Engaging the Community: Building Effective Partnerships in Sexual Violence Prevention

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethan Czuy Levine
Keyword(s):  
Violence Prevention ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
University Administrators ◽  
Medical Providers ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Partners ◽  
Concrete Action

Sexual violence is a multifaceted problem with individual, interpersonal, institutional, and cultural dimensions. Researchers have increasingly turned to social institutions, such as nonprofit agencies, in their efforts to understand and ultimately prevent aggression and victimization. Drawing on interviews with 30 scientists and other scholars, this study explored sexual violence researchers’ experiences with and approaches to collaborating with local communities and institutions. Participants shared diverse experiences working with institutionalized and noninstitutionalized local communities, antiviolence advocates and social workers, medical providers, police, attorneys, employees of bars and restaurants, educators, and university administrators. Many noted that the commitments that motivate researchers may be insufficient for engaging community partners. The aim of ending violence, in itself, may not be enough. Narratives of trauma, of risk and safety, may not be enough. Concerns about limited resources and potential backlash or liability may dissuade community members and institutions from partnering with researchers in prevention. Distrust may also pose a barrier. Fortunately, researchers have developed promising strategies for engaging institutional partners despite these concerns. These include cultivating mutual partnerships, in which researchers prioritize institutional input and commit to giving back to their partners and surrounding communities; combining awareness and prevention, in which efforts to raise awareness through institutions are coupled with the development of concrete action plans; and reframing the problem, in which sexual violence or its outcomes are connected with established institutional priorities.

Comprehensive Prevention of Campus Sexual Violence: Expanding Who Is Invited to the Table

2019 ◽  
pp. 152483801988327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah McMahon ◽  
Jordan J. Steiner ◽  
Simone Snyder ◽  
Victoria L. Banyard
Keyword(s):  
Violence Prevention ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Sexual Violence Prevention ◽  
Institutional Leadership ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Whole School Approach

There are calls for sexual violence prevention to be more comprehensive and align with a socio-ecological approach. However, there is lack of models with specificity on how to engage additional stakeholders. Whole School Approach (WSA) frameworks have been used to address health promotion and bullying prevention and can be a useful model for guiding campus sexual violence prevention work. WSA models situate violence as a community issue and one where all community members have a role to play in prevention. Rather than focusing on addressing individual behavior, WSA frameworks address the role of the larger school environment in serving as a protective factor against violence, abuse, and harassment. A review of the literature on WSA frameworks in other disciplines reveals a number of potential ways to translate key elements of WSA models to the field of campus sexual violence prevention. In particular, mechanisms can be applied to expand the role of students, faculty, staff, parents/significant adults, institutional leadership, and the larger community.

Dispelling a Myth: Reevaluating the Predictive Validity of Rape Myth Acceptance for Likelihood of Engaging in Sexual Violence

Sexual Abuse ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 107906322110262
Author(s):  
Annabelle Frazier ◽  
Joseph E. Gonzales
Keyword(s):  
Violence Prevention ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Criminal History ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Rape Myth ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
College Age ◽  
Recent Attention

Sexual violence prevention on college campuses has received significant recent attention. A prevalent intervention paradigm has centered around re-educating young people around consent and reduce endorsement of “rape myths,” based on the correlation between rape myths and sexual violence incidents. Yet many of these programs have not measurably reduced sexual assaults. We evaluated the predictive value of a rape myth measure, as compared with other predictors (criminal history, childhood victimization, aggressive tendencies, substance use, and empathy), in predicting self-reported acts of forcible and incapacitated sexual assault in college-age men ( N = 304) from 45 U.S. states. Across three logistic regression model pairs, rape myths were weakly associated with violence when considered as sole predictors. However, this predictive power dissipated when other predictors were included. Comprehensive models accounted significantly better for variability in outcomes; with criminal history demonstrating consistent predictive effects. Based on these findings, we recommend further research into prevention programming based on other predictors of violence.

America’s First Memorial Honoring Survivors of Sexual Violence

2022 ◽  
pp. 088626052110675
Author(s):  
Alexa Sardina ◽  
Nicole Fox
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Local Leadership ◽  
Global Trend ◽  
Feminist Movements ◽  
Sense Of Justice ◽  
Legal Interventions

