Engage influential adults and peers

Engage influential adults and peers

Programs that seek to engage influential adults and peers in promoting positive relationship expectations and condemning violent and unhealthy relationship behaviors among adolescents and young adults are critical to the prevention of IPV. Trusted adults and peers are important influencers of what adolescents and young adults think and expect and how they behave.

Beliefs and attitudes about the acceptability of violence and about gender equity are predictive of IPV perpetration. Engaging adults and peers to promote social norms that support healthy relationship behaviors has great potential to change social contexts so that everyone knows that IPV is not acceptable and will not be tolerated, and people feel more willing and able to intervene when they see IPV. These types of social contexts can discourage potential perpetrators from thinking that violence will be seen as acceptable and increase their perception of the risk that there may be social consequences to such behavior. These types of social contexts may also increase positive bystander behaviors, which can directly interrupt violence as well as enforce norms unaccepting of violence.