Prevention

Primary prevention means stopping something from happening BEFORE it occurs.
 
One of our goals at VPVA is to help our community engage in primary prevention practices. We do this in two ways:
1. Addressing risk factors that exist that cause individuals to commit physical, sexual, and emotional violence.
2. Engage and encourage bystander intervention to stop the attitudes and behaviors associated with violence and its occurrence.
 

Our Primary Prevention Programs:

Up2Us: Bystander Intervention
Bystander Intervention programs are one of the main ways campuses and institutions across the country engage in primary prevention.  This approach engages community members to intervene in situations that support, promote or cause violence and it situations in which some form of violence is evident.
 
The Up2Us program is a multisession program that includes in person workshops as well as modules to complete on your own. Each workshop is designed to provide information to students and increase their individual skills to intervene.
 
Click here for more information about UP2US or bystander intervention.
 

Healthy Relationship Series
One of our primary prevention focuses on the individual and relationship levels.  The goal of this series is to increase student’s individual capacity to practice healthy relationship skills. The Series consists of four sessions that guide students through different times in relationships including:
  • starting and maintaining a positive and healthy relationship
  • consent within relationships
  • ending a relationship and accepting rejection
  • utilizing technology within our relationships
The Workshops:
 
Boo'd Up
This workshop will help students reflect on what defining relationships, boundaries and communication skills
 
Pizza and Fries
This workshop explores understanding consent and how to give and receive consent.  This workshop also explores how to deal with rejection.
 
Thank U, Next
This workshop helps students navigate ending relationships. We address toxic behaviors (including those of friends), healthy partner traits, and practicing self-care.
 
Swipe Right
This workshop explores the use of technology and how it impacts relationships, how we communicate within relationships and transparency while using apps.
 
Engaging Men
Our Engaging Men Program focuses on the individual and societal level of prevention. The workshop, which is co-facilitated by VPVA staff and some of our campus allies, works to assist our male students (cis or trans) in understanding the full range of the concept of masculinity and how rigid gender role socialization by individuals, families, groups and society increase the occurrence of interpersonal violence.