The sustainable delivery of sexual violence prevention education in schools

Sexual violence is a crime that cannot be ignored: it causes our communities significant consequences including heavy economic costs, and evidence of its effects can be seen in our criminal justice system, public health system, Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), and education system, particularly in our schools. Many agencies throughout New Zealand work to end sexual violence. Auckland-based Rape Prevention Education: Whakatu Mauri (RPE) is one such agency, and is committed to preventing sexual violence by providing a range of programmes and initiatives, information, education, and advocacy to a broad range of audiences. Up until early 2014 RPE employed one or two full-time positions dedicated to co-ordinating and training a large pool (up to 15) of educators on casual contracts to deliver their main school-based programmes, BodySafe – approximately 450 modules per year, delivered to some 20 high schools. Each year several of the contract educators, many of whom were tertiary students, found secure full time employment elsewhere. To retain sufficient contract educators to deliver its BodySafe contract meant that RPE had to recruit, induct and train new educators two to three times every year. This model was expensive, resource intense, and ultimately untenable. The Executive Director and core staff at RPE wanted to develop a more efficient and stable model of delivery that fitted its scarce resources. To enable RPE to know what the most efficient model was nationally and internationally, with Ministry of Justice funding, RPE commissioned Massey University to undertake this report reviewing national and international research on sexual violence prevention education (SVPE). [Background from Executive Summary.]Rape Prevention Education: Whakatu Maur

The sustainable delivery of sexual violence prevention education in schools

Sexual violence is a crime that cannot be ignored: it causes our communities significant consequences including heavy economic costs, and evidence of its effects can be seen in our criminal justice system, public health system, Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), and education system, particularly in our schools. Many agencies throughout New Zealand work to end sexual violence. Auckland-based Rape Prevention Education: Whakatu Mauri (RPE) is one such agency, and is committed to preventing sexual violence by providing a range of programmes and initiatives, information, education, and advocacy to a broad range of audiences. Up until early 2014 RPE employed one or two full-time positions dedicated to co-ordinating and training a large pool (up to 15) of educators on casual contracts to deliver their main school-based programmes, BodySafe – approximately 450 modules per year, delivered to some 20 high schools. Each year several of the contract educators, many of whom were tertiary students, found secure full time employment elsewhere. To retain sufficient contract educators to deliver its BodySafe contract meant that RPE had to recruit, induct and train new educators two to three times every year. This model was expensive, resource intense, and ultimately untenable. The Executive Director and core staff at RPE wanted to develop a more efficient and stable model of delivery that fitted its scarce resources. To enable RPE to know what the most efficient model was nationally and internationally, with Ministry of Justice funding, RPE commissioned Massey University to undertake this report reviewing national and international research on sexual violence prevention education (SVPE)

Reflecting on primary prevention of violence against women: the public health approach

Provides reflections on Australia\u27s efforts in primary prevention of violence against women and offers suggestions for the next steps to continue the momentum. Summary Australia has committed to a public health approach to preventing violence against women, transforming how policies and programming address this difficult social issue. The aim is to prevent the problem from occurring in the first place by directing policy and strategies towards changing the underlying causes, behaviours and attitudes that lead to the perpetration of violence against women. This Issues Paper provides reflections on Australia’s efforts in primary prevention of violence against women and offers suggestions for the next steps to continue the momentum. Key messages The public health approach to preventing violence against women is now a major influence on policy areas in Australia and internationally. Evidence about what works in prevention is still emerging and is currently quite disparate, due to the diverse nature of programs and settings. There are challenges in the evaluation of primary prevention work, but a clear understanding and agreement of what is meant by "success" will enable useful evaluation design. Australia now has a clearly articulated goal to reduce violence against women and their children. The next steps should translate evidence into action and maintain the positivity that is currently driving the unprecedented energy in this sector

Opportunities for early intervention: bringing perpetrators of family violence into view

This report calls for earlier and more proactive intervention in family violence, arguing that while family violence has finally come to attention as a systemic wrong in need of a National Plan, a significant gap exists in our collective response. Executive summary This report turns the spotlight on perpetrators of family violence. In doing so, it calls for earlier and more proactive intervention - explaining that, while family violence has finally come to attention as a systemic wrong in need of a National Plan, a significant gap exists in our collective response. Equally, while victims of family violence must remain our priority, these victims will also remain at risk unless we step back and widen our gaze. In other words, until we adjust the lens and bring those who use violence and coercion more clearly into view - until we intervene at the source of the problem - the cycle of this violence will simply roll on. This may manifest in assaults against the same or subsequent partners, in the damaging effects we know are experienced by children, in the behaviour of  adolescents, or in the tragic escalation that can devastate an entire community. Either way, it will manifest as core business in our courts and as an ongoing drain on our economic and social wellbeing

