IPV Primary Prevention Social Media Awareness Campaign

Running head: FINAL PROJECT 1







Final Project
Jessica Thompson
Walden University





Abstract
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global issue that impacts individuals, families, communities, and nations. IPV poses physical and mental health consequences for the victims of IPV and it is a detriment to children. Exposure to violence in childhood is a risk factor of becoming an IPV victim in adulthood that fuels generational cycles of violence and victims. There are heavy financial costs associated with IPV and IPV consequences (work productivity, hospitalizations, IPV services, judicial and law enforcement involvement) to countries like the United States, England, and Wales. IPV requires the utilization of primary prevention solutions, such as an awareness campaign to lessen the instances of IPV. The awareness campaign described herein depends heavily on the use of an emerging platform, social media, to spread awareness. Through social media researchers can create, collaborate, organize, and gather across distances to propel prevention programs forward. Proper use of this free, widely used platform has the potential to affect social change.


Final Project
The focus of this final project is a primary prevention program addressing intimate partner violence (IPV). The World Health Organization (WHO) views IPV and sexual violence as "major public health problems, as well as serious human rights abuses" (Harvey, Garcia-Moreno, & Butchart, 2007, p. 3). As a volunteer with Safeplace, Inc., a shelter for victims of IPV, and a member of my community I have come to understand the substantial need for IPV prevention in this region.
This area boasts a university and a community college surrounded by an extensive rural area. Both the educational institutions and the rural nature of the surrounding counties present IPV issues. There are more frequent reports of physical and sexual violence by college students than by married couples or dating teenagers (McDermott & Lopez, 2013). In addition, Safeplace is responsible for six counties and covers an extensive area with few resources to rely on.
The area of the organization's coverage and the rural locality poses difficulties in several areas: victim risk, risk assessment of escalating violence and immediate danger, victim safety traveling to the shelter from long distances, availability of shelter from neighbors, longer police and ambulance response times, limitability of shelters in the jurisdiction of law enforcement, and the risk of increased gun ownership in the South. IPV victims in rural areas, compared to urban victims, have less support, lower education and income levels, higher rates of being abused as children, and higher instances of mental and physical illnesses (Shuman, McCauley, Waltermaurer, Roche, Hollis, Gibbons, Dever, Jones, & McNutt, 2008).
IPV can happen to anyone no matter what the individual's country of residence, social group, socioeconomic status, religious group, or culture is (World Report on Violence and Health, n.d.). Events that trigger IPV have been stereotyped in the media in books, movies, and television, however the list is consistent with research. Common triggers for an incidence of IPV includes disobeying or refusing to obey the man, arguing back, failure to have dinner ready on time, inadequate care of the home and children, asking questions about money or the man's girlfriends, going out without permission, refusing to have sex, and being suspected of infidelity (World Report on Violence and Health, n.d.).
IPV was chosen because of the risk it poses to individuals, families, communities, and national resources and spending. When all of these facts are taken into account with the lack of funding, the few organizations that offer support stretched to the limit, and funding cuts it is apparent that IPV prevention, specifically primary prevention is needed in the South. Justification for the primary prevention program is presented, backed by evidenced-based research. The target population and stakeholders are detailed, followed by an explanation of the data collection and analysis methods, the project goals, objectives, tasks, and action plan. Challenges to implementation of the action plan are also discussed. Finally, the social change impact this primary prevention would have is discussed.
Justification and Evidence Based Research
Harvey, Garcia-Moreno, and Butchart (2007) define primary prevention, in regards to IPV, as "reducing the number of new instances of intimate-partner violence or sexual violence by intervening before any violence occurs" (p. 5). The U.S. experiences an estimated one million cases of IPV against females and 150,000 cases against male victims per year with 24% and 14% of women and men, respectively, becoming a victim of IPV (Pearl, 2013; Stith, 2006). Half of all women in the U.S. who have been a victim of IPV experienced the first IPV incident between the ages of 18 and 24 (Black, Basile, Breiding, Smith, Walters, Merrick, Chen, & Stevens, 2011). IPV costs the United States roughly $8.3 billion annually in medical costs and lost productivity and England and Wales £22.9 billion (Pearl, 2013; WHO, 2010). It also accounts for half of all female victim homicides in Australia (Wong & Mellor, 2014). Men can be victims of IPV too. The levels of female IPV victimization are higher in countries with less gender equality, however there are higher levels of male IPV victimization in countries with a greater gender equality (Harvey, Garcia-Moreno, & Butchart, 2007).
