Stanford’s Community Partnership to End Violence Against Women — which received a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice last fall — has been working closely with the non-profit Center for Relationship Abuse Awareness to offer a three-unit pilot course entitled “Violence Against Women,” as well as supervising and training seven interns.

Director and Founder Nicole Baran ‘00 and Donnovan Yisrael ‘89, the health empowerment educator at Vaden Health Center, teach the pilot course, which will also be offered during the spring quarter. The class is open to both interns and interested students.

“We are very excited about the energy and enthusiasm of the student interns and their commitment to ending violence against women on campus,” Baran said.

After completing the course, student interns will conduct focus groups in conjunction with community centers and other key areas of student life.

The partnership aims to create alliances and affiliations between men and women, different races and the undergraduate and graduate communities in order to work toward the common goal of ending violence against women and violence in relationships.

Stanford, along with many other colleges and universities, is also host to the Men Against Violence program. Interns are learning how to incorporate and engage the entire Stanford community to end relationship abuse and sexual violence.

“Recognizing that relationship abuse and sexual violence does not discriminate [is important],” Baran said. “Students are responding to the diverse student body by choosing a population focus, researching the needs of that particular group, and then implementing projects campus-wide.”

Carole Pertofsky and Laurette Beeson, co-chairs of the Sexual Violence Advisory Board (SVAB) — a part of the Community Partnership — said the YWCA Sexual Assault Center at Stanford now maintains a 24/7 hotline that links to the YWCA Rape Crisis Center.

In addition to the SVAB, the Community Partnership also consists of Vaden Health Center, the Dean of Students Office, Public Safety, Student Affairs, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and Health Promotion Services.

“The presence of this grant, in and of itself, sends a message to students and staff that violence against women will not be tolerated and that there are available resources to help friends who experience violence in isolation,” said Baran. “The grant has formalized the collaborations that have been established by all of the participating entities on campus in order to provide a coordinated community response to relationship abuse and sexual violence.”