Integrating Primary Prevention into Organizations

Many local sexual assault service providers, rape crisis centers and coalitions have focused work on intervention with policies and practices that emphasize victim health and safety as well as offender accountability. As organizations work toward sexual violence prevention, they must also adjust their entire agency mission toward primary prevention. The integration of primary prevention as a meaningful part of the organization’s mission requires changes in organizational structures, practices, and partnership efforts. Primary prevention of sexual violence takes the energy, commitment, and time of all staff, not just the prevention practitioners.

2019 North Dakota Organizational Capacity Assessment

Components to Consider

Examples of activities to increase organizational capacity for primary prevention:

  1. Update mission statement to include primary prevention

  2. Include primary prevention topics on Board meeting agendas

  3. Include primary prevention section on organization website

  4.  Apply for grants to support primary prevention

  5. Include primary prevention in all staff orientation materials

  6. Formalize a partnership with another agency that focuses on primary prevention

  7. Include primary prevention topics in agency newsletter including the linkage to ending all forms of oppression including sexism, racism, classism, heterosexism, agism, transphobia as well as others

  8. Communicate with local stakeholders about primary prevention instead of only intervention services

Below are resources to assist your agency with building agency capacity for primary prevention.

PreventConnect Webinar: How to Build Organizational Capacity to Support Sexual and Domestic Violence Prevention

Strategies for Integrating Prevention into Organizational Operations from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center

Embracing Prevention as Social Change How to Build Organizational Capacity for Prevention from The Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence

Building Capacity for Prevention from the Washington Coalition Against Domestic Violence

National Sexual Violence Resource Center Prevention Assessment