Strengthening Systems To Prevent Intimate Partner Violence And Sexual Violence

Over the past 25 years, developing coordinated responses to intimate partner violence and sexual violence has improved both perpetrator accountability, and victim safety and self-determination. However, preventing intimate partner violence and sexual violence from occurring is beyond the ability of any one type of organization. Preventing this violence requires a network of individuals, groups and organizations who coordinate and assess their efforts on an ongoing basis. This volume provides theoretical and practical guidance for the development of state and local prevention systems that hold the potential to eliminate persistent social problems. The development of prevention systems was informed by the data-driven public health model, systems theory and the ecological systems perspective. Strengthening Systems to Prevent Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence offers guidance on how to gain participation of the right partners in developing a prevention system, and how to focus the work of that system on the critical areas of planning, implementation and capacity building. The guidance, resources and experience shared in this important collection will be invaluable to all those working towards the prevention of intimate partner violence and sexual violence. This book is based on a special issue of the Journal of Family Social Work.

Intimate Partner Sexual Violence (IPSV) is the most common type of sexual violence and a common component of domestic violence, yet most cases go unreported and service responses are often inadequate. This book brings together advice for all those professionals working with individuals who have experienced IPSV and puts forward recommendations to tackle this prevalent form of sexual violence. With contributions from leading experts on IPSV, Intimate Partner Sexual Violence is a comprehensive guide to the subject which bridges the gap between research and practice. Multidisciplinary and international in approach, the book covers key issues salient to all professionals - the impact of IPSV, reproductive coercion, the physical and psychological indicators, possible consequences of taking a case to court, and best practice service responses. One section also addresses the risks and needs of IPSV victims in different contexts, such as those in same-sex or teenage relationships, immigrant victims, and those living in rural areas or in prison. This is an authoritative resource for all professionals who work with IPSV victims including counselors, social workers, refuge workers, victim advocates, mental health professionals, pastoral workers, lawyers, police, and health practitioners.

Over the past 25 years, developing coordinated responses to intimate partner violence and sexual violence has improved both perpetrator accountability, and victim safety and self-determination. However, preventing intimate partner violence and sexual violence from occurring is beyond the ability of any one type of organization. Preventing this violence requires a network of individuals, groups and organizations who coordinate and assess their efforts on an ongoing basis. This volume provides theoretical and practical guidance for the development of state and local prevention systems that hold the potential to eliminate persistent social problems. The development of prevention systems was informed by the data-driven public health model, systems theory and the ecological systems perspective. Strengthening Systems to Prevent Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence offers guidance on how to gain participation of the right partners in developing a prevention system, and how to focus the work of that system on the critical areas of planning, implementation and capacity building. The guidance, resources and experience shared in this important collection will be invaluable to all those working towards the prevention of intimate partner violence and sexual violence. This book is based on a special issue of the Journal of Family Social Work.

A health-care provider is likely to be the first professional contact for survivors of intimate partner violence or sexual assault. Evidence suggests that women who have been subjected to violence seek health care more often than non-abused women, even if they do not disclose the associated violence. They also identify health-care providers as the professionals they would most trust with disclosure of abuse. These guidelines are an unprecedented effort to equip healthcare providers with evidence-based guidance as to how to respond to intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women. They also provide advice for policy makers, encouraging better coordination and funding of services, and greater attention to responding to sexual violence and partner violence within training programmes for health care providers. The guidelines are based on systematic reviews of the evidence, and cover: 1. identification and clinical care for intimate partner violence 2. clinical care for sexual assault 3. training relating to intimate partner violence and sexual assault against women 4. policy and programmatic approaches to delivering services 5. mandatory reporting of intimate partner violence. The guidelines aim to raise awareness of violence against women among health-care providers and policy-makers, so that they better understand the need for an appropriate health-sector response. They provide standards that can form the basis for national guidelines, and for integrating these issues into health-care provider education.

