Press release from Our VOICE:
Our VOICE, Buncombe County’s Rape Crisis and Prevention Agency, has been selected to receive a $32,000 grant from Raliance to develop a curriculum that will address sexual harassment and violence in Asheville’s booming service industry. Raliance is a national collaborative initiative to end sexual violence in one generation. Raliance funding is made possible through a multiyear, $10 million commitment from the National Football League (NFL).
Recognizing the service industry as the lifeline of Asheville’s tourism economy and the widespread presence of sexual violence within the industry, Our VOICE will work with pilot sites to develop curriculum that will help create environments that are free of rape culture and sexual violence through education, bystander intervention strategies, and policies.
“We are beyond honored to partner with Raliance in order to bring this innovative project to our community. Sexual harassment and violence is pervasive in the service industry. We hope the curriculum that we develop through this grant will be instrumental in ending rape culture in Asheville and beyond” says Angélica Wind, Executive Director of Our VOICE.
Our VOICE was among 14 Raliance grant recipients in the nation. The grants were awarded to organizations that are implementing promising practices that programs and strategies that improve the response to victims, reduce the likelihood of perpetration of sexual violence, or strengthen communities’ capacity to create safe environments.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.