TDH Booklet4 - Texas Association Against Sexual Assault

Plan for Action
Plan for Action
PUBLIC AWARENESS
Texans must understand sexual assault, domestic violence, and
stalking as public health crises and emphasize primary prevention
interventions that create nonviolent norms and behavior in the
population at large.
Significance:
In order for the population to engage in collective action to
end public health crises, the community at large must understand
the problems (their roots, definitions and prevalence) as well as
each person’s role in contributing to the existence or ending of the
crisis. A spectrum of interventions that goes beyond educational
materials are required in order to raise public awareness of
complex issues like sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking. 99
Current Status:
Recent statewide studies examining Texans’ perceptions of
sexual assault and domestic violence found many differing levels of
understanding of the problems. 100 Not only do Texans diverge
dramatically in the way they define abuse, but they also vary in
their interpretation of risk and protective factors for both
perpetrators and victims. Nonetheless, survey respondents
overwhelmingly expressed great concern about both issues and do
not believe the state of Texas is doing enough to address sexual
assault or domestic violence.
Generally, public awareness efforts strive to promote
individual action and change social norms that deem violence
against women acceptable. 101 Campaigns aim to create social
expectations for non-violent behavior, change attitudes about risk
and consequences of taking action and promote through
demonstration the expectation that people can make changes. 102
Activities that expose the population repeatedly to related messages
have culminated in changed attitudes and beliefs. 103 Recent
grassroots efforts where men take the lead in visibly standing up
against abuse of women have been very effective, as have efforts
to change related policy through associate media coverage and
education. 104
Screening clients in health care settings, particularly for
victimization has become a standard practice in many states and
proponents believe it helps many survivors of abuse access help
47 A STRATEGIC PLAN TO PREVENT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN TEXAS