Healthcare Professionals
Just as healthcare providers seek to interrupt the cycle of heart disease and stroke through promotion of healthy diet and physical activity, so too can healthcare providers interrupt the cycle of violence and abuse that is epidemic within Alaska. A growing number of practitioners are incorporating other violence preventative measures into their core visits, school-based, or community work.
During Visits:
- Provide regular guidance on relationship development and relationship skills.
- Ask questions that reinforce healthy relationship and healthy sexuality and let parents know that violence can be preventable.
- Provide educational materials for parents and youth during their visits and in the community.
- Connected Kids: Safe, Strong, Secure is an asset based anticipatory guidance tool developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics focused around violence prevention.
In the Schools:
- Promote the Coordinated School Health Model
- Support the Youth Risk Behavioral Survey
- Serve on a health education curriculum review committee
- Promote the Fourth R Healthy Relationships Curriculum and teach some of the lessons
- Serve as a resource for school health programs
Faith-based Leaders
- Establish a norm of nonviolence in your congregation.
- Promote values that are consistent with strong families.
- Pray and speak for peace, respect, and healthy relationships regularly.
- Encourage your congregation to work for peace
- Mentor youth to promote respect. For more information, please visit www.standupspeakupalaska.org
- Provide forums for youth to stand up and speak up about ending violence and promoting respect.
- Create ecumenical councils for the purposes of ending domestic, teen dating, and sexual violence.
- Review the work of faith communities throughout the United States
Law Enforcement
As a law enforcement officer, there are specific ways that you can help to stop violence before it occurs, encourage by-stander and early intervention, and build prevention partners. Here are a few things you can do to help prevent violence:
- National Crime Prevention Council: Let youth and community members know how to prevent violence before it ever starts
- Participate in community planning and safe school planning.
- Green Dot: Provide trainings on effective bystander intervention
- Be a positive role model
- Stand up Speak up Alaska: Build relationships with youth in the community.
- Support a work culture and personal lifestyle that promotes respect and safety.
- Ensure that there are legal and social consequences for perpetration.
For Elders: Love, Heal, Protect Campaign
Many Alaskans look for guidance from their Elders. The Love Heal Protect campaign shares values and approaches to parenting that keep Alaskan children safe.
The Love, Heal, Protect campaign was first developed in Bethel in partnership between ANDVSA and the Tundra Women’s Coalition. This campaign incorporated ideas from Elders and cultural leaders about traditional values that guide parenting into posters and radio public service announcements. In March 2012, youth in Barrow inspired by the Bethel posters, decided to learn from their own Elders. The quotes from these interviews were incorporated into Barrow posters. Click here for more information about Love, Heal, Protect.
Love, Heal, Protect Quotes:
“Love in the Inupiat culture is knowing you are safe and you are taken care of. We nurture the children, make sure they are fed, clothed properly, safe in their homes, that no harm will come to them ever.”“Love comes first before anything else. Love is very important for children and love should come from the parents. Healing can be done with love.”
To learn more about the Love, Heal, Protect, contact Rachel Romberg at rromberg@andvsa.org.
Parent Engagement
Youth often name their parents as the greatest influence on their decisions around relationships. Studies have also shown that parents have a key role in building healthy relationship skills for teens. The Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, is working to support parents with tools, networks, and resources to talk to their children about healthy relationships.
Through a partnership with CDVSA, DHSS, and research contractors, ANDVSA conducted a survey of 600 adults (47% parents of teens) to learn more about what parents think is important to discuss with their children. ANDVSA is also conducting multiple focus groups with parents of youth age 12-18 to inform materials and opportunities developed for Alaskan parents. Focus groups will take place in Anchorage, Atmautluak, Bethel, Dillingham, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Napaskiak.
If you are interested in learning more discuss about these conversations or tools please contact Rachel Romberg for more information (rromberg@andvsa.org).
If you are a parent and you need more information about healthy teen dating, click here.
School-based Violence Prevention
Dating violence has important negative effects on the mental and physical health of youth, as well as on their school performance. Violence in an adolescent relationship sets the stage for problems in future relationships, including intimate partner violence and sexual violence perpetration and/or victimization throughout life. Therefore, early intervention is needed to stop violence in youth relationships before it begins and keep it from continuing into adult relationships. There are several ways that we can teach about healthy relationships and promote respect both in our schools.
For Educators and School Administrators:
The following curricula are evidence based and have been rigorously evaluated.
