Advancing a prevention frame through the media

(14:43 minutes) Following recent school shootings in which girls were specifically targeted, the primary response was to call for school safety generally without attention to the gender of the victims or the implications. In the wake of announcements for OJ Simpson’s book on how he would have committed murder, there was an outcry and plans were scrapped. But did we miss an opportunity to bring attention to the need for prevention? Working from two background readings in reaction to these events, this presentation will examine how we can be better prepared to advance a prevention frame through the media in light of public events in violence against women and girls. We will share input and recommendations from the recent Prevention Connection web dialogue on this issue (“Where’s the Prevention Frame?” held on January 23, 2007) and explore further what an effective prevention frame might look like and how we can advance it.

These materials were created by Prevention Institute, a national non-profit organization working to put prevention at the center of community well-being.

This presentation was adapted from the PreventConnect Web Conference “Seizing Opportunities to Advance a Prevention Frame through the Media” held on March 29, 2007. Other related materials include:

• Bob Herbert, “Why Aren’t We Shocked?” New York Times. October 16, 200.
• Jackson Katz, Coverage of “School Shootings” Avoids the Central Issue. October 11, 2006. Common Dreams.org