Prevention Information

In communities all across the country, domestic violence and sexual assault traumatize victims, endanger children and harm families. Over the last 30 years, and as a result of the women’s movement, laws have been enacted to hold abusers and batterers accountable and victim services have been implemented.

Due to the “newness” of society’s awareness of and willingness to do something about these problems, early efforts have focused on crisis intervention, providing services to individuals and families affected by domestic violence and sexual assault, and holding abusers and batterers accountable. To date, little is known about how to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault.

Preventing domestic violence and all forms of sexual assault requires addressing complex issues with comprehensive approaches. It involves addressing the underlying causes of both problems and using strategies and approaches known to be effective in addressing those causes.

There are very few research-based strategies that have been shown, through the application of rigorous and repeatable scientific studies, to provide promising preventive outcomes. Many theories exist, but experts are still trying to understand what works to help young people grow up without the need to sexually assault others or to exert power and control over those they love.

Increasing numbers of researchers are interested in studying these problems, as more federal and private funding is made available. It is through this research that promising practices and newly emerging ideas may lead us, someday, to a community free from these problems.

In the meantime, the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention program at the Seattle Human Services Department has made the prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault a top priority. In addition to funding several promising prevention-related programs, such as teaching teens healthy relationship skills, we are guiding the City’s efforts in policy and program development in these areas. The 2009 allocation for domestic violence prevention is $57,394 and for sexual assault prevention is $47,000.

New Initiative: A program for teens aimed at preventing violent relationships

The Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) has created a new program aimed at preventing dating violence and domestic and sexual violence, by helping teens build healthy and respectful relationships. HSD awarded $257,500 in City of Seattle funds to the Asian Counseling and Referral Service to conduct the program at Washington and Madison middle schools for young people ages 11-14 in partnership with the YMCA, which runs community learning centers at each school.

As part of the program, youth counselors from the Asian Counseling and Referral Service will conduct 12 to 15 sessions at each middle school twice during the 2009-2010 school year and once in the fall of 2010. The sessions will include presentations and discussion on topics such as healthy relationships, contributors to violence, conflict resolution and media violence.

Counselors will also train students from Garfield and West Seattle high schools to co-facilitate the interactive group sessions, and provide education and information to teachers, school counselors and coaches at both middle schools, as well as to parents of the young people involved. In addition, participating young people will have the opportunity to develop a media campaign about teen relationships with support from SCAN Community Media.

The Seattle program is patterned after work done by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Family Violence Prevention Fund. The curriculum for the program is adapted from the evidence-based “Fourth R Project” of the University of Western Ontario.

2009 Funded Agencies and Programs

• Asian Counseling and Referral Service’s Teen Peer Advocate Program provides community-based prevention services led by Asian Pacific American young women. ACRS works to mobilize a youth’s identified community with the goal of ending violence, including domestic violence and sexual assault. The goal of the program is to foster healthy non-violent relationships and educate the community about domestic violence, sexual assault, prevention strategies, and available resources. This is done through peer advocacy, outreach, education and community forums.
• The YWCA East Cherry Branch Teen Peer Advocate Program helps youth of color gain the knowledge, interpersonal skills, and confidence they need to foster healthy intimate partner relationships and avoid dating and domestic violence.
• The Northwest Network's Queer Youth Community Engagement Project works with LBTGQ young people (ages 15-21) through a variety of programs and activities to strengthen community connections, support safety and accountability in those relationships, learn about healthy relationship skills and incorporate issues of domestic violence in other youth community agendas.

Reports

Promising Practices in Sexual Violence Prevention and Community Mobilization for Prevention: A Report to the City of Seattle, by Erin Casey, Ph.D., MSW
This report was commissioned by the Seattle Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Division within the City of Seattle Human Services Department. The report is an overview of the current state of the literature related to effective and promising approaches to sexual violence prevention. Additionally, current knowledge regarding best practices and critical elements of community mobilizing as a prevention strategy are reviewed. The goal of the report is to assist the City and its community partners in identifying sexual violence prevention-related activities that are likely to carry the greatest impact given limited resources.

Information

For more information, call the Seattle Human Services Department’s Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention program at 206-233-2774, or e-mail endviolence@seattle.gov.

For more information about our partners and other programs and services, visit:

• King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• King County Sexual Assault Resource Center