(The Center Square) – The city of Seattle plans to use nearly $500,000 for education programming to combat gender-based violence.
The Seattle Human Services department is funding three submitted proposals for a total of $487,560. The money comes from the city’s general fund.
According to a news release from Human Services, the goal of the funding is to prevent gender-based violence from happening. Examples of gender-based violence include domestic violence, sexual assault, and commercial sexual exploitation.
The three proposals focus on educating youth on relationship skills and addressing social norms that facilitate gender-based violence.
“Communities and families have confirmed what research already shows: focusing our efforts on young people to shift cultural norms and promote gender equity is pivotal,” Seattle Human Services Director Tanya Kim said in a statement. “This strategy not only mitigates the impacts of gender-based violence but also secures enhanced safety and well-being for all involved.”
The Good Foot Arts Collective received funding for its youth violence prevention programming. The program uses hip-hop and breakdancing culture to raise awareness about teen dating violence and sexual assault education.
Solid Ground WA received funding for its Broadview Domestic Violence Prevention Program which engages with domestic violence survivors living in their shelter and transitional housing.
Lastly, the Seattle Indian Health Board is using its newly awarded funding to launch a new program tailored for American Indian and Alaska Native youth. The board aims to facilitate discussions with participants about the contributing factors to gender-based violence with native-focused violence prevention resources.
Seattle Human Services’ request for proposals received 17 applications totaling $3.6 million. Out of the 17 proposals, 15 were eligible for review and the three listed organizations received the collective $487,560 in funding.
The Center Square reached out to Human Services to learn how much each program received, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