The difficulty in addressing IPV with primary prevention methods is identifying the underlying risks, protective factors, and what action to take to address the risks. Harvey, Garcia-Moreno, and Butchart (2007) refer to this issue as "upstream" action. Instead of addressing the issue as it happens again and again "upstream" refers to looking "upstream" to find the cause and bring an end to it. This line of thinking emphasizes that prevention is needed for victims of IPV right now, but that a primary prevention should be utilized too. IPV is an overlapping issue that encapsulates a wide range of social issues that require primary prevention of IPV address them all as well (Harvey, Garcia-Moreno, & Butchart, 2007).
A social ecological model (SEM) to primary prevention has the potential to thwart long-term health consequences (Bonomi et al., 2007). Community awareness and participation is an invaluable component in the primary prevention of IPV and one level of a SEM, the others being individual, relationship, and societal (Bonomi et al., 2007; Harvey, Garcia-Moreno, & Butchart, 2007; Pearl, 2013; WHO, 2010). Addressing the community level of an SEM approach to IPV has the potential to change permissive social ecologies, knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of adult men and women and adolescents (Bonomi et al., 2007). Although most people agree that IPV is wrong, many demonstrate covert attitudes that condone it, which in turn is associated with partner violence and the frequency and severity of IPV (Campbell & Manganello, 2006; McDermott & Lopez, 2013). Condoning IPV in this way fosters and environment where inaction becomes the norm (Campbell & Manganello, 2006).
Primary Prevention initiatives for IPV have focused on advocacy campaigns and enacting laws to deter IPV perpetrators (Harvey, Garcia-Moreno, & Butchart, 2007). Other primary prevention strategies include improving gender equality, changing violence, masculinity, gender role, and relationship social norms, reducing poverty, improving economic and social safety nets, promoting healthy, equal relationships, reducing alcohol and substance abuse, focusing on adolescents and young adults, and prevention violence exposure in childhood (Harvey, Garcia-Moreno, & Butchart, 2007; World Report on Violence and Health, n.d.). These have been addressed by a variety of approaches:
Early childhood and family-based approaches
School based approaches
Interventions for alcohol and substance abuse reduction
Public information and awareness campaigns
Community-based approaches
Structural and policy approaches
Focus on work with men and boys (Harvey, Garcia-Moreno, & Butchart, 2007)
The main approaches to changing social norms are social norms theory, media awareness campaigns, and work done with men and boys (Black et al., 2011). The aim of utilizing primary prevention in IPV is to effectively reduce the risk factors associated with IPV and to build protective factors (Gladding & Newsome, 2003). Unsurprisingly victims of IPV require more healthcare than women without a history of IPV for physical and mental health injuries sustained. Injuries include: traumatic brain injury, decrease in maternal health while pregnant, memory loss, sexually-transmitted diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, suicide, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, panic disorders, substance abuse disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders (Wong & Mellor, 2014). While the focus of my primary prevention is IPV in adulthood, there is a direct correlation between aggressive behaviors in adolescence and IPV in adulthood. Therefor it is imperative that prevention begins early in order to effect change (Black et al., 2011; O'Donnell, Stueve, Myint-U, Duran, Agronick, & Wilson-Simmons, 2006).
Target Population, Stakeholders, and Participants
As previously stated, community participation is an important part of prevention development and action research. Community members are able to work collaboratively to create solutions to community and organizational problems. It is incumbent that the community is involved in order to achieve the collaborative process required of action research (Stringer, 2007). When researchers and stakeholders form a partnership, problems are comprehensively addressed, there is an influx of new ideas and solutions, and supportive relationships and bonds form in the community (Lasker & Weiss, 2003).
