Time to connect the dots—and our efforts to prevent violence

“Gang violence is connected to bullying is connected to school violence is connected to intimate partner violence is connected to child abuse is connected to elder abuse. It’s all connected.”
—Deborah Prothrow-Stith, UNITY Co-Chair and
Adjunct Professor at the Harvard School of Public Health

Connecting the Dots is a new publication co-developed by Prevention Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that summarizes the research evidence to date on the risk and protective factors involved in eight forms of violence.1 People, families and communities often experience multiple forms of violence at once or one after another, and all forms of violence affect many aspects of health and undermine positive development. The publication explores the ways that practitioners and advocates can incorporate these links into their efforts to help prevent all forms of violence at once.

Connecting the Dots builds a case for coordinating our efforts to increase our impact and transform communities. When violence prevention practitioners focused on diverse concerns come together, we can integrate prevention strategies and build momentum. We hope you read the paper, share your reactions and ideas on our Twitter chat, and join us for one of four upcoming webinars.

Participate in our Twitter chat and share your reactions and ideas on Nov. 4 at 11 am PT / 2 pm ET, hosted by @preventioninst with @CDCInjury. It’s easy, we swear:

1. Show Up. Log in or sign up for a free Twitter account and search for the hashtag #ViolenceLinks and look for questions from @preventioninst.
2. Speak Up. Respond to the questions and be sure to include the hashtag #ViolenceLinks in your tweets.
3. Hang Out. React to others’ tweets, retweet, pick favorites and follow new friends. Remember to keep refreshing your page to follow the conversation as it happens.

Hungry for more? Annie Lyles of Prevention Institute and CDC representatives will introduce Connecting the Dots to various violence prevention audiences in this webinar series. Register for any of these upcoming events:

• Next Wed., Oct. 22, webinar hosted by Safe States Alliance
• Mon., Nov. 17, webinar hosted by Futures Without Violence, as part of the Defending Childhood Initiative
• Wed., Nov. 20, webinar hosted by Prevent Connect
•  February 2015, webinar hosted by the Suicide Prevention Resource and the Children’s Safety Network

[1]  Bullying, child maltreatment, elder maltreatment, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, suicide, teen dating violence, and youth violence