Best practices are curricula, programs, and other prevention approaches that have evidence supporting their effectiveness or have shown promise in preventing sexual violence. Below you will find resources for many best practice topics. It is noted when resources are available en Español.
Bystander Intervention
Engaging Bystanders in Sexual Violence Prevention– National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) | detailed booklet about bystander intervention, including activities; disponibles en Español.
Green Dot Program – University of Kentucky | nationally recognized program that uses a map of green dots to grow social momentum behind bystander intervention. Fee required for access to materials.
Step UP! Program – University of Arizona | program focused on college campuses with an emphasis on college athletes. Materials accessible for free.
Bringing in the Bystander – Prevention Innovations Research Center (at UNH) | identified as a promising practice at reducing sexual violence perpetration on campus. Designed to be presented as a 90-minute program or more comprehensively in a program totaling 4.5 hours.
Healthy Sexuality
Healthy sexuality for sexual violence prevention: A report on promising curriculum-based approaches – Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance | a comprehensive review of four promising curricula related to healthy sexuality including the prevention of sexual assault.
FLASH – Washington State Public Health | sexual health curriculum for grades 4-12, plus special education lessons.
Rights, Respect, Responsibility – Advocates for Youth | sexual health curriculum for grades k-12.
It's All One – Population Council | curriculum aimed mainly at confronting HIV/AIDS but takes a well-rounded approach, viewing HIV prevention as a human rights education issue. Available en Español.
Our Whole Lives – Unitarian Universalist Association | a curriculum for grades K-1 and 4-12, as well as young adult and adult lessons. Designed to cover sexuality over the lifespan.
SIECUS – Sexuality Information and Education Council of the US | An organization advocating for comprehensive sexuality education; SIECUS provides education guidelines, fact sheets, policy technical assistance, and other resources.
Scarleteen – Sex ed for the real world.
Sexual Ethics for a Caring Society | curriculum combining sex ed, health, philosophy and critical thinking; includes readings, activities, and resources.
"She did WHAT?" "He said WHAT?" How to respond to the sexual behaviors of children – Boston Area Rape Crisis Center | a training for early childhood educators who work with children ages 0 to 5. The program aims to teach a model for responding to sexual behaviors to promote healthy child development and prevent child sexual abuse. E-mail BARCC to access materials. Available en Español.
"Affirmative Consent Policies: Cultural Barriers and the Need for Affirmative Sexuality" – PreventConnect | webinar detailing research and opportunities regarding affirmative consent policies.
Healthy sexuality for sexual violence prevention: A report on promising curriculum-based approaches – Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance | thorough report on 6 recommended promising healthy sexuality curricula.
Let's Talk About…Sexting – WCSAP | free curriculum with additional resources regarding sexting.
Child Sexual Abuse
10 Core Concepts for CSA Prevention – WCASA | In collaboration with partners, WCASA developed these concepts to provide a comprehensive framework for child sexual abuse prevention.
Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect: A Technical Package for Policy, Norm & Programmatic Activities – CDC | a resource guide with strategies to prevent child abuse and how to decrease the impact of abuse that has already occurred.
Second Step – Committee For Children | curriculum for early learning through grade 8 regarding the skills for social and academic success. A promising practice for prevention.
Darkness to Light – organization empowering people to prevent child sexual abuse by providing a framework for CSA prevention, trainings, tools for practitioners, media campaigns and more. Their training called "Stewards of Children" is for parents, responsible adults, and youth-serving organizations.
Stop It Now! – organization founded by Fran Henry, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse who learned first-hand that standard approaches to keeping children safe from child sexual abuse at that time did not respond to the complex relationships surrounding most abuse.
Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Information Packet – NSVRC | contains resources to support the prevention of child sexual abuse and draws from research on child sexual abuse prevention programming, child sexual abuse risk and protective factors, and the public health model of prevention
Harassment & Bullying
Shifting Boundaries – evidence-based structural intervention and lessons on relationships for middle school students. Identified as an effective practice to prevent sexual violence perpetration.
The Bully-Sexual Violence Pathway in Early Adolescence – CDC | report that highlights the findings of a three-year study that examined bullying and sexual violence victimization and perpetration.
Let's Get Real – GroundSpark | Film and accompanying curriculum that addresses name-calling and bullying, including sexual harassment. Recommended for grades 5-9. (Film and curriculum sold as package; curriculum excerpts available.)
Creative Action for Equality – Texas Council on Family Violence | a toolkit of "creative action plans" to promote gender equality, healthy relationships, and nonviolence.
No Name-Calling Week – GLSEN | school-wide activities and lessons for elementary, middle, and high school focused on bullying, racism, discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender expression, media literacy, self-esteem, and peer pressure.
Bullying Prevention Training – StopBullying.gov | a one-hour online bullying training with evaluation and assessment.
Culturally Specific Programs
Be Strong: From the Inside Out (Peace Over Violence) - curriculum for young women ages 13-19
Straightlaced: How Gender’s Got Us All Tied Up – film and accompanying curriculum guide
Preventing Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence in Racial/Ethnic Minority Communities – a review of 10 CDC demonstration projects examining the needs of under-served communities
Culturally Grounded Prevention for Minority Youth Populations: A Systematic Review of the Literature – A review of 31 studies of culturally-specific curricula and programs.
