We are committed to establishing a safe haven on this campus, and this grant will help educate the community and further convey that we take violence against women seriously and will hold perpetrators accountable.
Largo, MD (PRWEB) November 08, 2013
Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) has been awarded a three-year, $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women for the 2013 Grants Against Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking on Campus program. As one of only two community colleges in the nation to receive it, the grant will allow PGCC to establish the Violence Prevention Center (VPC) that will:
- Establish campus and community coordinated response protocols that will increase prevention and education programming, victim services, and accountability of perpetrators;
- Increase outreach services to underserved populations affected by violence of this nature, such as the LGBT community, veterans, students with disabilities, and foreign-born or immigrant students;
- Create a comprehensive, culturally-competent bystander intervention program that trains the entire campus community in ways it can assist in reducing violence of this nature on campus;
- Provide peer advocate and peer educator services that will use female and male peers to assist and advocate for victims and educate peers in prevention.
“Research has consistently shown that violence against women is underreported on any college campus. One of our strategic goals here at PGCC is to establish a welcoming and responsive learning environment. We are committed to establishing a safe haven on this campus, and this grant will help educate the community and further convey that we take violence against women seriously and will hold perpetrators accountable,” said Dr. Charlene M. Dukes, president of PGCC.
The VPC project will involve the cooperation of many departments and programs on campus, as well as collaboration with a comprehensive array of the following external partner agencies: Prince George’s County Office of the Sheriff, Office of the State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County, Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Center at Prince George’s Hospital Center, Women’s Law Center of Maryland, House of Ruth Maryland, Prince George’s County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, and the National Black Justice Council.
For additional information, please contact Cheryl K. Green, Co-Principal Investigator of the VPC project at PGCC and director of Grants and Resource Development at greenck(at)pgcc(dot)edu.
The grants to reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence and Stalking on Campus Program was authorized by the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 and reauthorized by the Violence Against Women Act of 2000, 2005, and again in 2013. The Campus Program encourages a coordinated community approach that enhances victim safety and assistance, and supports efforts to hold offenders accountable. The Campus Program provides seed funding to support activities that develop and strengthen victim services in cases involving sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking on campuses. The Campus Program also aims to strengthen security and investigative strategies to prevent and prosecute these crimes on campuses.
Prince George’s Community College is a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Two-year Education designated by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security (2010-2015). Established in 1958, Prince George’s Community College provides transfer and career programs that help students transfer to four-year colleges and universities and prepare them for the workforce. Each year, 40,000 students take part in more than 200 academic programs and workforce development and continuing education courses. Located in Largo, Maryland, Prince George’s Community College has additional sites at Joint Base Andrews, University Town Center in Hyattsville, Laurel College Center, Skilled Trades Center in Camp Springs, and Westphalia Training Center in Upper Marlboro. For more information, visit the college website at http://www.pgcc.edu.