Researchers are able to develop a deeper, wider knowledge base and mobilize resources. Stakeholders are described as all appropriate individuals who are affected by a particular issue (Stringer, 2007). Inclusion of stakeholders in the prevention process addresses the socio-political elements of organizational decision-making (Lasker & Weiss, 2003; Simmons, Iles, & Yolles, 2005). Stakeholders know best what issues impact them, the needs, issues, priorities, and dynamics of the community, and should have a voice in the services created and provided (Lasker & Weiss, 2003).
To identify and include potential stakeholders, a social analysis would be conducted to insure that all impacted parties were part of the process. It is imperative that the stakeholders are a direct reflection of the diversities that exist in the population for all relevant parties to be represented (Stringer, 2007). The stakeholders of IPV in this region are IPV victims, IPV perpetrators, mental health professionals, emergency room (ER) staff, law enforcement involved with domestic violence, Safeplace, Inc., One Place, Rape Response, and other related nonprofit or government groups, University (UNA) and college (NWSCC) employees and faculty, and community leaders. Due to the type of primary prevention, an awareness campaign, the target population is the entire community including high schools, UNA, and NWSCC, community events and venues, and reaching individuals in the community through mass and social media. The role the stakeholders would play in the awareness campaign would be to collaborate with social marketing and PR professionals to develop the materials that will be the basis of the media initiative.
Data Collection and Analysis
A needs assessment could increase the community involvement in the primary prevention of IPV and would be employed in this instance (Israel & Ilvento, 1995). Researchers gather data in order to clearly define the issue in terms of how the stakeholders perceive it and to gain a better perspective of the stakeholders' experiences (Stringer, 2007). Stakeholders live it every day and have a better understanding of the issue. To collect data, I would utilize interviews and focus groups with primary and secondary stakeholders. Voluntary participation of IPV victims and perpetrators for interviews is akin to an informal conservation. Interviews allow the stakeholders to express their perception of how and why things happen without fear of judgment. Researchers employ general, typical, and specific questions in a semi-structured format giving the participants the freedom to express their thoughts unimpinged. From there researchers may employ guided tour questions and task questions to get more information (Stringer, 2007).
Once the data is collected it must be analyzed, a two-step process of distilling the data and enriching the analysis, for researchers to apply it to prevention (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008; Stringer, 2007).
First, the researchers review the collected data and unitize it. Then, categorization and coding of the stakeholders' experiences and perceptions take place to identify the key themes of IPV, organization of those themes into a category system, and development of a report framework. Finally, phase II of the process would be to use concept mapping to enrich the analysis. As previously discussed, the nature of IPV is an overlapping and complex one. Utilization of concept mapping is a visual diagram that enables the stakeholders to see the way the elements of IPV, risk factors, link to one another and to the main issue, IPV (Stringer, 2007). Black et al. (2011) identify risk factors of IPV that range from gender inequality to alcohol and substance abuse
Project Goal and Action Plan
The project goal of primary prevention of IPV is the why of action planning. I would utilize the fix question framework of action planning to address this goal: why, what, how, who, where, and when. The goal (why) is to stop IPV before it begins and to reduce the instances of IPV. The objectives (what) include creating an awareness campaign, spreading the campaign message to change public opinion, creating a presentation suitable for the community, high schools, and colleges, development of an integrative online social and mass media campaign utilizing slogans, hashtags, and materials to hand out.
The tasks that must be completed to achieve the objectives are as follows: include social marketing professionals, PR professionals, and shareholders in identifying mass media resources (television, newspaper, and online), developing awareness slogans, social marketing, and ad/commercial material. Further, the collaboration would utilize those media resources and volunteers to broadcast public service announcements (PSAs), disperse campaign materials, and provide presentations to raise public awareness.
