Last week, the Department of Justice awarded the University $199,907 to create programs for the reduction of violence against women on campus. The Grants to Reduce Violent Crimes Against Women on Campus Program focuses on international populations at universities.
Population
“The international population is not necessarily just international students. [It includes] spouses, scholars and faculty members associated with the University,” said Prof. Andrea Parrot, policy analysis and management, program coordinator.
The upcoming programs will take approximately two years to implement fully. They will be part of a campus project to address sexual assault, stalking and dating violence among the international population. The project will also support victim services, implement prevention programs and develop and strengthen security on varying levels of violence on campus.
According to a press release, the program will conduct a needs assessment, disseminate culturally appropriate resource material, create specific outreach and education programs, translate relevant materials into several languages, train University law enforcement, judicial affairs and campus services, revise University polices and strengthen offender accountability.
“This grant is to address and reduce levels of violence against women,” said Kelly Connison, director of the Women’s Resource Center (WRC).
Prevention
Organizations such as Cornell Advocates for Rape Education (CARE) have been developing violence prevention programs since the ’80s. Currently, there is not much written literature or services available that focus on the international population.
“The international population do not have services and are invisible in the Cornell community and [from] human services,” Parrot said.
Some practices that are legal or even encouraged in other parts of the world are unacceptable in the United States, she added. Violence, sexual assault and rape are viewed differently around the world. The program’s aim to promote awareness of laws on various forms of assault in the United States.
Cornell won the grant this year after previously applying for the grant several years ago.
“We applied this summer; it is a very competitive process, many colleges apply and approximately 10 a year receive it,” Parrot said.
The upcoming programs are supported by several organizations on campus including CARE, the WRC, the Cornell University Police Department, the Ithaca Police Department, the Judicial Administrator, Gannett, Campus LIfe and the Task Force for Battered Women.
Archived article by Cheryl Mensah