The state's Department of Higher Education says it will fund 22 projects aimed at preventing sexual violence across college campuses in Ohio.
The department said Thursday that over $212,000 was being awarded to two-year and four-year colleges and universities across the state to implement best practices for preventing and responding to campus sexual assault. The projects aim to increase dialogue and awareness about the issue. The money is part of the state's Changing Campus Culture initiative. It was launched last fall amid concerns that, despite existing programs, nearly 150 sexual assaults were reported on Ohio's public campuses alone in 2014. A 2015 survey found nearly a quarter of undergraduate women at more than two dozen participating universities reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact sometime during college.