Every person deserves healthy & respectful relationships.
Albion’s Primary Prevention program works to address the root causes of violence as we build skills, promote healthy relationships, and shift cultural norms to promote respect to change risk factors for individuals and our community. Our efforts focus primarily on evidence-based programming that incorporates middle & high school youth, universities, and our community so that we may address risk factors associated with multiple social issues.
Encouraging individuals to build safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments creates the opportunity to build a community of advocates that can prevent violence and transition into a thriving community where individuals may safely live, work, and play.
In working with individuals and our community, primary prevention allows for us to communicate clear information that provides a change in knowledge and practice, information, and appeals to create an emotional or personal impact that may shift an individual’s attitude.
Awareness + Action = Change
Awareness alone will not change conditions and cultures that allow domestic & sexual violence to exist. Learn more about the differences between awareness and prevention and how they may work together for social change.
Levels of Prevention
Preventative education and efforts are rooted in the three main levels of prevention.
Social Change
“What conditions in the community condone &/or promote domestic & sexual violence?
What strategies might change these conditions?
What decreases a person’s risk of perpetrating domestic violence?”
Uncovering root or underlying causes of behavior at all levels of social ecology, social change adopts strategies that can stop violence before it occurs. In proposing the three questions at the start of this section, we can identify and recognize certain limiting cultural beliefs such as racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, adultism, and ableism can create an environment that excuses abuse & violence.
Primary Prevention vs Risk Reduction vs Awareness & Outreach
Understanding the differences between primary prevention, risk reduction, and awareness & outreach may provide more clarity and less confusion.
Primary Prevention |
Risk Reduction |
Awareness/Outreach |
|
Focus |
Addresses and/or changes underlying causes of abuse | Teaches individuals skills to reduce their risk of becoming a victim | Tells the community about abuse and where an individual may access services |
Target |
Targets individuals & community and provides education on victimization, perpetration, and bystander issues | Targets an individual’s behavior to provide change that relates to victimization | Targets the general public so they can help survivors or helps survivors connect with resources |
Example |
School programs teaching skills to be active bystanders, identifies gender stereotypes, and violence | Self-defence classes or Good Touch/Bad Touch, We Help Ourselves (WHO) and Watch Your Drink Campaigns | One-shot school programs, community-hosted events, and additional messaging addressing dynamics of abuse, myths, truths, and services |
Prevention Programming with Albion
Albion utilizes the 40 Developmental Assets in the work we do across our Residential, Non-Residential, and Prevention programs. To learn more, visit our 40 Developmental Assets page.