Over the past two decades, America taken part of a broader global trend of “memorial mania” in which memorials dedicated to remembering injustice have exploded into public space. Memorials that facilitate the centering of marginalized narratives of violence hold significant power for social change. This article focuses on one such space: The Survivors Memorial in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Survivors Memorial opened in October 2020 and is the first public memorial honoring survivors of sexual violence. Despite the progress of the anti-rape and feminist movements as well as a variety of legal interventions designed to address sexual violence and empower, many survivors are left without a sense of justice or institutional or community recognition. Drawing on 21 in-depth, qualitative interviews with individuals involved in all aspects of the memorial project, this article documents how one community mobilized to create a space for survivors whose voices are often overlooked, disbelieved and silenced by the criminal justice system, practitioners, and communities. In focusing on how participants narrate the significance and meaning of the Survivors Memorial, this article uncovers how social, political, and local circumstances coalesced to make the Memorial possible. These factors include local leadership, the prevalence of sexual violence, the unique structure of the Minneapolis park structure, and the rise of the #MeToo movement. Interviews illuminate that participants worked to intentionally construct the Memorial as an accessible and visible space that centers on providing all sexual violence survivors with public acknowledgment of their experiences, while simultaneously engaging community members in dialogs about sexual violence, ultimately, laying the foundation for sexual violence prevention efforts.

scholarly journals Nonprofits and the Promotion of Civic Engagement: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the "Civic Footprint" of Nonprofits within Local Communities

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Micheal L. Shier ◽  
Lindsey McDougle ◽  
Femida Handy
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Rural Community ◽  
Community Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Education And Awareness

ABSTRACT   The literature suggests that nonprofit organizations provide civic benefits by promoting engagement within local communities. However, there exists minimal empirical evidence describing the ways in which nonprofits actually undertake this role. In order to address this omission, we conducted interviews with personnel of nonprofit organizations in one rural community in the United States. Our preliminary findings indicate that nonprofit organizations promote civic engagement through programs and activities that: 1) engage volunteers and donors; 2) bring community members together; 3) collaborate with organizations within and beyond the community; and 4) promote community education and awareness. Together, these findings help to develop a working model to understand the civic footprint of nonprofit organizations with methodological implications for future research that would seek to measure the extent to which nonprofits promote civic engagement. Il est normal de supposer que les associations à but non lucratif favorisent l’engagement du citoyen dans les communautés locales. Cependant, il existe peu de données empiriques sur la manière dont ces associations assument véritablement ce rôle. Pour combler ce manque, nous avons mené des entretiens semi-directifs approfondis auprès du personnel d’associations à but non lucratif dans une petite communauté rurale aux États-Unis. Nos résultats préliminaires indiquent que ces associations motivent les citoyens à s’impliquer quand elles offrent des programmes et des activités qui : 1) intéressent les bénévoles et les donateurs; 2) rassemblent directement ou indirectement les membres de la communauté; 3) collaborent avec d’autres associations tant au sein de la communauté qu’au-delà de celle-ci; et 4) encouragent l’éducation et la conscientisation communautaires. Ces constats aident à établir un modèle pour mieux comprendre la présence civique des associations à but non lucratif dans les communautés et indiquent une piste à suivre pour des recherches futures qui examineraient l’influence de ces associations sur le niveau de participation civique.

scholarly journals Aboriginal entrepreneurship in the Northern Ob region

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-85
Author(s):  
Elena P. Martynova
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous People ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Family Ties ◽  
The North ◽  
Structure Of Communities ◽  
Informal Economies ◽  
Economic Interaction ◽  
History Of

he article deals with the history of the development of entrepreneurship in the Northern Ob region among the Nenets, Khanty and Mansi. The author calls it «aboriginal” meaning that it as an economic activity that makes profit from the works directly related to the traditional sectors of the economy of the indigenous North peoples or from sale of products of economy. The article is based on the author’s field materials obtained during many years of field research (2000, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2017 years) in different areas of Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. It was found that two types of aboriginal entrepreneurship are developed in the Northern Ob region: institutional and informal. The first is represented by communities (either tribal or national) of indigenous people and farms. Their organization is socially oriented: communities are primarily a place of work for fishermen and reindeer herders. Community entrepreneurship is supported by the authorities of the district and the Okrug through a system of grants. The income of most community members is low, forcing them to seek additional income opportunities. The structure of communities of indigenous people is based on family ties. Informal aboriginal entrepreneurship spontaneously emerged in the crisis of the 1990-s and still does not give up its position. It provides the main income to families of private reindeer herders and fishermen. As a result of this aboriginal business quite stable client networks are formed that contribute to the social integration of local communities. Such entrepreneurship brings higher incomes, compared with the legalized formal ones, despite the lack of support from the “top” of the authorities. This largely contributes to its stability in the harsh northern conditions, where the market is small. The risk of being deceived is not an obstacle to the development of such business. The boundaries between institutional and informal economies in the North are penetrable and fluid. A private reindeer herder can be a member of the family community, and after delivering the minimum rate of products traditional industries can act as an independent businessman, selling products through his customers or visiting merchants. The same can be true for members of fishing communities. The interweaving of institutional and informal entrepreneurship forms a complex network of social and economic interaction in local communities.

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