Violence Prevention Program
Violence Prevention Overview
At LAWS, we are dedicated to working towards the elimination and prevention of domestic and sexual violence in our community. The LAWS Violence Prevention Program works directly with Loudoun County community members of all ages to implement violence prevention programming.
Our Prevention Programming…
- is DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE. Our prevention programs are always tailored to the age group, and includes only information that is appropriate
- teaches TANGIBLE SKILLS. Our outcomes are skills your child can use to help prevent violence: Communication, emotional intelligence, bystander intervention, media literacy, etc
- is ENGAGING. Our prevention programs are not only age-appropriate and evidence-based, but they’re FUN! Talking about violence can be uncomfortable, but changing our community for the better doesn’t have to be
The Violence Prevention Program collaborates with a number of community partners to provide our programming in a variety of settings
What is Prevention?
Prevention means stopping violence BEFORE it happens or stopping it from happening AGAIN.
Prevention means addressing upstream factors that perpetuate violence in our community. We do this by increasing “protective factors” or teaching our community members how to engage in healthy behaviors that promote nonviolence. We also aim to reduce “risk factors” that make individuals more likely to commit violence by teaching our community members how to confront behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes that are at the root cause of violence.
Our violence prevention strategy is comprehensive:
- We collaborate with a diverse range of partners in our community to strengthen the impact of our prevention approach.
- We ensure that we have a multidisciplinary lens to meet the unique needs of stakeholders across our community.
- We strive to guide individuals through ending violence by incorporating prevention practices in their relationships, their involvement in our community, and throughout society.
Sexual and Domestic Violence are the root causes of many other issues our community faces. We all have the responsibility to end violence!
Our Approach to Prevention
We are committed to “Primary Prevention” or stopping violence before it happens. In order to do this, our prevention approach addresses root causes to stop violence at its source. This means confronting risk factors for violence such as:
- Boundaries, consent, and communication
- Beliefs, attitudes, and norms that promote or create an environment that allows violence
- Barriers that stop us from intervening or speaking up when we see violence or behaviors that could lead to violence
Get Involved!
LAWS uses evidence-based trainings, presentations, and peer education activities for teens and young adults to learn about:
- Healthy relationships and dating violence warning signs
- Body safety and consent
- Bystander intervention
- Alcohol safety
- Media Literacy
- Overcoming Gender Stereotypes
- Combatting Victim Blame and Rape Myths
LAWS also has programming available for parents and adults working with children:
- How to talk to children and teens about body safety
- Available for age groups 1-5, 6-12, and 13-21
- Safe Dates for Families, a 6-week, at-home, self-guided program for families with teens (12+) to talk about healthy relationships and body safety
- Identifying and addressing risk factors in children
- Bystander Intervention
Programming is also available for general community members and allied professionals:
- Bystander intervention training
- Sexual Violence 101: Know it, Recognize it, Prevent it
- The Impact of Sexual Violence on the LGBTQ+ Community
- Other trainings/programming as requested
- Include an online form for outreach contact WHO?
Host an Event or Campaign
Send proactive messages to promote anti-violence norms:
- Violence is not welcome here!
- “No.” is a complete sentence.
- Love is not possessive.
Put these messages on signs, buttons, stickers, or t-shirts!
Teach your peers about healthy relationships with
tabling activities:
- Sign a healthy relationships pledge
- Write “red flags” and “green flags” on a poster board
- Write one action they will take to stop violence
- Make posters to promote healthy social norms
Dedicate a game or match to raising awareness:
- Encourage fans to wear purple (for domestic violence) or orange (for teen dating violence)
- Make signs that say “(Your Mascot)s stand with survivors!”
- Incorporate purple or orange into your uniform
Host a social media campaign:
- Post anonymous stories sharing healthy or unhealthy relationship stories
- Share pictures of friends sharing how they stand up against violence
- Have competition to make TikToks sharing unhealthy VS. healthy elements of relationships
Create a marketing campaign:
- Pass out buttons with healthy relationship traits like “Compromise,” “Respect,” and “Autonomy.”
- Take a poll of your peers and share the percentage of people who agree with healthy relationship habits.
- Handout notes with affirmations to let your peers know they are worthy of respect and love.
The Violence Prevention Program collaborates with a number of community allies to provide programming that is tailored to the needs of our partners and their audience.
Bring in LAWS
To bring in LAWS to give a presentation with your organization OR to create a tailored prevention training/activity, please contact our Violence Prevention Specialist, colleen.mcdaniel@lcsj.org.
