Partnering to prevent intimate partner violence: Options and opportunities

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious public health problem influenced by complex social conditions. Preventing IPV requires concerted local, state and national efforts among partners from different sectors and disciplines. This presentation describes partnerships and related outcomes from a national IPV prevention initiative that seeks to build state, organizational, and community capacity to prevent IPV. Methods: Three types of partnerships were tracked to better understand how they influence social and organizational change for IPV prevention: 1) a national partnership of advocates, practitioners, and researchers working together to leverage resources and opportunities that support IPV primary prevention; 2) coaching partnerships linking 14 state domestic violence coalitions experienced in capacity-building efforts for IPV prevention with 19 state domestic violence coalitions just beginning to build their capacity for IPV primary prevention; and 3) other partnerships reported by state domestic violence coalitions to support the social change needed to prevent IPV. Results: The national partnership compiled training and technical assistance tools that can help build capacity for all 51 state domestic violence coalitions; the coaching partnerships reported strategies that contributed to an overall community of practice for IPV prevention; and state domestic violence coalitions shared their perspective on new partnerships developed as a result of this initiative. Conclusions: Although ‘partnership' is often articulated as a fundamental component of comprehensive prevention efforts, initiatives rarely report results of partnership activities. This initiative seeks to understand the role and contribution of partnerships in supporting the change needed to prevent IPV.