Domestic Violence Primary Prevention Policy and Legislation Framework

Summary

The purpose of this project was to draw attention to the possibility of domestic violence prevention. The Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary aimed to create a comprehensive policy and legislative framework for consideration by the Alberta government which could assess opportunities in the current framework for preventing domestic violence. Researchers based their work on the foundational principal that domestic violence is a social problem and is therefore best solved by strengthening social conditions through effective social policy. The focus of this project was on establishing evidence-based approaches to prevention.

Grant Outputs

Preventing Domestic Violence in Alberta: A Cost Savings Perspective – http://policyschool.ucalgary.ca/?q=content/preventing-domestic-violence-alberta-cost-savings-perspective

The pupose of this paper is to identify the existing evidence on the prevalence and cost of domestic violence, and to identify the existence of cost-effective public policies being practiced in other jurisdictions. Researchers found that in the last 5 years Albertans have paid over $1 billion dollars in health-related and other services related to ongoing domestic violence. The study suggests that a variety of preventative strategies are being used in other jurisdictions such as Triple P Parenting, 4th R, and Safe Dates to prevent first-time perpetration and victimization. Such programs could be applied in the Alberta context to help protect against the negitive social impacts of domestic violence and mitigate related costs to taxpayers.