Seattle's Refugee Women's Alliance is one of 23 national organizations chosen this month to receive a $300,000 grant from the Department of Justice, which will be used to prevent sexual assault and domestic violence against women by educating the main perpetrators of that violence—men.

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• Stop the violence.

ReWA is using the $300,000 grant to implement an Immigrant and Refugee Family Safety Project, which will focus its work educating Russian/Ukrainian and Somali communities in King County. The project has three goals: to promote knowledge of family violence among men and youth; expand the number of community leaders mobilized against family violence; and to increase the number of immigrant and refugee men active as advocates against family violence.

"ReWA is very excited to be the recipient of this award, which was very competitive, and we look forward to increasing our impact on ending violence against women through this unique project," Yoophum says.

In a press release, the DOJ states that, "This is the first time in the history of [the DOJ's Office on Violence Against Women] that a grant program directly encourages men to be part of successful crime prevention efforts addressing sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking, and to become partners in creating respectful and positive relationships."

“All men play a critical role in preventing crimes against women and are important partners in our effort to address the full spectrum of these crimes,” said Susan B. Carbon, Director of the Office on Violence Against Women. “These grants and the work of the grantees will provide the framework for extending and developing these partnerships across the country.”