Boston-area schools, like many, are struggling with how to keep funding for their sexual assault prevention programs as budgets are cut and money gets tighter. This is a concern that ArchDiva raised in a comment a few weeks ago, and one that I think we will hear about more and more as the months go on.

The key in many cases to keeping funding for sexual assault prevention programs is going to be student insistence, as well as faculty, staff, and administration commitment. The other opportunity for activists will be around the grants the Department of Justice gives colleges to start or enhance prevention programs. As the article I linked to addresses, I think making the grants larger and longer is a good thing, as it will really allow programs to solidify and prove their effectiveness before they have to fight for university funding. But it means that fewer schools are getting these grants.

We can push for more money for these grants and also for a requirement that universities commit to continuing to fund their sexual assault programs for at least three years after their three year federal grant runs out. Otherwise, what’s the point of getting a great program up and running, only to see it collapse for lack of funding, as may happen with Northeastern this year?