Strengths-Focused Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence Prevention: Current Approaches and Future Directions

Significant strides have been made in sexual and dating/intimate partner violence prevention research and practice, particularly with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the public health approaches to violence prevention. Such guidance has centered the importance of attending to violence prevention strategies that affect change in each realm (i.e., individual, relationship, community, and societal) of the social ecology as well as primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of prevention across the life span. Regrettably, such research and practice has largely taken a deficit-focused rather than a strengths-focused approach; much more is known about risk factors for violence rather than protective factors and sources of healing, resilience, and strength among individuals, families, and communities impacted by such violence. Although there is a lack of data to inform the development, implementation, and evaluation of strengths-focused sexual and dating/intimate partner violence prevention strategies, social work as a field is well-situated to inform and expand emerging work in this critical area. As such, the aims of this roundtable are for participants to: (1) increase their understanding and knowledge of current approaches to strengths-focused sexual and dating/intimate partner violence prevention research, as well as strategy development, implementation, and evaluation; and (2) engage in discussion regarding how to bolster such work moving forward.

Roundtable presenters will draw on their own work engaging in strengths-focused sexual and dating/intimate partner violence prevention research and practice. Each presenter will provide a brief overview of their current research and/or a field of research that takes a strengths-focused approach to such violence prevention. These examples collectively address various levels of the social ecology across the life span. The first presenter will share her experiences developing, implementing, and evaluating programs aimed at preventing first-time sexual and dating violence among youth. The second presenter will share findings regarding survivors' perspectives of accountability and justice and implications for policy and practice. The third presenter will share her experiences developing and implementing a sex-trafficking curriculum for youth in North Carolina. The fourth presenter will discuss secondary and tertiary prevention of IPV among college-aged adults.

Following brief overviews by each presenter, the roundtable convener and presenters will guide discussion concerning strengths-based sexual and dating/intimate partner violence prevention, encouraging active participation from audience members. Audience members will be encouraged to share their own experiences, questions, and ideas, with the goal of collectively identifying ways in which social worker researchers and practitioners can promote strengths-focused violence prevention in their own efforts.