From Prevention Institute, June 2021
Summary
Sexual harassment, abuse, and assault can have short- and long-term physical, emotional, and psychological effects on a person’s wellbeing and impact an entire community, from the culture and connections between people to the economic toll. Preventing sexual violence means we all must address deep-rooted abuses of power that contribute to inequities in health, safety, and wellbeing. A health equity approach to preventing sexual violence means that we need to both understand and address the factors that contribute to violence and safety and factors that expose some communities—especially communities that face historic and present day oppression—to higher rates of sexual violence.
Across the country, people are advancing health equity in their sexual violence prevention work by:
- Elevating community leadership and resilience,
- Creating spaces for healing in prevention efforts,
- Facilitating internal organizational change,
- Addressing underlying factors that contribute to violence and safety, and
- Partnering across fields and movements.
This joint publication by Prevention Institute and National Sexual Violence Resource Center dives into each of these themes and shares specific local examples that use strategies from the CDC’s technical package in different cultural and community contexts. By leading with health equity, we can work together to build collective power and create the kind of equitable, respectful communities we want to live in.
This publication was supported by the Grant or Cooperative Agreement Number 6 NUF2CE002510-02-04, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.
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