Research shows that intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) is the most common form of sexual assault. Professional focus is often on the victim, but more information is needed about the perpetrators in order to have a fuller understanding of this crime. The very nature of IPSV – sexual assault within a relationship – means that professionals who work with victims must understand the dynamics of perpetrators as well. This new book will distill the knowledge that exists about perpetrators of IPSV. It includes chapters by authors who have worked directly with IPSV perpetrators and covers important subjects such as addressing IPSV in batterer groups, police management strategies, the danger of IPSV to children, the different types of violence perpetrators use, and prevention approaches for young people. There is also still a widely held view that rapists are strangers in alleyways. This book is intended to educate professionals about who is a perpetrator, as well as to highlight the very real danger these perpetrators represent, including a heightened risk of lethality. The contributors look at the social context of IPSV and the implications for prevention and provide hands-on knowledge to practitioners in a number of fields. The book may also be used within the academic context in fields such as social work, sociology, counseling, psychology, medicine, nursing, criminal justice, and law.

"Intimate partner violence and sexual violence are significant global health problems and human rights issues. Under the rubric of violence against women the two overlapping issues have received increasing attention. Much of the response to these forms of violence has focussed either on advocacy, providing adequate health and legal services and ensuring safety of victims once violence is disclosed, or on screening for violence in the context of health services. When the word "prevention" is used, it is usually in reference to secondary and tertiary prevention - helping women get out of violent situations and preventing further violence. Little attention has been given to primary prevention - addressing the root causes with the goal of reducing the number of new cases. Recent hallmark publications have called for increased investment in primary prevention. As part of the Global Campaign for Violence Prevention, WHO is giving increased attention to the primary prevention of intimate partner violence and sexual violence. Preventing intimate partner and sexual violence against women: taking action and generating evidence is an important new tool for violence prevention researchers, practitioners and advocates provides a planning framework for developing policies and programmes for the prevention of intimate partner and sexual violence. This guide outlines the nature, magnitude, risks and consequences of intimate partner and sexual violence. It outlines strategies to prevent these forms of violence against women and describes how these can be tailored to the needs, capacities and resources of particular settings. It also emphasizes the importance of integrating scientific evaluation into all prevention activities in order to expand current knowledge of what works. The manual describes interventions of known effectiveness, those supported by emerging evidence, and those that could potentially be effective, but have yet to be sufficiently evaluated for their impact. For instance, school-based programmes to prevent violence occurring in "dating relationships" have been shown to be effective in randomized trials in the USA and Canada. Evidence is emerging for the effectiveness of empowerment approaches which use microfinance combined with gender-equality training or are based on communications and relationship skills training such as the Stepping Stones training package, which has been widely used in low- and middle-income countries. Strategies that aim to prevent intimate partner and sexual violence through reducing the harmful use of alcohol also show promise. A six-step framework for planning, implementing and evaluating such prevention programmes and policies is presented. This document is primarily aimed at policy-makers, programme planners and donors from public health and related sectors who seek to advance the prevention of intimate partner and sexual violence against women. In addition to the principal audience, other interested parties will include those working in other government sectors such as education, child welfare, social care, criminal justice and departments of women or gender equality; advocates from civil society organizations; local authorities; environmental and urban planners; and researchers."

According to global survey data, 30 percent of women who have ever been in a relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual violence, perpetrated by their intimate partner. In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), it is estimated that 29.8 percent of ever partnered women have been physically or sexually abused by their partners. This report leverages insights from the behavioral sciences, including behavioral economics, social psychology and neuroscience, to provide recommendations to improve the design of survivor services in the LAC region and, ultimately, to lead to better life outcomes for women. We aim to provide policymakers and service providers alike with: 1) A diagnosis informed by qualitative research of potential behavioral barriers that service providers and survivors face in the process of delivering and accessing services, respectively; and 2) Proposed interventions ideas, informed by a review of the behavioral science literature, that can be tailored to existing services and evaluated for impact.