Prevention Resources

Research & Literature

An Evidence-Based Review of Sexual Assault Prevention Intervention Programs
This systematic, comprehensive literature review of English-language articles (within and outside the United States) is an evidence-based review of sexual assault prevention interventions (SAPIs). It documents what is known about SAPI evaluation research, identifies significant gaps, and provides recommendations for future sexual assault prevention practice and research.

Blueprints for Violence Prevention
The Blueprints for Violence Prevention Initiative is a comprehensive effort to provide communities with a set of programs whose effectiveness has been scientifically demonstrated. With the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP’s) support, the Initiative also provides the information necessary for communities to begin replicating programs locally.

Poised for Prevention: Advancing Promising Approaches to Primary Prevention of Intimate Partner Violence
In September 2006 the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Prevention Institute called together a group of IPV leaders for a national convening. Their work established the elements and vision from which a national primary prevention strategy can be built.

Preventing Sexist Violence: Are We Doing What We Need To Be Doing?
Presentation to the Michigan Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence.

Preventing Violence: A Guide to Implementing the Recommendations of the World Report on Violence and Health
This document focuses upon the first six recommendations of the report: Increasing the capacity for collecting data on violence; Researching violence – its causes, consequences and prevention; Promoting the primary prevention of violence; Promoting gender and social equality and equity to prevent violence; Strengthening care and support services for victims; Bringing it all together – developing a national action plan of action.

Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
This document summarizes the development of prevention initiatives in these two related areas. However, we caution that DV and SA prevention initiatives and evaluation research on them are in their infancy. Therefore, this review points out trends and promising developments rather than definitive directions in the field.

Promoting Healthy Behavior
Technical fixes alone will not solve many of the world's most pressing health problems, according to a new Health Bulletin from the Population Reference Bureau (PRB). Human behavior plays a key role in the leading causes of death and disability, and behavior-change strategies are critical to their prevention and mitigation. Titled "Promoting Healthy Behavior," this Health Bulletin explains the research-based frameworks behavioral scientists use to understand and influence health-related behaviors and outlines a variety of effective tools that health promotion programs use. By presenting a series of successful case histories and lessons learned, this 29-page Health Bulletin provides concrete examples to help public health and other professionals better integrate behavior-change strategies into their programs and policies at every level.

Rape Prevention Through Bystander Education: Bringing a Broader Community Perspective to Sexual Violence Prevention
This report evaluates a sexual violence prevention program which uses a community of responsibility model to teach women and men how to intervene safely and effectively in cases of sexual violence before, during, and after incidents with strangers, acquaintances, or friends. Results from the research are included.

Sexual Violence Prevention: Beginning the Dialogue
Developed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This document begins to define "prevention" and sets the stage for focusing efforts and resources.

Sexual Violence Prevention: Building Leadership and Commitment to Underserved Communities
This program originally aired as a satellite broadcast and webcast on April 3, 2003. CDC’s Injury Center sponsored Sexual Violence Prevention: Building Leadership and Commitment to Underserved Communities to provide educational information to grantees and those who have an interest in preventing sexual violence. Supplemental resource materials include sexual violence background and prevention information as well as discussion questions.

Sexual Violence and the Spectrum of Prevention: Towards a Community Solution
This article describes a primary prevention approach to addressing sexual violence. Grounded in the belief that a single individual or sector cannot address the problem alone, it explores the conditions that create environments in which sexual violence occurs, and provides a tool, the Spectrum of Prevention, for effectively developing a comprehensive prevention strategy. It is designed for advocates, practitioners, and educators who are interested in advancing a community solution to preventing sexual violence.

Through A Public Health Lens. Preventing Violence against Women: An Update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Building from a recently developed strategic plan and a research agenda, this article explains how four core public health principles--emphasizing primary prevention, advancing the science of prevention, translating science into effective programs, and building on the efforts of others--drive current programmatic activities in VAW prevention. Several current programs and projects are described.

Violence Against Women Prevention Programming: Report of What Is In Use
This report presents data that is relevant to attempts to describe service use and impact. The survey, conducted in 2001, sought to gather information on the extent to which violence against women agencies provide prevention programs, and to decribe the nature and types of programs currently implemented. The report includes an Appendix of prevention programs in use.

World Report on Violence and Health
The World report on violence and health is the first comprehensive review of the problem of violence on a global scale – what it is, whom it affects and what can be done about it.