What is primary prevention?

Ensuring quality services for victims/survivors of sexual violence is central to our work at AMHC Sexual Assault Services. However, it must be partnered with effective prevention if we’re serious about ending the need for those services. For years, prevention has been about victims and the ways they should change their behavior to avoid sexual violence. More recently, there is a movement toward ‘primary prevention’- a kind of prevention that seeks to end sexual violence before it begins, and to put the responsibility of doing so on all of us.

Primary prevention uses the public health model as a guide. Here’s how it works. People get sick; public health professionals work to determine why, and what behavior can change this outcome. It turns out germs are the ‘why.’ So, do we ask that only people with colds change their behavior? No - instead, the public health model looks for solutions that everyone can use to stop the spread of germs: washing your hands, sneezing into your arm, staying home when you’re sick, and more. And everyone is expected to do their part.
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At AMHC Sexual Assault Services, we ask everyone to do their part to end sexual violence. We ask why sexual assault is perpetrated and what behaviors we all can change to make a difference. We ask that everyone be an active bystander by standing up to bullying, aggression, harassment, sexism, homophobia, and racism. We teach young people about healthy relationships, how to critically analyze media sources that objectify people, and how to recognize and combat gender stereotypes. We help schools, businesses, and communities to create policies that promote respect and equality.

Contact AMHC Sexual Assault Services about our education program and do your part to end sexual violence in Maine.