The Center for Application of Substance Abuse Technologies at the University of Nevada, Reno was recently awarded a $300,000 grant from the Office on Violence Against Women "Grants to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking on Campus Program." Of 150 universities and colleges that applied, 27 were awarded. The grant was awarded to CASAT as a direct result of the many resources and programs in place at the University, Justine Hernandez, project coordinator for CASAT, said.

"For the past few years there has been a lot of growth and momentum surrounding sexual assault prevention programs and bystander intervention education on campus," Hernandez said. "Much of the work completed by University Student Conduct, The Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX and the Student Health Center, demonstrated how committed the University is to these issues which earned us this grant."

CASAT plans to use the money to create sustainable programs focused on combating interpersonal violence at the University.

"Conversations around how to prevent sexual assault and domestic violence need to be ongoing, not just something that takes place once or twice a year," Hernandez said. "We want to display how much the University cares about this topic and put a spotlight on it."

As part of the grant, Hernandez, who was previously a victim advocate, will help ensure faculty and staff are trained in a trauma-informed way. This training will be open to all University employees with a special focus on those who work directly with students. Trauma-informed care trains people to better understand the behaviors that a victim of sexual assault or domestic violence will portray.

"People who are trauma informed make the victim feel really safe," Hernandez said. "This is an evidence-based practice that provides a clear understanding for why a victim might exhibit certain behavior. The training allows anyone interacting with a victim to better understand, recognize and respond to someone working through trauma."

Another piece of the grant is to research and implement a sustainable bystander intervention program. Student involvement and outreach will be the cornerstone for this program. Hernandez will help train students on how to safely intervene and stop violence from occurring in the first place.

"Bystander intervention encourages students to be part of the solution," Hernandez said. "Students can help remove the stigma that comes with talking about sexual assault and domestic violence and start talking about healthy ways to discuss sex and our bodies. They can make it a more fun, engaging conversation rather than one that is shameful."

In addition to the grant money, The Office on Violence Against Women further supports these initiatives through a technical training institute three times a year for all grant awardees. Representatives from the 27 universities that received the grant, including seven from the University of Nevada, Reno and one from the Reno Police Department, attend the training to discuss three different tracks; prevention, student conduct/judicial and law enforcement. This allows for collaborative learning and training among university counterparts.