Introducing TCFV's Prevention Brief
Dear Colleagues,
Happy New Year! I’m excited to present the inaugural issue of TCFV’s monthly Prevention Brief.
Prevention workers in our movement have long talked about moving upstream and addressing the source of violence. In the same vein, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other public health organizations are increasingly emphasizing the importance of prevention. In a recent CDC study (2014), researchers affirmed that prevention work is key to ending all forms of intimate partner violence. With this in mind, we continue to observe varying levels of success in prevention efforts across the state of Texas.
Not everyone is convinced. NBC news published an article entitled, Why Domestic Violence Prevention Programs Don’t Work this past October (2014). The article outlined some of the risk factors associated with domestic violence, and discussed the scarcity of evidence linking these risk factors with intimate partner violence (IPV). It also pointed out a lack of evidence-based programs associated with IPV prevention. Our experience tells a different story!
In answering the call for prevention capacity building while using local examples to inspire our efforts, these monthly prevention briefs will serve two purposes. First, they will provide information on important research in the field of violence prevention. Second, they will highlight programs across the state that have successfully implemented prevention programs in order to develop a growing repertoire of best practices and lessons learned. In this introductory issue, you will meet the TCFV prevention team who stand ready to support your work.
My hope is that you find these briefs both enjoyable and helpful in your continued prevention efforts.
We look forward to hearing from you!
All the Best,
Alesha Istvan
Director of Prevention, Texas Council on Family Violence
