Gender Based Violence Initiative.
Gender-based violence on college campuses has been in the national spotlight in recent months. Student safety has always been a high priority at WSU, and we have already initiated an integrated approach to prevention and intervention.
WSU received a three-year, $300,000 grant from the Department of Justice to reduce gender-based and sexual violence on campus. Training and education is the primary focus in this first year. WSU security and residence life staff will receive training, and new entering students learned about bystander intervention, a technique to deescalate situations that appear to be uncomfortable or risky, during orientation week.
Grant funding will also help expand WSU’s existing gender-based violence helpline operated in partnership with the Women’s Resource Center of Winona, and support peer advocacy and the creation of an online education module for students. Prevention of gender-based violence requires continuous education and effort, and this grant gives us the opportunity to build and sustain a systemic approach to creating a safer campus community.
