Vice President Joe Biden intensified the new White House push against the rampant sexual violence on college campuses, urging young men to intervene to prevent rape and citing recent outrage at abuses by NFL players as a sign the nation is making progress in a long battle against domestic violence.

“It is evidence that the public is saying: We’re not going to put up with this anymore,” Biden said Friday during a Denver visit with domestic violence victims and law enforcement leaders.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, whose sister was killed in 2002 in a domestic violence situation, had invited Biden to a roundtable discussion to mark the 20th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, which Biden helped push through Congress.

Biden used the occasion to build on a campaign launched Friday against what he and President Barack Obama are calling a persistent, severe problem at colleges. While U.S. Department of Justice statistics show violence against women decreasing overall, the numbers remain high for women ages 14-24.

Biden said high school and college females, engaged recently using social media, repeatedly told leaders “to get the men and boys involved.”

Men have a moral obligation to intervene when they see women facing trouble, particularly at parties involving alcohol with other young men, he said.

“You are a coward if you do not stop him, speak to him,” Biden said.

A pledge being circulated on social media ( itsonus.org) asks men to commit to stand up, intervene or somehow respond to protect women.

“Without consent, no man has a right to touch a woman,” Biden said. “We can change this culture.”

Sitting next to Biden, Hancock opened the discussion among domestic violence victims, advocates of better services and law enforcement officials, including Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey. Denver residents report about 4,000 incidents of domestic violence a year, Hancock said.

“We know there are probably twice as many cases that do not get reported,” he said.

City leaders are trying to set up a one-stop center for domestic violence victims. The idea is to offer counseling, legal help, job searches and other services at a single location “that is hospitable, welcoming and warm for the victim,” Hancock said.

So far, project backers have raised $8 million for the $13 million Rose Andom Center, named for a domestic violence victim who went on to become a successful businesswoman. Andom launched fundraising with a $1 million contribution. A building downtown at 1330 Fox St. has been acquired and officials said work will begin within a month.

Andom sat with Biden as he decried “a god-awful, virulent form of violence.”

He has called the Violence Against Women Act, which he helped push through Congress in 1994, his proudest legislative accomplishment. It set tougher penalties for stalking and domestic violence and cast violence against women as a violation of civil rights and human dignity.

Biden also anchored a fundraiser for Democratic congressional candidate Andrew Romanoff. Political candidates here and around the nation are jockeying for support from women voters.

Bruce Finley: 303-954-1700, bfinley@denverpost.com or twitter.com/finleybruce