Primary prevention is a term many are unfamiliar with unless they come from a public health background. It is also often misunderstood as risk reduction, which is implementing techniques that may reduce the likelihood that a potential victim experiences a sexual assault and sends a message that potential victims are the ones responsible for preventing an assault, not the perpetrator. For example, women and girls specifically are often encouraged to watch their drink, never walk alone at night, carry pepper spray and dress conservatively. Risk Reduction also perpetuates the myth that most sexual assaults are committed by a stranger, even though research informs us that at least 80% of sexual assault are committed by someone we know and trust. On the other hand, primary prevention is solely focused on creating a culture in which individuals would never consider sexually assaulting or harming another person. This is the heart of the mission of our movement, to end violence.
In order to prevent violence, we must consider the root cause of sexual violence, which is oppression. This means that our primary prevention programming on campuses or communities must be rooted in an anti-oppression framework that intentionally addresses racism, heterosexism, classism, sexism, and ableism. All of which we see on a daily basis in our communities. The promotion of strict gender roles, male entitlement, and victim-blaming culture also significantly contribute to the normalization of sexual violence. In order to engage in social norms change and anti-oppression work, our efforts must be community-led, meaning turning to the very folks who are disproportionally affected by this form of violence, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ survivors of sexual violence. Presentations, workshops, and informational materials are helpful in developing a campus’s understanding of sexual violence, but they do little to change the social norms, attitudes, and behaviors that support sexual violence. Primary prevention work requires community organizing.
To begin this work, campuses can identify an internal department or partner with a community-based domestic and sexual violence organization to kick off a community-based program. The next step will be recruiting individuals within the campus who are passionate about the prevention of sexual violence and anti-oppression work. Advertise the opportunity widely on multiple different platforms and illicit feedback from student organizers already on campus on how to frame your messaging. Once you have a group of young people committed to this effort, building trust amongst one another is essential. Campuses can support this programming by providing food or monetary compensation to the participants. Organizing work is time-consuming and can be exhausting, to support retention individuals need to be compensated for their efforts. Basic informal, interactive training should be provided to all participants concerning community organizing principles, the root causes, and dynamics of sexual violence, bystander intervention, and primary prevention of sexual violence. The group will then begin to consider how they can promote protective factors on campus on reducing risk factors.
Our protective factors against sexual violence are a sense of connection, empathy, and a belief in equity for all individuals. With these protective factors in mind, the group can begin organizing events, activities, and discussions on campus that promote a sense of connection for folks. This can simply look like hosting fun and engaging events where all are welcome. Or it can look like holding listening sessions, or circle discussions concerning creating a more equitable environment on campus centering the voices of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ students.
Bystander intervention education and awareness can focus on the intervention of microaggressions and harmful comments that condone or support violence.
If reducing and eventually eliminating sexual violence from our communities is the goal, we must begin addressing the root causes of sexual violence. Let’s shift away from simply intervening in harmful behaviors and encouraging potential victims to protect themselves as much as possible, and instead consider how we are supporting efforts that shift harmful attitudes and beliefs to ones that are supportive of the respect and safety of all individuals. Let’s start with ourselves first, and commit to a lifetime of critical self-reflection and examination of our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that may or may not support a future of liberation.
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