Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

["Nicole Player" <>]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      
                                           
Groundbreaking National Violence Prevention Conference Tackles Teen Dating
Violence, Military Assaults

WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards (D – MD 4th) and Catherine
Pierce, Acting Director of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on
Violence Against Women (OVW) will deliver keynote addresses at the first
ever National Conference on the Primary Prevention of Men’s Violence Against
Women on April 14 and 15 in Washington, DC.
 
Rep. Edwards, co-founder of the National Network to End Domestic Violence,
will address over 200 domestic violence, sexual assault, and men’s
anti-violence organizations committed to advancing policies and programs
that support the prevention of men’s violence against women.
 
The conference is hosted by Men Can Stop Rape, Inc. (MCSR), an organization
internationally renowned for its gender violence prevention messaging and
programming for male teens. Themed “Men and Women as Allies,” it is the
first national conference to explore how men and women can work together to
prevent men's violence against women.
 
“Men Can Stop Rape is excited to facilitate dialogue among men’s, women’s,
and government organizations committed to both supporting survivors and
ending domestic violence and sexual assault,” says Stephen Glaude, President
and CEO of MCSR. “At a time when there is renewed focus on domestic issues
and talk of ‘change,’ we think that it is critical to bring people together
to learn about new resources and policies that support both prevention and
survivors.”
 
The conference will also tackle current controversial issues such as teen
dating violence, youth sex trafficking, and sexual assault in the military.
Officials from the Department of Defense’s Sexual Assault Prevention and
Response Office will discuss the recently launched social marketing campaign
it created with Men Can Stop Rape.

Various experts in the primary violence prevention field will present at the
conference. Byron Hurt, award-winning filmmaker (Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and
Rhymes), and Ritu Sharma, Co-Founder and President of Women Thrive
Worldwide, will open the conference in a conversational-style “Men and Women
as Allies” dialogue. Top officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, the Office on Women’s Health, the Administration for
Children and Families, and the Office on Violence Against Women will update
attendees on existing programs, pertinent policy changes, and new
initiatives. 
 
“Our goal for this conference is that people will forge strategic alliances
that will further public awareness, policy, research, and government
investment in primary violence prevention programs,” says Glaude. “It’s
important that the people doing these bodies of work dialogue with one
another and see themselves as part of the same effort,” he adds.
 
The Family Violence Prevention Fund, the National Coalition Against Domestic
Violence, V-DAY, the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and the
New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault are a few of the fifty-five
organizations co-sponsoring the conference. A complete list of co-sponsors
can be viewed at http://mencanstoprape.org/conference.
 
The National Conference on the Primary Prevention of Men’s Violence Against
Women, hosted by Men Can Stop Rape, Inc. (MCSR) and co-sponsored by
fifty-five organizations, will be held Apr. 14-15 at the Hyatt Regency
Washington on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. More information about the
conference can be found at http://mencanstoprape.org/conference or
www.mencanstoprape.org.
 
For press credentials, please contact Nicole Player at 202-265-6530 ext. 10
or 

 for press credentials.

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