The people responsible for these tasks would be Safeplace and Oneplace employees and volunteers. The location of the primary prevention program would be on social media, mass media, local college campuses, and in community venues and events. In this region, social media is a free, untapped resource due to the lack of knowledge and ability of employees and volunteers that I have experienced in my volunteer work. Including professionals who do know how to make the most of social media would increase efficacy of the program. Social marketing would include:
PSAs, ads on radio, local television, and print, online graphics and banners, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and establishment of a campaign website (with a safety button and information for current IPV victims that might visit the website).
Campaign specific hashtags for inclusion in PSAs, commercials, ads, and on printed materials, and free items for the public.
Examples of verified, unused hashtags: #endtheabuse, #stopIPV, #endIPV, #knowthefactsofIPV, #IPVmyth, #IPVfact, #menarevictimstoo, #ithappenstomentoo, #spreadthemessage, #abuseisnotokay, #intimatepartnerviolence, #itcanhappentoanyone, #stoppartnerviolence, #jointhecampaign, and #standupforvictims
Free items emblazoned with the campaign message such as tshirts, keychains, stickers, signage, awareness factsheets, fliers, pamphlets, and posters, magnets, and buttons.
Goal attainment would be assessed by establishing a baseline by which the awareness campaign progress can be measured. A baseline assessment would be taken initially in the form of a questionnaire or poll given to focus groups, and a follow up assessment would be compared to it later (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008). There would be several focus groups held to represent the diversity of the stakeholders, high school and college students, an open group for the community, professionals involved with IPV, current and former Safeplace shelter inhabitants, and men from the Safeplace IPV perpetrators group. The baseline would adequately reflect the understanding of IPV statistics, belief in IPV myths, and scenario focused response choices for participants to IPV.
Implementation Challenges
The biggest challenge to implanting this primary prevention campaign would be securing the resources and funding to support such a project. Resources needed for this endeavor include a website and the services of an individual capable of creating the web content and graphics needed for the website and Facebook and Twitter accounts. The online portions of the campaign would also require maintenance and content change. Ad space, free items to hand out to the public that could be marked with the campaign slogans and information, and professionals providing strategic advertising plans, are also needed.
Funding would pay for the purchase and maintenance of a website, pay the professionals involved in strategic advertising, and purchase ad space on television, radio, and in print. Without funding, many of the objectives would fail. An awareness campaign requires the right message and slogans to catch the attention of the public. Ad space and PSAs alert the community to the issue of IPV and spread awareness. The campaign needs individuals who can create slogans and campaign material that is mass marketable to reach anyone (Harvey, Garcia-Moreno, & Butchart, 2007; World Report on Violence and Health, n.d.). If there is funding for the campaign and the action researcher links shareholders with PR and social marketing experts, a positive relationship can develop which allows a collaborative and strategized campaign (Stringer, 2007).
To address the challenge of resources and funding, there are several possible avenues. Grant writing could secure the funding needed for the awareness campaign. This might require meeting certain conditions set out by the organization funding the grant. Another option would be to appeal to the community and local government. Sponsorship from local businesses and organizations, or a coalition of similar groups might also be worth pursuing.
Social Change
The purpose of the awareness campaign is to inform the public about IPV fact, myths, and statistics to affect social change. Reeler (2015) states "so much hinges on the human qualities of questioning, observing, learning, relating, and conversing, amongst the role-players" (p. 24). Awareness campaigns have the ability to reach a large number of people (World Report on Violence and Health, n.d.). By creating a community-based primary prevention program, participatory education, public awareness campaigns, and social marketing are integrated (Harvey, Garcia-Moreno, & Butchart, 2007). Awareness campaigns open a window to dealing with IPV by influencing attitudes and accepted social norms and garnering support for preventing IPV (Harvey, Garcia-Moreno, & Butchart, 2007).
Rodriguez (2013) illustrates the use of the internet and social media in modern political movements (Occupy movement and protests in Turkey, Chile, and Brazil). Social media has become an evolved and diverse tool for new opportunities in creating and collaborating and an open sharing of information. Social media platforms like Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, Reddit, Imgur, Tumblr, Pinterest, and blogs make it possible to spread awareness, inform large groups about causes and issues, and offer a unique way to reach more people, faster, for free, and regardless of physical distance. Social media has the potential to change the way we define and understand political and social action in the future (Rodriguez, 2013).


