings, protection orders, and the presentation of a pattern of conduct that developed over the course of a relationship.
Legal counsel can help a student understand the process, identify relevant evidence, prepare for interviews or hearings, evaluate proposed supportive measures, and advocate for the student’s rights throughout the proceeding.
Understanding Your Options After Campus Dating Violence
Domestic Violence Awareness Month provides an opportunity to increase awareness of dating violence, including the unique challenges it can present for college students.
When two students attend the same college, ending an abusive relationship may not end their contact. They may continue to share classes, housing, activities, social circles, or other parts of campus life. Dating violence can also overlap with stalking, sexual assault, technology-facilitated abuse, or threats involving intimate images.
Students experiencing campus dating violence may have options through Title IX and other campus processes, as well as through the civil or criminal legal system depending on the circumstances. Understanding how those options differ—and how they may intersect—can help a student make informed decisions about what comes next.
ALM Law represents students navigating Title IX matters involving dating violence, stalking, sexual assault, and other forms of sexual misconduct. We help students understand their rights, evaluate their options, and navigate campus proceedings when dating violence affects their safety or access to their education.