Nearly two years after its creation, the 11-member Governor’s Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence Task Force has come up with more than 70 recommendations on what the state can do to better prevent these crimes.
In a report issued Thursday, the group unearthed one overriding finding — the need for more funding.
“With each individual and group we talked to and through our surveys and work group research, the need for adequate funding reverberated. Practitioners feel trapped in a landscape that demands higher levels of data collection and evaluation but neglects to provide enough funding for those specialized undertakings in addition to programmatic activities,” the report read.
The task force carried out a number of surveys, including one about men’s attitudes about sexual and domestic violence and a review of military practice, that were used to develop the report.
One of the key findings was that certain populations — immigrants, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities and the LGBT community — have not been incorporated enough into the state’s prevention efforts.
The major recommendations are listed below:
1. Support the creation and implementation of a comprehensive state plan to prevent domestic and sexual violence.
2. Support and help develop a statewide, multi-pronged prevention campaign.
3. Build capacity for bystander engagement strategies for all ages.
4. Increase the engagement of men in domestic and sexual violence prevention.
5. Strengthen Vermont college campuses’ response to prevention of domestic and sexual violence.
6. Enhance data collection and accessibility through the creation of a central data collection site.
7. Establish a Violence Prevention Program Coordinator at the state level.
