195533 Violence against women programming and education on campus: The tide of challenges

Monday, November 9, 2009: 8:54 AM

Ami Lynch, PhD , Women's Studies, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
     
College-aged women are at significant risk for experiencing sexual assault, intimate partner violence and stalking. The need for programming and education on violence against women on college campuses is great, but the challenges are many. During a one-year project designed to train law enforcement and housing personnel, as well as student leaders and athletes on the realities of violence against women as a public health concern on an urban university campus, the dam of issues burst. This process evaluation paper presents the implementation challenges, the core objective of the trainings held, the content and design of events to raise awareness, the results of knowledge change data collection, and the strengths and weaknesses of the program. Most importantly it devises a preparatory toolkit for public health professionals on other college campuses that will assist them in implementing a similar program. By the end of the session participants will be able to:

1. Identify the steps involved in planning campus-based training and education programs.

2. Recognize the challenges of programming in higher education and strategize methods to avoid these challenges.

3. Consult a toolkit of ideas for more successful campus anti-violence programming.

Learning Objectives:
Explain the challenges faced when implementing a program on a college campus designed to increase awareness about violence against women (particularly sexual assault, IPV and stalking). Identify the core concepts in training university police and housing staff on increased knowledge and sensitivity for issues related to violence against women on college campuses. Compare resource knowledge change in training participants. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the on campus training program. Develop a toolkit for applying this training program on other college campuses.

Keywords: Violence, College Students

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Director of Gender and Special Populations at Social Solutions International, Inc. I am an Assistant Professor at the George Washington University.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Fighting for Our Lives: Health Care Perspectives on Intimate Partner Violence and Rape
See more of: APHA-Committee on Women's Rights