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Advancing Situational and Developmental Approaches To Prevent Sexual Violence

NCJ Number
308930
Author(s)
Date Published
October 2024
Publication Series
Abstract

Growing evidence supports using situational and developmental crime prevention approaches to complement traditional law enforcement and criminal justice interventions to combat sexual violence. Efforts to prevent sexual violence generally consist of three approaches: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary approaches aim to prevent individuals from initially committing a crime and causing harm or engaging in a specific behavior. They focus on reducing the opportunity to commit crimes in certain situations and places. Secondary prevention includes immediate responses to a crime, and tertiary prevention includes long-term responses to those who have committed crimes. Criminal justice has traditionally relied on secondary and tertiary prevention strategies, but primary prevention has gained traction more recently.

Date Published: October 1, 2024