Schools are vital partners in dating abuse prevention and response, uniquely positioned to spread prevention messages and to sensitively intervene to support students who are experiencing dating abuse. And because dating abuse is inextricably linked to other school health and safety issues, in many communities, schools are leading the way in developing comprehensive prevention programs. 

Resources

The Framework for Developing School Policies to Address Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking will assist schools and school districts in developing comprehensive policies addressing healthy relationships and abuse intervention and response. The guide also offers ideas and examples for developing procedures that are responsive to the needs of all student survivors. This resource was originally developed for Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Services, Training, Education and Policies to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence and Stalking in Secondary Schools Grant Program (STEP) Program grantees.

Building Sustainable Relationships With Schools to Improve Intervention and Response to Dating Abuse is a collection of resources and strategies to assist agencies located in rural communities in developing sustainable relationships with schools. The toolkit examines the context of rural dating abuse and the value of working with rural schools for intervention and response. This resource was originally developed for OVW Rural Program grantees.

Working with LGBTQ* Youth in School Settings and Educational Trainings are two tipsheets to help you create a safer, more welcoming environment for all young people by practicing Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans* and Queer (LGBTQ*) inclusivity.

Our Activity Guides include short activities with discussion questions and facilitator tips to help advocates start conversations about healthy relationships and dating abuse with students. Whether you have a full class period, a recess, lunch period or only enough time to introduce yourself and your organization, these activities are meant to be flexible and adaptable for the size of the audience and time available.

The Policy Assessment Worksheet will assist you in assessing your school’s (or your partner school’s) current policies relating to dating abuse, sexual violence, and stalking. This resource was originally developed for OVW STEP Program grantees.

You can also check out our Youth Leadership and Education page for additional resources including curricula, handouts and more.

*As a measure of inclusivity, we use the acronym LGBTQ* to include all sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions. We understand that identities are not limited to the terms represented by the letters in this acronym and aim to be representative of the entirety of identities across the queer spectrum.

Attachment Size
 Disclosures of Abuse BTC FINAL 10.17.12.pdf 120.89 KB
 Break the Cycle Activity Guides.pdf 1.32 MB
 Break the Cycle Rural Toolkit.pdf 1.01 MB
 Policy Guide FINAL .pdf 2.32 MB
 TipSchoolSetting_2016FINAL.pdf 190.54 KB
 TipSheet_EducationalTrainings_2016FINAL.pdf 168.46 KB