TDH Booklet4 - Texas Association Against Sexual Assault

Background Paper - Primary Prevention of Violence Against Women
does not take into account the possibility of increased risk of
victimization due to drugs such as GBH, the “date rape drug,” or
other drugs consumed without consent.
Judith McFarlane, a Texas-based researcher in the public
health field, has been involved with recent studies that assess risk
factors for escalated abuse and those that lead to a woman’s
chance of being killed by her abuser, femicide. 65 Findings support
previous research showing a woman’s risk of being killed increases
if the man abusing her has access to a firearm, 66 while other risk
factors for femicide include estrangement, stalking, forced sex and
abuse during pregnancy. 67
VAW occurs at all socioeconomic levels, however, financial
independence can protect women in some situations, while an
arrangement where a woman works and her partner does not can
constitute a risk factor. Education can be protective for both women
and men, however some researchers assert that education levels
need to be high before education becomes protective. Residing in
communities with access to sanctuary (shelters or family support)
and community norms against VAW (legal or moral pressure) has
been found to be strong protective factors. 68
Residing in communities
with access to sanctuary
(shelters or family
support) and community
norms against VAW (legal
or moral pressure) has
been found to be strong
protective factors.
Risk and protective factors continue to be explored in their
complexities. Findings influence efforts to prevent and minimize
VAW and should be applied carefully with an eye to cultural,
gender and class biases.
Developing and Testing Prevention Efforts
Primary prevention refers to the public health strategy of
working with the general population to stop a public health
problem before it occurs. Traditional and current efforts to prevent
VAW emphasize secondary and tertiary prevention efforts to
reduce victims’ risks and minimize exposure to violence. 69
Researchers and practitioners in the field of VAW and injury
prevention have, however, begun shifting their focus to primary
prevention in order to transform community beliefs and norms
about VAW, with a vision to go beyond managing the violence,
toward anticipating an end to men’s coercive and violent conduct
toward women. 70
The field of primary prevention to end sexual assault, domestic
violence and stalking is still in a formative phase and has not been
submitted to rigorous evaluation. In fact, the dearth of good
31 A STRATEGIC PLAN TO PREVENT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN TEXAS