Warner, Kaine Announce Nearly $300,000 In DOJ Funding For Sexual Assault Prevention & Awareness Initiatives In Washington County

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that the Department of Justice has awarded Emory & Henry College in Emory, Virginia $299,892 to support programs that help prevent and respond to sexual assault and domestic violence on campus.

“This grant will provide on-campus training for Emory & Henry College students and employees to help put a stop the this alarming epidemic,” said Sen. Warner. “We can and should do more to address sexual assault on college campuses – starting with a focus on preventing violence before it happens and ensuring that victims get the support they need to come forward and report their assaults.”

Today’s federal funding, which was awarded through the Grants Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking on Campus Program, will be used by Emory & Henry College, in partnership with Bristol Crisis Center and Abuse Alternatives. The funding will help implement mandatory prevention and training programs for incoming students, including first year and transfer students; provide training for the campus police department, disciplinary board members, and employees on effective intervention strategies and trauma informed response; and will help coordinate awareness and prevention education efforts with on-campus student organizations.

Sens. Warner and Kaine have both sponsored legislation to combat the epidemic of sexual assault on college campuses and improve support for survivors. Sen. Warner is an original co-sponsor of S.590, the Campus Accountability and Safety Act (CASA), which would enact a number of reforms to the way that universities and colleges prevent, respond to, and report crimes of sexual assault to strengthen transparency, accountability and consistency across campuses. Last week, he led a discussion on Capitol Hill with a bipartisan group of Senators, advocates, and sexual assault survivors including Rosemary Trible, the wife of Christopher Newport University President Paul Trible.

Senator Kaine is an original co-sponsor of S.706, the Survivor Outreach and Support Campus Act (S.O.S. Campus Act), which would require colleges and universities to ensure that an independent advocate is available to support survivors of sexual assault on every campus. A key provision of Kaine’s Teach Safe Relationships Act, legislation he introduced to help prevent campus sexual assault following a discussion with University of Virginia students, passed into law in December.

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