Intimate Partner Violence: Prevention Strategies

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious problem that has lasting and harmful effects on individuals, families, and communities. The goal for IPV prevention is to stop it from happening in the first place. However, the solutions are just as complex as the problem.

Prevention efforts should ultimately reduce the occurrence of IPV by promoting healthy, respectful, nonviolent relationships. Healthy relationships can be promoted by addressing change at all levels of the social ecology that influence IPV: individual, relationship, community, and society. Additionally, effective prevention efforts will reduce known risk factors for IPV and promote healthy relationships.

Evidence

• Intimate Partner Violence Across the Lifespan: A Technical Package of Programs, Policies, and Practices [PDF 4.52MB]
  This technical package represents a select group of strategies based on the best available evidence to help communities and states sharpen their focus on prevention activities with the greatest potential to prevent intimate partner violence (IPV) and its consequences across the lifespan
• CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS)
  NISVS is the first ongoing survey dedicated solely to describing and monitoring sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence victimization as public health issues in the United States.
• Violence Prevention Evidence Base
  The Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University developed this database, which provides access to abstracts from published studies that have measured the effectiveness of interventions to prevent violence. Studies included in the database must have measured the direct impact of interventions on violence. Studies are selected through a systematic review of published academic literature. Abstracts can be searched by violence type, keywords, and geographical area of implementation.
• World Report on Violence and Health [PDF 222 KB]
  This report is the first comprehensive review of violence on a global scale. Chapter 4 provides detailed information on IPV, including prevention strategies.

Top of Page

Resources

Online

• CDC’s Extramural Research Program
  CDC funds universities, medical centers and other outside organizations to conduct research related to IPV prevention.
• Dating Matters^®: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships
  CDC’s teen dating violence prevention initiative seeks to reduce dating violence and increase healthy relationships.
• DELTA FOCUS
  DELTA FOCUS (Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancements and Leadership Through Alliances, Focusing on Outcomes for Communities United with States) is a five-year cooperative agreement funding 10 state domestic violence coalition grantees for intimate partner violence prevention.

Books and Articles

• Avery-Leaf S, Cascardi M. Dating violence education: prevention and early intervention strategies. In: Schewe P A, editor. Preventing violence in relationships: interventions across the life span. Washington (DC): American Psychological Association; 2002. p. 79–105.
• Babcock J C, Green C E, Robie C. Does batterers’ treatment work? A meta-analytic review of domestic violence treatment. Clin Psychol Rev 2004; 23(8):1023–53.
• Foshee VA, Reyes H L M. Primary prevention of adolescent dating abuse perpetration: when to begin, whom to target, and how to do it. In: Whitaker D J, Lutzker JR. Preventing partner violence: research and evidence-based intervention strategies. Washington (DC): American Psychological Association; 2009. p. 141–68.
• Hickman L J, Jaycox LH, Aranoff J. Dating violence among adolescents: prevalence, gender distribution, and prevention program effectiveness. Trauma Violence Abus 2009; 5:123–42.
• Mitchell C, Anglin D editors. Intimate partner violence: a health based perspective. New York (NY): Oxford University Press; 2009.
• Nelson HE, Bougatsos C, Blazina I. Screening women for intimate partner violence: a systematic review to update the 2004 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation. Ann Intern Med 2012; 156: (11):796–808.
• Ruff S, McComb JL, Coker CJ, Sprenkle DH. Behavioral couples therapy for the treatment of substance abuse: a substantive and methodological review of O’Farrell, Fals-Stewart, and colleagues’ program of research. Fam Process 2010; 49:439–56.
• Whitaker DJ, Baker CK, Arias I. Interventions to prevent intimate partner violence. In: Doll L, Bonzo S, Sleet D, Mercy J, Hass E, editors. Handbook of injury and violence prevention. New York (NY): Springer; 2007. P. 183–201.
• Whitaker JD, Lutzker JR, editors. Preventing partner violence: research and evidence-based intervention strategies. Washington (DC): American Psychological Association; 2009.
• Whitaker DJ, Morrison S, Lindquist CA, Hawkins SR, O’Neil JA, Nesius AM, Mathew A, Reese L. A critical review of interventions for the primary prevention of perpetration of partner violence. Aggress Violent Beh 2006; 11:151–66.

Top of Page