References
Black, M.C., Basile, K.C., Breiding, M.J., Smith, S.G., Walters, M.L., Merrick, M.T., Chen, J., & Stevens, M.R. (2011). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010 Summary Report. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Bonomi, A. E., Anderson, M. L., Rivara, F. P., & Thompson, R. S. (2007). Health outcomes in women with physical and sexual intimate partner violence exposure. Journal Of Women's Health, 16(7), 987-997. doi:10.1089/jwh.2006.0239
Campbell, J. C., & Manganello, J. (2006). Changing Public Attitudes as a Prevention Strategy to Reduce Intimate Partner Violence.Journal Of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 13(3-4), 13-39. doi:10.1300/J146v13n03_02
Gladding, S. T. & Newsome, D. W. (2003). Prevention. In Community and agency counseling (pp. 167–174). Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Publishers.
Harvey, Garcia-Moreno, & Butchart. (2007). Primary Prevention of Intimate-Partner Violence and Sexual Violence: Background Paper for WHO Expert Meeting. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/publications/violence/IPV-SV.pdf
Israel, G. D., & Ilvento, T. W. (1995). Everybody wins: Involving youth in community needs assessment. Journal of Extension, 33(2). Retrieved from
http://www.joe.org/joe/1995april/a1.php
Lasker, R. D., & Weiss, E. S. (2003). Creating partnership synergy: The critical role of community stakeholders. Journal of Health & Human Services Administration, 26(1), 119–139. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. 
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Prevention, intervention, and consultation: Data collection and analysis. Baltimore: Author.
McDermott, R. C., & Lopez, F. G. (2013). College men's intimate partner violence attitudes: Contributions of adult attachment and gender role stress. Journal Of Counseling Psychology, 60(1), 127-136. doi:10.1037/a0030353
O'Donnell, L., Stueve, A., Myint-U, A., Duran, R., Agronick, G., & Wilson-Simmons, R. (2006). Middle School Aggression and Subsequent Intimate Partner Physical Violence. Journal Of Youth & Adolescence, 35(5), 693-703. doi:10.1007/s10964-006-9086-x
Pearl, R. (2013). Domestic Violence: The Secret Killer That Costs $8.3 Billion Annually. Retrieved January 16, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertpearl/2013/12/05/domestic-violence-the-secret-killer-that-costs-8-3-billion-annually/
Reeler, D. (2015). Exploring the Real Work of Social Change. OD Practitioner, 47(1), 15-24.
Rodriguez, S. (2013). Making Sense of Social Change: Observing Collective Action in Networked Cultures. Sociology Compass, 7(12), 1053-1064. doi:10.1111/soc4.12088
Shuman Jr., R. D., McCauley, J., Waltermaurer, E., Roche III, W. P., Hollis, H., Gibbons, A. K., Dever, A., Jones, S., & McNutt, L. (2008). Understanding Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the Rural South. Violence & Victims, 23(3), 390-405.
Simmons, J., Iles, P., & Yolles, M. (2005). Identifying those on board 'the moving train': towards a stakeholder-focused methodology for organizational decision making. Systems Research & Behavioral Science, 22(1), 41-53. doi:10.1002/sres.600
Stith, S. M. (2006). Introduction. Journal Of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 13(3/4), 1-12. doi:10.1300/J146v13n03̱01
Stringer, E. T. (2007). Action Research (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Wong, J., & Mellor, D. (2014). Intimate partner violence and women's health and wellbeing: Impacts, risk factors and responses. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal For The Australian Nursing Profession, 46(2), 170-179. doi:10.5172/conu.2014.46.2.170
World Health Organization (WHO). (2010). Preventing intimate partner and sexual violence against women: Taking action and generating evidence. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/publications/violence/9789241564007_eng.pdf
World Report on Violence and Health. (n.d.). Violence by Intimate Partners. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/global_campaign/en/chap4.pdf




FINAL PROJECT 16





FINAL PROJECT 3