Cal student brings “Secure Steps” to colleges in the fight against intimate partner violence

MENDOCINO CO., 2/26/25 — Florence Zhu was a freshman at UC Berkeley when she first heard about intimate partner violence (IPV) in her community. Only a year later, Zhu was running her own nonprofit organization, inspired by these stories, to fill the gaps in IPV prevention.

IPV is a form of domestic violence characterized as abuse between current or former romantic partners, while domestic violence can also involve family or other household members. According to the California Department of Public Health, around one in five women and one in seven men in the state have encountered physical violence from an intimate partner.