Penn is turning outrage about violence against women into action.
Thanks to a $270,000 grant from the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women, Penn will hire recent Rutgers graduate Jessica Mertz as a Violence Prevention Educator. Mertz will promote education about violence against women by coordinating cooperation between various groups on campus.
The grant was awarded yesterday during a presentation at the Annenberg Center.
Drew Rizzo, a College sophomore and member of One-in-Four, a group that educates men on campus about violence against women, said the group's president and College junior Josh Pollack was impressed by Mertz.
Rizzo emphasized that one of the main factors in the decision was that she did her Master's thesis on men's part in preventing violence against women.
Penn Women's Center Director Felicity Paxton said that Mertz also impressed the interviewers with her commitment to turning anger into action.
"If you're not outraged, then you're not paying attention," she said, although she added that constant outrage is exhausting and leads to "bystander apathy."
Mertz said she plans to work with non-profit organization Women Against Abuse in the effort to end violence against women.
The organization has the only shelter specifically for victims of domestic abuse. The shelter usually accommodates about 100 women and children, said Women Against Abuse development associate Katie Young-Wildes.
Across U.S. university campuses, one in four women are victims of actual or attempted rape during their time at college, "and Penn is no exception," said Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Program Initiatives representative Tamarah Smith-Dyer.
Violence can be particularly difficult for women on college campuses since the perpetrator often remains in close proximity, said Acting U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid.
According to Vice President of Public Safety Maureen Rush, the grant will also have implications beyond Penn's campus.
She explained that the area around the campus also benefits from Penn security. Penn's Special Services division is trained to deal with victims' emotional needs and is ready to protect non-Penn students in the neighborhood.
While the facts remain, the speakers were optimistic that Penn is doing all it can to take action to prevent violence against women.
