Prevention Tips

Messaging sexual violence prevention is such an important part of our overall strategy, but it can be tricky to create a compelling and hopeful pitch for prevention that will reach a broad audience, while also navigating deeply embedded rape myths & victim blaming.

This the second part in our series on messaging prevention. For this series, we draw from the guidance and toolkits developed in partnership by Raliance and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center with the…

In our work to end sexual violence, sometimes best practices in prevention and what communities want to hear about (i.e. awareness and education) are not the same thing. Large school assemblies and tips for staying safe at parties are often welcomed by our communities — these make them feel safe and don't ask too much of them. With limited resources to do our prevention work, it is important that we are able to distinguish between primary prevention and awareness or risk reduction activities…

Sometimes we use a myths/facts approach in community education. Is it useful? Not really.

Take this example from a flyer from the Centers for Disease Control.

Myth:

The flu shot can cause the flu.

Fact:

The flu shot cannot cause the flu. Some people get a little soreness or redness where they get the shot.

Researchers read the flyer to people, and got some surprising results. Within 30 minutes, older people remembered about a…

Posters campaigns can be a great way to raise awareness and when used in conjunction with other activities may be part of a more comprehensive prevention project. Here are some examples of poster campaigns that are either pro-active about stopping sexual & dating violence or promote positive messaging and environments.

The Red Flag Campaign

• Designed by the Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance for college campuses. The poster…

We've spent a lot of time figuring out what the spectrum of sexual violence looks like, but do we have concrete ideas about what the alternative is? Healthy sexuality is a complex and nuanced subject area that allows us to explore the positive, healthy, fulfilling, and violence-free expressions of sexuality.

Infusing healthy sexuality messaging into your work will likely require preparation. Do you know why healthy sexuality is an integral part of our prevention work? How can you…

Healthy sexuality is an important component of preventing sexual violence. Therefore there are several resources that can be incorporated into prevention programs. We know that it is important to deliver prevention programming that is socio-culturally relevant and developmental appropriate. So when working with youth or adults with developmental or cognitive disabilities, finding resources that are tailored to this community may be helpful.

Here are three curricula that focus on…

Tell a prevention story.

We are trying to prevent a social problem: sexual violence is epidemic. Since we are tackling such a large issue, our efforts can draw disagreements or resistance. It is easy to fall into the argument trap, and try to fight fire with fire. After all, if they only understood, how could they possibly disagree?

Statistics are a natural thing to reach for when justifying arguments or preparing presentations. For you and me, statistics might tell a rich…

Prevention work can be rewarding but also challenging. We want to help to facilitate positive social change within our communities but sometimes we run into obstacles or aren't sure we're making an impact. How can we stay motivated to do this work?

Feel enthused, refreshed, and appreciated!

Talk to other prevention folks!

Fight isolation by building relationships with others working to end sexual violence. Chat about…

We know that our community members receive a lot of information about health, wellness, safety, and other public health issues. How do we make our message about the importance of sexual violence prevention really stick? How do we motivate them to choose the healthy, non-violent attitudes and behaviors? The way in which we convey our messages in person, through resource materials, and with media are all important.

Communication that leads to action

There are many approaches…

This tip is about consent-now I know you might be thinking, again? But hear me out.

Yes, consent is a fairly common topic area in sexual assault prevention, and there are good reasons for that. Far too often though we come up with reasons why we CANNOT teach consent. Things like the kids I'm working with are too young for that, or the school doesn't let us talk about sex. And this is why this Tip is about consent... without sex.

It's About So Much More

A recent…