Nine sexual violence prevention programs will be delivered across Australia and evaluated by La Trobe’s Reducing Gender-based Violence (ReGEN) team, based at La Trobe’s Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research.
“The Partners in Prevention project allows us to partner with community organisations to develop their sexual violence prevention programs and design rigorous evaluations,” says Professor Leesa Hooker, Chief Investigator and Director of ReGEN.
“Our findings will have direct practice and policy impact, enabling community organisations to deliver evidence-based interventions, across a range of settings, to reduce and ultimately prevent sexual violence.”
Other collaborators include La Trobe’s Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe’s Centre for Alcohol Policy Research and RMIT University.
The projects
Brisbane Youth Service (Queensland)
Designed for young LGBTQ+ people at-risk of homelessness, this program aims to enhance their sense of community, self-esteem, and knowledge of safe and healthy relationships. It also aims to create a trauma-informed space for LGBTQ+ young adults.
Centre Against Violence (Victoria)
This program is designed for regional and rural junior sports clubs, players, parents, mentors and coaches. It aims to improve young people’s understanding, attitudes and behaviours related to sexual violence and harmful sexual behaviours within sporting club environments to foster a culture of respect and safety.
Laurel House, Sexual Assault Support (Tasmania)
This program is designed for secondary school students in northern Tasmania, as well as their parents, teachers and school staff. It aims to educate students about the importance of consent, boundaries and healthy relationships.
Learning Consent (New South Wales)
This program aims to address the drivers of sexual violence by engaging students from early primary through to secondary school to challenge gender norms, harmful masculinities and stereotypes that normalise harmful power dynamics in relationships and heighten the risk of sexual violence.
Prosper Project Australia (New South Wales)
This program is designed for young LGBTQ+ people in NSW and Western Australia. It aims to enhance their understanding of sexual boundaries and increase connection to community, self-esteem and knowledge of health and respectful relationships.
Sexual Health Quarters (Western Australia)
The program is designed for boys in a custodial setting, with co-design input from boys and women incarcerated in a pre-release centre. It aims to increase the boys' self-esteem, understanding of power dynamics and consent, and ability to build healthy and respectful relationships.
Sexual Assault Support Services (Tasmania)
Designed for university students living in residential accommodation, this program aims to increase the student awareness of consent laws and bodily rights, understand power and privilege, challenge social norms and to improve behaviour through engaging respectfully in sexual relationships.
Transforming Justice Australia (New South Wales)
The program is designed for men at risk of causing or perpetrating sexual harm. It aims to reduce risk factors for committing sexual harm by addressing key risk factors using a restorative justice approach. It will address harmful attitudes and behaviours and support men to develop healthy and respectful relationships and prosocial behaviour.
Women’s Health in the South-East (VIC)
The program is designed for parents and caregivers with students in early secondary school. The program aims to enhance the knowledge, skills and confidence of parents and caregivers of young people in diverse school environments to discuss consent, healthy and respectful relationships, sex, sexuality and sexual health and gender-based violence, with a specific focus on sexual violence.
