| UT Martin grant targets sexual assault |
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Posted: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 9:13 pm
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The University of Ten-nessee at Martin has won a $270,000 grant for its Personal Safety Empower-ment Project.
The U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women recently awarded UT Martin the grant for the Personal Safety Empowerment Project — Count Me, which is geared toward education regarding violence against women and the improvement of victim services.
The grant is a continuation award that will allow PSEPP-CMN to refine both internal and external protocols to define violence against women as serious offenses, thus increasing the reach of victim services. The grant will also provide for the establishment of programs to prioritize victim safety, offender accountability and violence prevention.
Shannon Deal, director of student health and counseling services, will serve as director of the project.
“The continuation grant will allow us to build upon the foundation laid by our first award and provide the UT Martin campus community the tools and resources needed to play an active role in preventing sexual assault-related incidents,” Ms. Deal said.
Prevention and awareness are key aspects of the improved program and PSEPP-CMN will pay particular attention to empowering students through the creation of a bystander intervention program.
“Training for bystanders is designed to teach students to respond to questionable situations and to access available resources for assistance,” said Dr. Margaret Toston, UT Martin vice chancellor for student affairs. “Being prepared when these situations arise is the key to appropriate action. This training is a valuable part of the total educational experience that our students receive here at UT Martin.”
The three-year award is one of several nationwide, distributed through the “Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence and Stalking on Campus Program.”
This project is supported by Grant No. 2009-WA-AX-0032 awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women. Published in The Messenger 1.16.13 |
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