Service Area: Healthy Futures

Liz Bogner is helping to end domestic violence, sexual assault, and teen dating violence in Alaska. Alaska consistently ranks among the top states for domestic and sexual violence. Risk factors such as low psychosocial health indicators, environmental factors, and historical trauma among the indigenous cultures contribute to the increased likelihood for experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault, or teen dating violence. There is great need in Alaska to address this issue, and for over ten years, the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault has worked with local victims service providers to build capacity to prevent domestic and sexual violence. However, prevention work has largely been focused on a small handful of service providers funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ANDVSA prevention staff had been unable to devote time to the development of learning materials designed to bring more Alaskan communities onboard with prevention work until August 2012. Through her work as an AmeriCorps VISTA Leader at the ANDVSA from August 2012 through July 2013, Liz has led the development of an orientation for ANDVSA AmeriCorps VISTA members and member program staff on the primary prevention of domestic violence, sexual assault, and teen dating violence.

Primary prevention of violence, or stopping violence before it starts, is a simple concept on the surface; however, to successfully plan and implement prevention strategies, one must have an in-depth knowledge of the concepts that drive prevention work. Not only does the ANDVSA Member Program Primary Prevention Orientation explain the theory behind prevention work, but it also gives insight to the practice of prevention and the ways in which communities have addressed planning, implementation, evaluation, and the sustainability of projects. Because Alaska differs from the Lower 48 in many ways, Liz has engaged with stakeholders from across Alaska to bring in local examples, visuals, and voices to ensure that the orientation is specific to Alaska and addresses its many unique issues that arise from isolation and cultural dynamics.

Geography makes providing training opportunities in Alaska very difficult. To address this, Liz designed the orientation to utilize web-based technology for dissemination. The orientation is housed on a learning management system called Canvas which not only holds the orientation video files, but also a number of quizzes to test one’s knowledge of the content of each of its seven core modules, companion materials delving deeper into specific topics, and a discussion board to share successes and troubleshoot prevention strategies. In many communities, however, internet is unavailable or at a significantly lower bandwidth than less isolated locations. For these communities, ANDVSA will make the orientation available on a flash drive or CD.

ANDVSA VISTA members will have access to the orientation in late summer 2013. The ANDVSA Member Program Primary Prevention Orientation is set to be debuted statewide during the Prevention Summit in Anchorage, Alaska in November 2013. At this time, not only VISTAs but prevention staff, those working with youth, policy-makers, and anyone else wanting to join in the fight against domestic violence, sexual assault, and teen dating violence will be able to access the training. By building the knowledge and skills of those individuals, the orientation will in turn build organizational and community capacity to address violence at its source, making Alaska a healthier and safer place to live.