RALIANCE Awards $150,000 in Grants for Projects Working to End Sexual Harassment, Misconduct and Abuse

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, RALIANCE, a national partnership dedicated to ending sexual violence in one generation, is excited to announce six new grants totaling $150,000 to fund efforts across the United States that prevent sexual harassment, misconduct and abuse. This year's grant recipients are: Hollaback!, the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence, Mirror Memoirs, the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, USA Gymnastics and the Ya Basta Center.

"RALIANCE is proud to support this diverse group of exceptional grant recipients, funding their work to meet the specific needs of survivors and impacted populations wherever they are in their communities and journeys. The critical work to end sexual violence cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach, and we are honored to continue our tradition of empowering organizations across this country that are implementing targeted and innovative programs to change the culture from the grassroots up," said Sandra Henriquez, Managing Partner at RALIANCE.

RALIANCE will award the $25,000 grants to the six recipients in April as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a national campaign to raise public awareness about sexual violence and educate communities on how to prevent it.

These grants mark the fifth round of RALIANCE's ongoing impact grant program, which has supported more than 60 sexual violence prevention projects with a total of $2.7 million in grant funding from the National Football League (NFL).

A description of the 2021 RALIANCE Impact Grant recipients and projects are below.

Hollaback! is a global non-profit organization that works to end street harassment and violence by providing training and developing innovative strategies. RALIANCE's grant will support Hollaback!'s ongoing bystander intervention training series and the creation of a new and comprehensive report of actionable best practices and resources for reducing sexual violence in the workplace. "We are thrilled by the opportunity to partner with RALIANCE again to prevent sexual harassment and violence and create the necessary expertise to successfully advocate for long term systemic change, especially in the workplace," said Emily May, Hollaback! Co-Founder and Executive Director.

The Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence is a non-profit organization engaging voices to create change in the prevention, intervention and response to domestic violence, dating abuse, stalking and sexual assault. RALIANCE's grant will support the development of a prevention program to re-imagine a future free of violence for young women and girls, and young folks beyond the binary who are incarcerated through the juvenile criminal system. "Young women and girls, and young folks beyond the binary in the juvenile criminal system are impacted by sexual violence at alarming rates before, during, and after incarceration. We are honored to have RALIANCE's support to help young women and girls heal from their trauma and embrace their own power," said Moné Miller, Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence Legal Advocate and spokesperson.

Mirror Memoirs is a national storytelling and organizing project uplifting the narratives, healing and leadership of Black, Indigenous and of color Two Spirit, transgender, intersex, non-binary and/or queer child sexual abuse survivors in the movement to end rape culture. RALIANCE's grant will support Mirror Memoirs' partnership with Athlete Ally that aims to educate the anti-sexual violence and youth sports worlds about the needs and experiences of transgender and gender non-conforming youth. "Sports have the power to help young people build resilience and heal from trauma. Mirror Memoirs looks forward to working with RALIANCE and Athlete Ally to build a public education campaign to protect transgender and gender non-conforming youth in athletic spaces and beyond," said Amita Swadhin, Mirror Memoirs Founding Co-Director.

The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault helps youth from historically marginalized communities across New York City learn about healthy relationships, gender roles, consent, and bystander engagement. RALIANCE's grant will support the Alliance's efforts to tailor its educational and leadership curriculum to racial, ethnic minority and LGBTQI communities. "We are delighted to partner with RALIANCE to reach our shared vision of a safer and more inclusive world without violence. This funding will help us expand the reach of our curriculum and center the voices of historically marginalized youth in sexual violence prevention efforts," said Rachel Geller, Director of Prevention & Policy at the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault.

USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for the sport of gymnastics in the United States. Grant support from RALIANCE will help USA Gymnastics develop a system of standards, which will be uniformly applied across all of the organization's approximately 3,000 member clubs, to address sexual misconduct and abuse within the sport and promote healthy boundaries between coaches and athletes. "USA Gymnastics is committed to providing all athletes safe training and competition environments that are free from abuse in all forms. We look forward to working with RALIANCE and their sexual violence prevention experts to enhance our national safety standards and increase the resources available to the gymnastics community," said Kim Kranz, USA Gymnastics' Chief of Athlete Wellness.

Ya Basta Center, which is affiliated with SEIU-United Service Workers West, focuses on the prevention of sexual violence in the workplace in the janitorial industry of California by developing the leadership of janitors themselves. The RALIANCE grant will support Ya Basta Center's efforts to develop an anti-harassment training program for janitor worker survivors. "Janitorial workers are often vulnerable to sexual violence because they work in isolation and may face barriers in reporting due to their immigration status and other factors. Ya Basta Center thanks RALIANCE for supporting our efforts to build the internal capacity of janitors to prevent and stop sexual abuse in the janitorial industry by empowering janitors to develop and deliver worker-led solutions," said Alejandra Valles, SEIU-USWW Secretary Treasurer and Ya Basta Center spokesperson.

Learn more about the RALIANCE Impact Grant program at www.raliance.org/grant-program/grants.

ABOUT RALIANCE

RALIANCE is a national partnership dedicated to ending sexual violence in one generation. Every day, RALIANCE makes prevention possible by advancing research, influencing policy, supporting innovative programs and helping leaders establish safe workplaces and strong communities. For more information, please visit www.raliance.org.

SOURCE RALIANCE