De Pere, Wis.: St. Norbert College was one of only two Wisconsin colleges and universities to be awarded a Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) grant this year from the U.S. Department of Justice. St. Norbert received $269,921 this year, after receiving $300,000 in 2019. This year’s reduced amount is because St. Norbert received an extension for the first grant due to disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The grant will go toward addressing and preventing sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking on college campuses; providing services to youth victims and children exposed to such violence; and engaging men and boys as allies.
“Our number one goal is to prevent gender-based violence from occurring on campus,” said Jess Adams, campus education and prevention project manager at St. Norbert College. “I want students to know what resources are available to help them. There are a multitude of paths that reporting or healing can take that look different for each person,” Adams added.
The grant supports higher education institutions in developing services and programs that are designed to address and prevent sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking on campus. Grantees are required to adopt a multidisciplinary response program that involves student affairs, student health, athletics, residence life, law enforcement and victim service providers. They also provide incoming students with prevention and educational programs about sexual and domestic violence, training for campus police and security and training for judicial and disciplinary board members.
For more information, go to snc.edu/go/justice-dept-grant.
For more information on the VAWA grant at St. Norbert, contact Adams at jess.adams@snc.edu.
