UH Manoa Program Against Violence to Women receives funding through 2008

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
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Posted: Nov 9, 2006

The University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa (UHM) Program Against Violence to Women (PAVW) was refunded for the third time by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Violence Against Women Office. Seventy colleges and universities are funded nationally by the DOJ. UHM was first funded in 2002 and refunded this October for another two years at $199,999.

As an office in the UHM Women‘s Center, PAVW focuses on sexual assault, stalking and relationship violence education and prevention with UHM students and staff. PAVW works closely with on-campus departments and off-campus agencies to provide training and education for new students, campus law enforcement and campus judicial staff. PAVW also works to improve campus policies and procedures, to improve victim services and to ensure perpetrator accountability.

"Unfortunately, college women across the nation are at high risk for sexual assault, stalking and dating violence" says P. Jayne Bopp, PAVW Project Coordinator, "which is why programs like this are so important." Bopp implemented a needs assessment at UHM in 2003 and found that about 12 percent of the female undergraduates surveyed reported experiencing sexual assault since starting school at Manoa. About 10 percent reported experiencing relationship violence and 10 percent reported experiencing stalking since coming to UHM.

Bopp said the focus for this grant will be on primary prevention — programs that change the norms and behaviors of men who perpetrate violence against women on campus. According to Bopp, "Violence against women programs have for the past several decades focused on assisting victims and survivors of violence or telling women how to avoid being a victim of assault. While these efforts are important and need to continue they do not address the source of the problem — the men who commit these acts and the societal norms that allow these kinds of violence to continue to flourish."

On-campus partners who work with PAVW include Manoa Campus Security, Student Housing, the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor for Students, University Health Services, the Counseling Center, UH Athletics, Women‘s Studies, International Student Services and the UHM Religious Council. Off-campus partners include the Sex Abuse Treatment Center and the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence both of which also have new programs targeting primary prevention with men.