Creating Safety: By Asking What Makes People Vulnerable? – Developed through Wisconsin’s Violence Against Women with Disabilities and Deaf Women Project: Disability Rights Wisconsin, Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence and WCASA.
Engaging Men & Boys
Mobilizing Men in Practice: Challenging sexual and gender-based violence in institutional settings– Institute of Development Studies
Men and Boys: Preventing Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence – VAWNet | overview of prevention framework for engaging men and boys, resources, and more.
Coaching Boys Into Men – Futures Without Violence | playbook and materials that equip coaches with tools to help their young athletes build respectful, non-violent relationships. Identified as a promising practice for sexual violence perpetration prevention.
Voices of Men | organization engaging men in the Fox Valley area of Wisconsin.
Do Men Understand Rape Culture? – Deaf Hope | YouTube video depicting activity regarding rape culture with a deaf and hard of hearing audience.
Men as Allies in Prevention Violence Against Women: Principles and Practices for Promoting Accountability – White Ribbon Australia | guide on keeping men's work accountable to women
Resources for Engaging Men and Boys in Violence Prevention – WCASA | list of resources, including organizations and campaigns, as well as films, curricula, and books available in the WCASA resource center. Some resources available en Español.
Campus
Please see the Education page for more information.
For Parents
Parents for Prevention – Iowa CASA | comprehensive website of prevention resources for parents of children of any age
Talking to Kids About Sexual Violence – Heart Women & Girls | brief resource for parents about SV and children, including how to talk to their kids about this subject at various ages
Policy
Considerations for School District Sexual Misconduct Policies– White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault | highlights a number of issues that could be particularly helpful for districts to consider when drafting sexual misconduct policies as part of their overall response to sexual misconduct.
Talking Points: Considerations for School District Sexual Misconduct Policies – NSVRC | additional suggestions on how to include prevention in a comprehensive sexual misconduct policy for grades K-12
How Can You Make A Non-Sexist Public School Dress Code? – Bust | article detailing how Portland Public Schools in Oregon tackled this puzzle
Healthy Relationships
Healthy Relationships Plus The Fourth R – The Centre for School Mental Health | healthy relationships curriculum for youth between the ages of 12 and 18. Healthy Relationships Plus is intended for implementation outside a school setting; The Fourth R is a school-based program.
Safe Dates – Respect WORKS! | teen dating violence curriculum for grades 6–12. Identified as an effective program in research to reduce sexual violence perpetration.
Expect Respect – SafePlace | school-based program for teen dating violence prevention with middle and high school students.
Safe-T – Prevent Child Abuse Vermont | 2-year curriculum for 7th and 8th grade on sexual abuse and relationship violence.
Special Collection: Preventing and Responding to Teen Dating Violence – VAWNet | list of resources for teen dating violence, broken down by sub-topics. Includes lesson plans and curricula.
Dating Matters Initiative: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships – CDC | teen dating violence prevention initiative. Dating Matters info sheet
Stand4Respect – Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence | a project to help adults and teens communicate and promote respectful relationships.
Center for Healthy Teen Relationships – Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence | promote healthy relationship skills as a way to prevent adolescent relationship abuse and sexual assault.
Healthy Relationships – NSVRC | infographic about healthy relationships
Additional Resources & Registries
Sexual Violence Prevention Curricula Guide– Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs | list of sexual violence prevention curricula by topic, title, description, target audience, availability, and empirical support. Includes many resources listed on this page.
CrimeSolutions.gov| registry of programs and practices to determine what works in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victim services. Researched programs are rated as effective, promising, or with no effects.
World Health Organization Violence Prevention Evidence Base | location to access research abstracts and publications on violence prevention.
Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development | registry of evidence-based positive youth development programs designed to promote the health and well-being of children and teens.
SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs | registry of mental health and substance abuse interventions, including the option to search for programs which address violence-related outcomes.
Stop Sexual Assault in Schools | Website providing resources to students, K-12 schools, and organizations to ensure equal education is not compromised by sexual harassment, assault, or gender discrimination
Social Norms
Social Norms Toolkits (WCASA, 2016) | Kits that describe and provide research and resources for each of the four social norms that WCASA has selected for focus. Over the next four years, WCASA will address one social norm each year. Look for information on specific posts on social media, within WCASA trainings, and in resources on WCASA listservs. Additionally, we have developed resources for each norm that includes information, research, resources and activities to support programs who want to discuss these norms in their schools, groups or communities.
Download the one-page Social Norms Toolkit summary.
Also see the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)'s social norm page.
Rethinking Sexism, Gender & Sexuality– Rethinking Schools | a collection of inspiring stories about how to integrate feminist and LGBTQ content into curriculum, make it part of a vision for social justice, and create classrooms and schools that nurture all children and their families.
Changing Cultural and Social Norms that Support Violence – World Health Organization (WHO) | series of briefings on evidence for interventions that change social norms for violence prevention
National Social Norms Center – Michigan State University | comprehensive website of resources and best practices regarding changing social norms
Shared Risk and Protection: From Violence and Beyond – PreventConnect | webinar on the shared risk and protective factors of many public health and social issues
Straightlaced: How Gender’s Got Us All Tied Up – film and accompanying curriculum guide