AKRON, Ohio – U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes (OH-13), an Akron Democrat who leads Ohio's 13th congressional district, announced Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women has awarded $479,706 to the University of Akron to conduct evaluations of promising practices for combatting domestic/dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and to research issues emerging in the field.

“Every American deserves to live a life that is safe, secure, and free from abuse and violence, but too many Americans from all backgrounds and ages face domestic violence. This funding will allow our community to develop strategies to better support and care for victims of domestic violence,” said Rep. Sykes, one of three Black women in Congress from Ohio and the youngest of the trio at 38-years-old.

The congresswoman added "I am so excited to collaborate with community partners, Minority Behavioral Health Group and the Hope & Healing Survivor Resource Center on this important project."

Congresswoman Skyes says the primary goal is to develop and evaluate the benefits of a yoga program tailored to the unique needs of women of color who have experienced intimate partner violence.

"If successful, the yoga program is primed to be a national model program that can be disseminated more widely to settings where women of color commonly gather and seek support,” said Dr. Suzanne Bausch, University of Akron Vice President of Research & Business Engagement.

With this funding, the University of Akron will conduct a study that will aim to develop and evaluate a culturally tailored, trauma-informed yoga (CT-TIY) program to explore how body-oriented interventions may aid in trauma recovery for women of color who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). The study will utilize a researcher-practitioner partnership involving a culturally specific community agency serving racial and ethnic minorities and an IPV victim services provider.

Using a community-based research approach, the study will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and initial efficacy of CT-TIY across three phases:

-Creating CT-TIY through consultation with a Community Advisory Board and focus groups;

-Piloting CT-TIY with up to 10 participants to refine the program; and;

-Conducting a randomized trial comparing CT-TIY to care as usual with 40 participants over three months