Yeardley Love's Mother Launches Campaign Against Dating Violence
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A college student in her prime is strangled by her abusive boyfriend. Now, Yeardley Love's family is working to make sure she didn't die in vain.
Meghan McCorkell explains how the Loves are warning other young women before it's too late.
The family has created the One Love Foundation in Yeardley Love's honor. Now, they've released a new tool that could prevent domestic violence with the click of a button.
It's a chilling scene of abuse. A boyfriend beats his girlfriend as a crowd watches and does nothing. The shocking public service announcement is part of the Be 1 For Change campaign.
"We don't like to think that it could happen to our daughters, that it could happen to our neighbor's daughters," said Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.
But Sharon Love did lose her daughter. Yeardley Love, 22, was strangled by her boyfriend George Huguely just weeks before she was supposed to graduate from the University of Virginia. Now, her family has created a foundation in her memory.
"The work of the One Love Foundation begins, continues. And Yeardley's legacy begins today," Sharon Love, Yeardley Love's mother told a crowd on Sept. 9.
The One Love Foundation has released a new cell phone app to try and help women who might be in abusive relationships.
The app asks a series of questions about your relationship, then gives a risk assessment of the danger you might be in. Campbell helped develop the program.
"It's meant to make sure that young women who are at high risk get to professional domestic violence services," she said.
It also helps family and friends detect warning signs so that no other family has to go through the pain of losing a daughter to dating violence.
The new app is now available on both iPhones and Androids.
George Huguely, 24, is now serving a 23 years behind bars for the murder of Yeardley Love.
