WCU awarded $30K to combat sex and relationship violence

>> West Chester University has been selected again to receive state grant funding from “It’s On Us PA,” a critical initiative administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Office of Post-secondary and Higher Education to combat sexual violence on college campuses throughout the commonwealth.

Awarded nearly $30,000 in funding for programming scheduled to take place throughout the 2021 academic year, WCU is one of only 37 universities and colleges in Pennsylvania to be selected. This is the third year that the University has been awarded the competitive state grant, which was submitted jointly by West Chester University’s Center for Women & Gender Equity, as well as the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and announced earlier this month by Governor Tom Wolf.

“Reimagining and transforming how we talk about and approach sexual violence remains essential,” said Senior Director of WCU’s Center for Women & Gender Equity Sendy Guerrier Alcidonis, who serves as the primary investigator of the grant. “Using an enhanced approach to violence prevention, our team will immerse WCU students in the planning and implementation of activities that will help improve awareness, prevention, reporting, and response systems. An important component of our programming will also include reaching out and actively engaging members of our neighboring communities in projects that will be adapted for pandemic and post-pandemic learning environments.”

Building on the success of previous projects funded through the It’s On Us grant, important initiatives slated for 2021 will include a variety of cocurricular learning experiences such as the It’s on Us Week of Action activities, a speaker series focused on anti-violence education, and a body-mapping workshop. Programming will also include enhanced trauma-informed training, as well as partnerships with advocacy organizations that work with high school girls in grades 10 through 12.

These new programming efforts extend current violence prevention initiatives such as Rams Step Up, a bystander intervention program; Situationships, a boundary-setting program focusing on relationships and communication; #MascMonday, a social media campaign that promotes diverse reflections on masculinities; as well as regular communication about sex education through social media campaigns and a monthly newsletter.

Currently in the planning process, campus activities funded by the It’s On Us grant will begin in July of 2021 and will be coordinated by the University’s Center for Women & Gender Equity, the University’s It’s On Us Undergraduate Campus Representative, as well as the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Project collaborators include the University’s Counseling Center, Crime Victims Center of Chester County, Health Federation of Philadelphia, and Girls Justice League.

The book Sexual Citizens, authored by Columbia University Professor of Sociomedical Sciences Jennifer S. Hirsch and Princeton University Professor of Sociology and American Studies Shamus Khan, is framing the approach for much of the grant work and is providing a working context for understanding the roots of sexual assault in our society.

The first annual Gender Justice Conference, hosted by the Center for Women & Gender Equity, will feature Hirsch and Khan as keynote speakers on March 24. The conference, which is not funded by the It’s On Us grant, is being offered to the community as a unique opportunity to learn more about the nature of this compelling and ongoing work.

PETE BANNAN — MEDIANEWS GROUP West Chester University received a state grant to combat sexual violence on campus.