Sexual violence
is a public health problem, with many victims ages 18 and younger. The National
Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (found here) shows:
- 1 in 2 women and 1 in 4 men
experience sexual violence in their lifetime.
- Sexual violence is common in youth
and usually committed by someone the victim knows.
- Adolescents who experience sexual
violence are likely to become victims again as adults.
DSHS, the Office of the Attorney General, the Texas
Association Against Sexual Assault, and Sexual Assault Programs work to stop
sexual violence before it occurs through the Rape Prevention and Education
Program (RPE). Using RPE funds, Texas programming:
- Promotes social norms that protect
against violence;
- Teaches skills that promote social-emotional
learning; and
- Provides
opportunities to support girls and young women.
Texas primary
prevention programming focuses on:
- Positive youth development as a
cornerstone of all prevention programming.
- Strategies that change an
environment to decrease risk of violence. Settings can include social,
cultural, and physical environments.
-
Sexual
assault programs to collect data on outcomes and measure change. Those
programs use activities and strategies to achieve their goals.
- Texas
organizations focus on community-level strategies, and use the following core
components:
Approved Activities
- Educational seminars;
- Training programs for professionals;
- Preparation of informational material; and
- Training programs for students and
college campus personnel.
Community Change
Strategies
- Coalition Building;
- Community Mobilization; and
- Policy Education.
Image Courtesy: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
With a specific
focus on community-level strategies, Texas implementing organizations use the
following core components of community-level work:
- Know your community – through an
active, ongoing process to identify community dynamics and readiness.
- Cultivate relationships – cultivate
inclusive and mutually respectful relationships within the community with
intentionality.
- Involve Youth and allow them to guide programming – promote opportunities
for youth and young adults to inform, plan, and lead community-level work.
- Foster a supportive environment – encourage
communication that values everyone's opinions and enhances their ability
to affect change.
- Foster cross-collaboration – understand the
causes of violence and factors that can protect people. Violence can
include sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and bullying. These
forms of violence often share similar root causes. Identify and foster
partnerships that align with sexual violence risk and protective factors.
Support mutual collaboration and collective action while honoring the
group’s capacity.
- Be action-oriented – cultivate and
support the progressions of community-based initiatives based on
readiness.
- Promote community ownership and leadership –
foster shared decision-making to strengthen leadership and sustainability.
Highlight, enhance, respect, and celebrate progress.
Other Agencies Working to End Violence Include:
- Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) – HHSC has programs available with the
goal to end violence including their Family Violence Program website.
- Texas
Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA) – TAASA wants to end sexual violence in Texas
through education, prevention, and advocacy. TAASA provides training on
prevention efforts and help to sexual assault programs. (TAASA's
website)
- Texas Council
on Family Violence (TCFV) – TCFV promotes safe and healthy relationships. It supports service
providers. It works on strategic prevention efforts. It creates opportunities
for freedom from domestic violence. (TCFV’s website)
Contact Us
Texas Department of State Health Services
Maternal & Child Health
PO Box 149347, Mail Code 1922
Austin, TX 78714-9347
512-776-7373: Phone
512-458-7658: Fax
TitleV@dshs.texas.gov
The Texas Department of State Health Services does not endorse external links to other websites. These links are informational and may not be accessible to persons with disabilities.