Up to $1.2 million will be given to research aimed at preventing gender-based violence in low and middle-income countries in honor of Hannah Graham, the World Bank Group and the nonprofit Sexual Violence Research Initiative announced Tuesday.
The competition will be sponsored by the World Bank Group and an anonymous donor.
Graham’s father, John Graham, is an environmental specialist at the World Bank’s International Finance Corp. Hannah also grew up in the Washington, D.C. region, where the bank’s headquarters are located.
$1.2 million will be given to selected applicants for projects including research, interventions and other activities related to gender-based violence prevention, according to the bank’s website.
Gender-based violence is a problem around the world, but typically research is run by nonprofits that have very limited amounts of funding. Funding opens doors for these nonprofits, said Claire Kaplan, director of the Gender Violence and Social Change program at the University’s Women’s Center.
The World Health Organization recently reported 35 percent of women worldwide have experienced either physical or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence.
Kaplan said Graham was concerned both about women's issues and developing countries.
Individual proposals can receive up to $150,000. An expert committee will review the proposals and awards will be granted in April 2016.