Northwestern Awarded Grant for Sexual Assault Prevention

EVANSTON, Ill. --- A nearly $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) was awarded to Northwestern University to help prevent sexual assaults and expand services for survivors.

The University will use this grant to fund efforts at the Center for Awareness, Response and Education (CARE). CARE provides free, confidential and non-judgmental support and advocacy to survivors of sexual assault, intimate partner violence and stalking.

Projects supported by the grant will include engaging males in sexual violence prevention; developing culturally specific prevention and intervention strategies for minority and LGBTQ students; implementing peer, faculty and staff education programs; creating marketing materials for programming; and surveying students regarding the campus climate on sexual violence.

Northwestern also will be able to expand its bystander intervention training for students through the Step UP! training program. The program empowers University community members to recognize how they can actively and safely intervene as bystanders.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin announced the grant Sept. 19. The funding comes from the DOJ’s Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking on Campus Program, which was authorized by the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013.