Saint Rose Receives a Nearly $300,000 Federal Grant to Address Intimate Partner Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking in New Coordinated Effort

The College of Saint Rose has been awarded $299,727 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women under the Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking on Campus Program. The grant will enable Saint Rose to implement “Project Voices,” a coordinated, campus-wide effort to prevent and respond to sexual assault and domestic violence, using evidence-based strategies. 
 
The proposal for the grant was submitted in collaboration with regional partners, including Equinox, Inc., the Albany County Crime Victims and Sexual Violence Center, the Legal Project, In Our Own Voices, the Albany Police Department, and the New York State Police Campus Sexual Assault Victims Unit. The funding for Saint Rose, which was announced today by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, will assist in disseminating and delivering culturally relevant and accessible prevention programming and messaging and will improve the coordination of response services to all students, with particular outreach to international students, veteran students, students with disabilities, students of color, and students who identify as LGBTQ.
 
“Our students cannot advance as leaders and professionals if they do not start with a foundation of personal safety. Statistics tell us that far too many women, and in proportionately smaller but important numbers, men, experience intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Feeling safe and in control of one’s life is critical to a sense of agency and power, and I am incredibly proud that The College of Saint Rose is seeking ways to meet this need for all students, including those often overlooked in these efforts,” said Saint Rose President Carolyn J. Stefanco. 
 
“This grant is an affirmation of our founding nearly 100 years ago by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet as a College for women to become educated and independent, to develop strong voices, and to lead change. As we celebrate the College’s Centennial in 2020, this grant will enable us to collaborate with external partners and fully extend our efforts to ensure that our students have a safe environment in which to live and learn,” Stefanco continued. “We are receiving this grant as we prepare to dedicate the Michelle Cuozzo Borisenok ’80 House, home of the College’s senior BOLD Scholars and the new Women’s Leadership Institute, which will seek ways to address issues that prevent women from having both equal voice and opportunity. Intimate partner violence, sexual assault, harassment, and stalking have come to the forefront with the #MeToo movement, but these problems are far from being solved. Institutions of higher education must play a leadership role in leading this charge to make a difference.”
 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 1 in 4 women and nearly 1 in 10 men have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime, and have reported some form of intimate partner violence-related impact. The CDC also reports that more than 1 in 3 women and nearly 1 in 4 men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact at some point in their lives.
 
“Sexual assault and domestic violence are far too pervasive on college campuses, and it is a tragedy that some students feel unsafe in a place where they should be learning and preparing for their futures,” Gillibrand said. “This critical funding will help The College of Saint Rose combat sexual assault and violence, while also providing survivors with the support they need to heal. I will continue fighting in the Senate for the resources our universities need to protect survivors.”

“Eliminating domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking starts with educating students – and this well-deserved investment will enable The College of Saint Rose and its partners to do just that,” Schumer said. “I have long fought for this kind of funding and will continue to do so in the future. We must do all we can to prevent domestic and dating violence from happening in the first place, and we must also take care of those who survive.”