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Simpson College is one of 36 institutions to receive a grant from the Office of Violence Against Women within the United States Department of Justice. The $300k grant is meant to address and prevent sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking on college campuses.
As an awardee of this grant, Simpson will adopt a multidisciplinary response program that involves student affairs, student health, athletics, residence life, law enforcement and victim service providers.
The Department of Justice funds will help Simpson augment sexual violence prevention and response initiatives already in place. These include educational programming for new students about sexual and domestic violence, bystander intervention training with first year students and intercollegiate athletes, and the Sexual Assault Response Advocates (SARA) program which provides advocacy and support to victims of sexual violence. Under the coordination of a Sexual Assault Prevention and Survivor Advocacy program director, Simpson College will focus on strengthening connections with community agencies, increasing capacity in Simpson’s bystander intervention training, focusing on the needs of particularly at-risk populations (including LGBTQ+ students), and improving campus lighting. Grant funds will also be utilized to provide training for campus security officers, the Indianola Police Department, and judicial and disciplinary board members.
“Simpson College remains committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure the safety of our campus and our students,” said President Marsha Kelliher. “That will always be our singular most important priority. The Department of Justice grant will play a significant role in enhancing our integrated efforts to prevent sexual assault and all other forms of violence through ever more robust safety practices, training and education.”
For more information on the DOJ grant and to see a full list of recipients, please visit the Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs website.