Reading, Pa – Albright College has been awarded $29,969 to address campus sexual assault through Gov. Tom Wolf’s “It’s On Us PA” Grant Program. The program is part of Wolf’s It’s On Us PA campaign, which invites education leaders and all Pennsylvanians to be part of the solution to protect students from sexual violence.
It’s On Us is a national initiative started in 2014 by the Obama-Biden administration to bring in more voices to the conversation on sexual assault, including the need to increase sexual assault prevention and survivor support services.
The grants provide funding from January 2021 through May 2022 to implement strategies on campuses to address goals of the Governor’s It’s On Us PA campaign, which include:
– Improve awareness, prevention, reporting, and response systems regarding sexual violence in schools, colleges, and universities to better serve all students.
– Remove/reduce barriers that prevent survivors of sexual violence from reporting and/or accessing vital resources by creating a more consistent, empowering reporting process for student survivors of gender-based violence.
– Demonstrate significant, proactive, and sustainable leadership to change campus culture by challenging Pennsylvania’s education leaders – including college and university presidents, as well as students, teachers, faculty, staff, families, and communities to pledge to improve their institutions’ climate around sexual assault.
“This initiative has made Pennsylvania a leader in combatting sexual assault in colleges and universities,” State Senator Judy Schwank said. “I’ve supported these programs from the beginning and I’m beyond pleased to see Albright College successfully pursue these funds to better support the students on campus.”
State Rep. Mark Rozzi said, “We cannot realistically expect to end sexual assault on Pennsylvania campuses unless we talk about it and work toward its prevention,” Rozzi said. “We must also not lose focus on the importance of improving support services for sexual assault survivors. Being a victim of childhood sexual assault changed my entire life. Helping to end sexual assault and working with survivors has been, and will continue to be, one of my priorities.”
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