Prevention Education

The Victim Service Center’s prevention program focuses on both youth (K-College) and at-risk populations, such as LGBTQ, Spanish-speaking, and the homeless. The prevention program promotes social norms and teaches skills that reduce factors that place individuals at risk for perpetrating violence and promote factors that protect individuals at risk for violence.

  • 1 in 9 girls and 1 in 53 boys under the age of 18 experience sexual abuse or assault
  • Among cases of sexual abuses reported to law enforcement, 93% knew their perpetrator

Knowledge is the key to prevention, and VSC has a broad range of prevention trainings focused on youth and families.

It is reported that a majority of college students don’t report their sexual assaults at the time, however through prevention education we can be an encouraging voice that can prevent crime before it happens and provide support to those who have experienced it.

Prevalence rates of rape of women by race in the United States:

  • Asian/Pacific Islander: 6.8%
  • Hispanic/Latina: 11.9%
  • White:17.7%
  • Black: 18.8%
  • American Indian/Alaska Native: 34.1%
  • Mixed Race: 24.4%

American Indian Community:

  • American Indians ages 12 and older experience 5,900 sexual assaults per year – this is an average based on reported incidents
    • They are twice as likely to experience a rape/sexual assault compared to all races
    • 41% of sexual assaults are committed by a stranger; 34% by an acquaintance; and 25% by an intimate or family member

Sexual Violence in Asian and Pacific Islander Communities:

  • Of Asian and Pacific Islander women –
    • 23% experienced some form of contact sexual violence
    • 10% experienced completed or attempted rape
    • 21% had non-contact unwanted sexual experiences during their lifetime
  • Of Asian and Pacific Islander men-
    • 9% experienced some form of contact sexual violence
    • 9% had non-contact unwanted sexual experiences during their lifetime

Black Women: 

  • 35% of Black women experienced some form of contact sexual violence during their lifetime
  • 40-60% of Black women report being subjected to coercive sexual contact by age 18
  • 40% of confirmed sex trafficking survivors in the U.S. are Black
  • African American girls and women 12 years and older experienced higher rates of rape and sexual assault than White, Asian, and Latina girls and women from 2005-2010

Elder Abuse: 

  • Women are 6 times more likely to be victims of sexual assault as an elder
  • Only 30% of elder abuse(those over the age of 65) victims report their abuse
  • 83% of elder abuse victims live in residential facilities
  • 80% of the time the abuse was done by the elder’s caregiver
  • 76% of the time this abuse was witnessed by someone else

What is PREA? The Prison Rape Elimination Act was passed in 2003 to create standards to eliminate rape within prisons while providing access to rape crisis care.

Prison Sexual Assault Risks: 

  • In 2015 there were reports of  24,661 allegations of sexual victimization in prisons and jails
  • 58% involved sexual victimization by staff toward inmates,  42% involved sexual victimization by inmates towards other inmates
  • Allegations in prisons increased from 6,660 in 2011 to 18,666 in 2015, an increase of 180%

Service Members: 

  • In 2018 6.2% of active duty women in the military reported being sexually assaulted, and 0.7% of the men – given the amounts of active duty members at that time this means about 13,000 women and 7,500 men experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact in 2018 while serving in the military
  • Disciplinary action was taken in 65% of cases reported in 2018

Be the HeroBe The Hero- Active Bystander Intervention is a 1-hour presentation designed for high school and college students. Students will be trained on how to be an active bystander and use their voice to help and empower others. Students will discern the difference between active and passive bystanders, understand the prevalence of sexual assault among students, gain knowledge on how our culture contributes to victimization, identify the common reactions seen in victims of trauma, comprehend what consent looks like, understand intervention techniques, and learn how to implement the steps to safe intervention.

Students who participate in Be The Hero are encouraged to take the pledge and use their moral courage to be an active bystander from now on.

Bullying PresentationBullying/ Cyberbullying is a 1-hour presentation designed for students grades 5-12.  Students will learn the definition, characteristics, and types of bullying, understand what it means to be an active or passive bystander in bullying scenarios, recognize what drives people to bully others, identify the impacts of bullying on the target and the bully, realize the correlation between bullying and suicide, and learn how to prevent it.  Students will also receive information and resources for victims of bullying.

First Responder Training: VSC identified the need to help first responders better understand the services we offer and our SART protocol, so we partnered with a former client to record what a client experience can be like when law enforcement is our partner in brining victims to VSC to help them begin healing. This training is offered online or can be provided in person in less than 1 hour.

Healthy Relationships Presentation

Healthy Relationships educates students on the prevalence of dating violence within their age group. Students will identify the characteristics of healthy, unhealthy, and abusive relationships through interactive scenarios, learn effective communication and boundaries within dating relationships, recognize how perpetrators of violence use different tactics to gain power and control, comprehend why victims stay in abusive relationships, learn how they can help a friend and relevant resources.

Sexual Assault PresentationSexual Assault Awareness and Prevention provides participants with the skills to understand, recognize, and prevent sexual assault. Participants will be able to define and understand the scope of sexual assault, gain knowledge on how our culture contributes to victimization, identify the common reactions seen in victims of trauma, define the steps to healing for primary and secondary victims, recognize the warning signs of sexual abuse across different age groups, and how to prevent sexual violence.

Stalking PresentationStalking is a 1- hour presentation designed for high school students and adults. Participants will learn the legal definition of stalking and cyber stalking, understand the common reactions that victims of stalking face, behaviors and characteristics that perpetrators of stalking portray, methods used to acquire personal information, the different motivations behind stalking behaviors, and what to do if you are a victim.

Sexual Harassment PresentationSexual Harassment trains students and people in the workforce on setting personal and professional boundaries, recognizing the different forms of harassment and understanding its effects & consequences. Participants will learn the difference between flirting and harassment, who is held responsible and the barriers to reporting for many victims.

Sign up today to have a VSC Educator provide you with a free training!

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The Victim Service Center of Central Florida, Inc. does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and termination of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, vendors, and clients.