The Fourth R – The Fourth R is a comprehensive school-based program designed to include students, teachers, parents, and the community in reducing violence and many of today’s risk behaviors. The Fourth R (R = Relationships) focuses on healthy relationships and decision-making relevant to adolescents. Click here for more information on the Fourth R in Alaska (link to 4th R sub page)
Safe Dates – Safe Dates is a ten-session dating abuse curriculum. It can be used as a dating abuse prevention tool for both male and female middle- and high-school students and would fit well within a health education, family life skills, or general life skills curriculum. Click here for more information on Safe Dates.
School Climate and Connectedness
School climate refers to factors that contribute to the tone and attitudes of staff and students in school. Positive school climate is associated with well-managed classrooms and common areas, high and clearly stated expectations concerning individual responsibility, feeling safe at school, and teachers and staff that consistently acknowledge all students and fairly address their behavior. Click here for more information on school climate in Alaska.
School connectedness is the belief held by students that adults and peers in the school care about their learning as well as about them as individuals—is an important protective factor. Research has shown that young people who feel connected to their school are less likely to engage in many risk behaviors1, including early sexual initiation, alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, and violence. Click here for additional resources on fostering school connectedness.
The Fourth R in Alaska is a partnership between the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, CAMH, State of Alaska Department of Education and Early Development and the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.
Click here for a one-page overview of The Fourth R
How does the Fourth R work within Alaska?
The Fourth R has been adapted for use in Alaska, the most recent of which includes the Fourth R Alaska Grade 9 version which is an Alaskan-relevant curriculum containing 21 lessons. To-date 53 schools have received Fourth R curricula materials, with over 100 school staff and 84 community partners throughout Alaska have been trained to teach the Alaska Fourth R Healthy Relationship Program for grades 7-9 in their schools. In addition, four Alaska-based Master Trainers have been certified. It is not recommended to teach the Fourth R without being trained.
Please click on the following images to learn more:
Alaska 7th Grade Fourth R Overview
Alaska 8th Grade Fourth R Overview
Alaska 9th Grade Fourth R Overview
Getting Trained
The Department of Education & Early Development coordinates with the Department of Health and Social Services to provide curriculum training. For more information on training please contact Patricia.Owen@alaska.gov at 465-2939 or Lexi.Prunella@alaska.gov at 269-4921.
Middle and High Schools who have received Fourth R Curricula Training.
Evaluating The Fourth R in Alaska
In 2011-2012, ANDVSA staff worked closely with Strategic Prevention Solutions (evaluator) and the Fourth-R collaborative to pilot the Fourth R evaluation. Seven high schools participated in cohort 1 of the evaluation project (Kodiak, Bethel, Kotzebue, Barrow, Thunder Mountain, Juneau Douglas, and Valdez), with 3 schools implementing the Fourth R curriculum and 4 schools participating as comparison schools.
In year 2 (2012-2013 school year), Cohort 1 follow-up data will be collected and entered. High schools participating in Year 2 data collection as part of Cohort 2 are: Kodiak, Bethel, Kotzebue, Cordova, Dillingham, Barrow, Wrangell, Kenai Central, Soldotna, and Homer.
A snapshot of evaluation highlights can be found here.
Youth Engagement
The Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault provides several opportunities for youth to engage in the movement to end violence in Alaska. In partnership with ANDVSA, Alaska youth have helped create media campaigns promoting respect and healthy relationships, and have carried out community projects across the state. On a yearly basis youth leaders come together at Lead On and learn leadership skills, as well as plan ways to creating change in their communities.
Stand Up Speak Up Alaska
Stand Up Speak Up Alaska is focused on creating new relationship norms in our state. Youth reach out to their peers by creating public service announcements focused on respect and ending violence and by carrying out projects in their communities.
Click below to find out more information about the Stand Up Speak Up campaign.
Watch SUSU spots here.
Curious about SUSU community projects? Click here to view SUSU Projects 2013
Click here to visit the official SUSU website. Click here to visit the official SUSU Facebook page.
Lead On! For Peace and Equality
Lead On! For Peace and Equality is a youth leadership conference that takes place every year in Anchorage. At Lead On!, youth leaders from all over the state come together to gain leadership skills, plan positive change in their home communities, as well as connect with like minded peers and have fun. Lead On!, youth bring change back to their communities by creating and carrying out projects among their peers.
Click here to learn more about Lead On! For Peace and Equality
When I Am An Elder
When I Am An Elder is the latest youth campaign to promote respect peace and equality for the future of our state. To create a positive environment for all in our state, and to have a future without violence, Alaskan youth challenged their communities to imagine it.
Click here to view the When I Am An Elder campaign.
Love, Heal, Protect
Love Heal Protect focuses on elders encouraging youth to become involved in the community, and there are many benefits to youth when they are connected to family, tradition and community. Since then, youth have also taken an active role in the campaign by interviewing Elders about traditional childcare and family values.