Class Descriptions

Family Violence Prevention and Intervention

SW728

Credits:	3
Prerequisites:	None

Pathway Associations

Community Change
Global
Interpersonal Practice	Elective
Mgmt & Leadership
Policy & Political
Program Evaluation
Older Adults	Elective
Children & Families	Elective (Host)

Course Description

This course introduces the fundamental knowledge and concepts for working with victims of all types of family violence. Students will learn about the factors that contribute to child abuse, teen dating violence, intimate partner violence, and elder abuse; the long term consequences family violence, and common treatment approaches. Interconnections between the forms of violence will be explored. Most family violence organizations work on multiple levels, such as macro, mezzo, and micro levels, and they frequently come into contact with a variety of fields of service, primarily the legal, health and mental health, housing, public assistance, and child welfare systems. Therefore, models of inter-system and interprofessional coordination will be presented. Federal and state policies related to family violence will be explored, and opportunities for advocacy will be highlighted.

Objectives

● Define the various forms and incidences of family violence (child abuse, teen dating violence, intimate partner violence [and children witnessing], and elder abuse) and outline the polyvictimization trajectories and trends for child, teen and adult victims.
● Explore the data and description of the correlates and consequences of family violence across the lifespan, with the intent of more fully understanding the experience of family violence victims.
● Understand the ways in which influences at the family, community, and societal level contribute to family violence across the lifespan.
● Understand the system of care for family violence victims
● Identify prevention, interventions, and evidenced based treatments that address the various forms of family violence, and the opportunities and challenges posed while working with diverse populations.

Design

This course will make use of lectures, demonstrations, discussion, guest lectures, and videos.

Intensive Focus on Privilege, Oppression, Diversity and Social Justice (PODS)

This course integrates PODS content and skills with a special emphasis on the identification of theories, practice and/or policies that promote social justice, illuminate injustices and are consistent with scientific and professional knowledge. Through the use of a variety of instructional methods, this course will support students developing a vision of social justice, learn to recognize and reduce mechanisms that support oppression and injustice, work toward social justice processes, apply intersectionality and intercultural frameworks and strengthen critical consciousness, self-knowledge and self-awareness to facilitate PODS learning.