Domestic, family and sexual violence in Australia: an overview of the issues

Provides an overview of research on the prevalence of domestic, family and sexual violence, at risk groups and the costs of violence against women to communities and to the economy. Introduction In 2013 the World Health Organization (WHO) published the first systematic international review on the prevalence of violence against women. During the course of the review the authors analysed and collated data from around the world, including Australia, on the prevalence of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence. The review found that violence against women is a significant public health problem and a violation of human rights that affects more than one third of all women globally. The review concluded that the prevalence of violence constitutes ‘a global public health problem of epidemic proportions, requiring urgent action’. In Australia, domestic, family and sexual violence is widespread across all cultures, ages and socio-economic groups and the majority of those who experience these forms of violence are women. The most recent data on personal safety found that many men and women experience at least one encounter with violence in their lifetimes. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) survey estimated that in 2012, 49 per cent of men aged 18 years and over and 41 per cent of women aged 18 years and over had experienced some form of violence since the age of 15. Men were far more likely to experience physical violence at the hands of a stranger. However, the majority of women experienced physical violence by someone known to them—usually an intimate partner. While both men and women were more likely to experience physical violence than sexual violence, those who did experience sexual violence were much more likely to be women—around 4 per cent of men and 17 per cent of women had experienced sexual violence since the age of 15. Of those who experienced sexual violence (both men and women), the majority reported that the perpetrator was known to them. This research paper updates several previous Parliamentary Library publications on the levels of violence experienced by women in Australia. The paper includes an overview of research on the prevalence of domestic, family and sexual violence, at risk groups and the costs of violence against women to communities and to the economy. Limited comparisons of the levels of violence experienced by men and women are included where relevant. The paper also includes an overview of policy approaches designed to prevent violence against women

Children affected by domestic and family violence: a review of domestic and family violence prevention, early intervention and response services

This report sets out the findings of research into domestic and family violence prevention, early intervention and response for children aged 0–8 years in New South Wales. Executive summary The report contributes to the development of the knowledge base on DFV prevention, early intervention and response strategies and the needs of children, and supports the implementation of aspects of the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and Their Children and the NSW Government’s It Stops Here: Standing Together to end Domestic and Family Violence in NSW strategy. The research had two areas of focus: synthesising the literature on the impacts of DFV on children, and on the evidence for primary prevention and early intervention strategies for children aged 0–8 years; and identifying best practice approaches for primary prevention, early intervention and response for children aged 0–8, and identifying the extent to which these needs are met within existing DVF primary prevention, early intervention, and response approaches in Australia

Changing the way we think about change: shifting boundaries changing lives

The 2012 Australian and New Zealand Critical Criminology Conference was held in Hobart over two days from 12 - 13 July.   This conference was organised around the theme of ‘Changing the Way We Think about Change – Shifting Boundaries, Changing Lives’. There were five general plenaries, including speakers from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and the United States, and the conference featured early career as well as experienced researchers. The plenaries included sessions on gender and imprisonment; the pursuit of truth and justice; Indigenous legal needs and justice reinvestment; policing and vulnerability; and migration and global security issues. This publication provides a sample of some of the presentations delivered at the 2012 Critical Criminology Conference

Sexual violence: Raising the conversations, a literature review

This literature review is intended to contribute to efforts to raise awareness and conversations around sexual violence. It is focused on men’s sexual violence against adolescent and adult women. We begin our review by briefly considering the definition of sexual violence, its prevalence, and its impact. In Section 2, following the lead of public health theorists, we use an ecological framework to discuss factors which contribute to – or are protective of – sexual violence. That is, we adopt a multi‐level approach, considering risk factors at societal, community, relationship and individual levels. Although we look at each of these levels in turn, as will become evident, it is also important to consider the interactions between levels. In Section 3, we review evaluations of various attempts to prevent sexual violence. Mostly, these evaluations have focused on individual level prevention efforts: prevention at community and societal levels seem to have received little attention from evaluators. Nevertheless, there are some useful lessons to be gained from the evaluation literature. In section 4, we attempt to integrate the material considered in sections 2 and 3 into a framework proposed by the (US) National Sexual Violence Resource Center (Davis, Parks, & Cohen, 2006). Consistent with a public health approach, the Spectrum of Prevention is a multi‐level model

The national plan to reduce violence against women and their children 2010 – 2022

Released in 2011, this 12-year national plan was an COAG initiative supported by Commonwealth, state and territory governments working with the community and includeds the first three-year action plan. Over 12 years the National Plan aims to achieve: A significant and sustained reduction in violence against women and their children. The National Plan focuses on the two main types of violent crimes that have a major impact on women in Australia–domestic and family violence and sexual assault. Research shows there is a strong link between violence against women and their children and how people view the roles of women and men. The National Plan focuses on stopping violence before it happens in the first place, supporting women who have experienced violence, stopping men from committing violence, and building the evidence base so that we learn more about ‘what works’ in reducing domestic and family violence and sexual assault. These changes take time, which is why we need a long-term plan. Each of the four Action Plans build on each other over 12 years, and are designed so that we can look back at what has been achieved and refocus on what actions will make the most difference in the future