NEW YORK, NY (May 10, 2011) — The Ms. Foundation for Women today announced $600,000 in grants as part of a groundbreaking partnership with the NoVo Foundation and individual donors to end child sexual abuse in the United States.

A total of 15 organizations were selected from over 250 submissions.  The awardees—representing local, state and national groups working in 14 states across the country—include faith-based, arts, domestic violence and survivor-led groups as well as sexual assault coalitions and child abuse prevention organizations.

“The Ms. Foundation for Women is proud to announce this new round of grants to prevent child sexual abuse,” says Senior Program Officer Monique Hoeflinger.  “From working within Native American and religious communities, to advocating for new federal policies, to using art as a catalyst for social change, each group is pursuing innovative strategies to engage families, communities and policymakers to end child sexual abuse once and for all.”

“Ending child sexual abuse is no small task, of course,” says Hoeflinger.  “Conservative estimates tell us that child sexual abuse affects nearly one in four girls and one in six boys in the US. Yet, despite its prevalence, a profound silence surrounds the issue—a silence that obscures the root causes of abuse and fuels misguided policies that rely too heavily on a criminal justice response.  But across the country, a new movement to end child sexual abuse is emerging, a movement led by the groups we’re now pleased to support.  Together with their allies, they’re devising new and visionary solutions to the problem.”

Grantees include organizations such as:

• OAASIS (Oregon Abuse Advocates and Survivors in Service) will work to promote the role of survivors in shifting society’s understanding of and response to child sexual abuse, with a particular focus on public policy. 
• Stop it Now and Darkness to Light, two national groups, will work in partnership with federal agencies to encourage the integration of child sexual abuse prevention standards into federally funded youth programs. 
• CONNECT, a local organization dedicated to preventing interpersonal violence and promoting gender justice, will create New York City’s first faith-based working group on child sexual abuse prevention.
• Massachusetts Citizens for Children will work to expand the Enough Abuse Campaign, a comprehensive statewide initiative focused on ending child sexual abuse.  

See our website for a full list.

In its selection of grantees, the Ms. Foundation prioritized organizations that advocate for policy reform and long-term culture change.  Together, these grantees will foster a groundswell of new thinking, discussion and collective action on child sexual abuse prevention.

In addition to delivering funds, the Ms. Foundation will offer critical non-monetary support that will enable awardees to share strategies and ideas and strengthen the movement overall.  “Child sexual abuse is a complex social problem that requires more than one organization or approach.  As reflected in this diverse group of grantees, ending child sexual abuse will take local, state and national organizations working together in a collaborative, strategic way.”  

 

Learn more about the Ms. Foundation’s work to end child sexual abuse.

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The Ms. Foundation for Women is the leading national social justice foundation committed to building women’s power to ignite change. Every day, it helps over 150 grassroots organizations across the U.S. fight for changes like good paying jobs, reproductive health, ending violence against women and girls, and the inclusion of women at decision-making tables. By investing in social justice trailblazers—especially women from low-income communities and communities of color most affected by injustice—it works for a nation in which power and possibility are not limited by gender, race, class, or any other factor. The Ms. Foundation delivers funding, builds skills and connects activists with allies to create change that benefits women, families and communities. Since 1973, the Ms. Foundation has invested over $50 million and influenced other funders to support solutions from the ground up.