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Home › Programs › Personal Safety › Personal Violence and Fear of Crime › Strategies

Strategies to Combat Contributing Factors

It is valuable for us to reflect on the contributing factors listed within this section to provide us with a deeper understanding of personal violence. It is vitally more important, however, to formulate strategies to address these factors, to not only reduce their incidence but also their negative effects.

The following strategies were developed by police attending Personal Safety Strategies Courses. Many of the strategies listed are able to be implemented by willing individuals, whereas others will require considerable effort and resources to implement.

Some suggested strategies to address the contributing factors affecting the incidence of personal violence include:

Gender Conditioning

Traditional Gender Conditioning:

  • Reconditioning all community members not to accept limitations based on traditional gender stereotypes. This process can be started by bringing children up without limitations based on their gender, such as encouraging open career options and not imposing restrictions on movements, etc. Adults can also be educated and ‘re-conditioned’.

Changes to Gender Conditioning:
  • Promoting awareness to people to identify their freedom to explore non-traditional roles and to create their own ‘role’ or characteristics based on their choices rather than traditional gender traits.
 
  • Educating people of the positive long term effects of gender re-conditioning.

Social / Cultural Influences

Increased Exposure to Violence:

  • Campaigning against violence/overt violence in all forms of media – by writing to various censorship agencies, forming protest groups, striving for publicity and support of the cause.

Lack of Positive Role Models:
  • Encourage all people to become positive role models for their friends, family and/or associates.

 
  • Campaign for sports/television/movie celebrities to be positive role models.

Peer Pressure:
  • Assisting to build self esteem in our children, young people or anyone with low self esteem.

 
  • Educate young people of the dangers of conforming to peer pressure and of effective methods to prevent doing something they don’t want to do.

 
  • Provide healthy, challenging activities for young people to participate in.

Religious/Cultural Influences:
  • Educate members from other cultures and religions of the laws they must conform to in Australia. This may be undertaken via community presentations, brochures (in various languages), etc.

Family Infuences

Family Breakdown / Divorce:

  • Provide training for parents to deal with a range of issues which may be encountered and strategies to appropriately and effectively communicate with their spouse and children

Child
Abuse :
  • Provide support and professional care for a child who may be a victim of abuse

 
  • Report incidents of child abuse to the police

 
  • Report incidents of domestic violence to the police, and provide support for children involved

Negative Familial Role Models:
  • Provide training for parents (see ‘Family Breakdown’)
  • Educate parties (see ‘Domestic Violence’).

 
  • As a friend/relative/teacher/police officer provide a positive role model for a child who doesn’t have one at home.

Individual Characteristics

Specific Life Experiences:
  • Being supportive to people who experience traumatic life experiences, this could mean referring them to professional services or simply being a good friend.

 
  • Educating people about coping mechanisms should they experience traumatic events.

Individual Values/Morals:

  • Set a good example, and your actions may impact on others’ values/morals.

Lack of Education:
  • Educate people in areas such as anger management, problem solving, assertiveness skills etc. in order to reduce their likelihood of becoming a victim/perpetrator of personal violence.

Personal Addictions:

  • If the person wants to ‘kick the habit’, refer them to a professional agency for counselling and support.

Alcohol and Other Intoxicating substances

Strategies to Address a Disproportionate Fear of Crime

A disproportionate fear of crime can severely detract from a person’s health and well-being. It is therefore essential to identify a number of strategies that may reduce this fear, including:

Community Education

It is important to address the underlying reasons behind people’s fear of crime and educate them of the common trends, actual risks and effective personal safety strategies to minimise their chances of becoming a victim. This way the first steps will be taken to ensuring all people enjoy a healthy and positive lifestyle unfettered by unnecessary constraints.
This education could take place through presentations delivered to any community group or forum, including Neighbourhood Watch, Lions, Rotary, sporting groups, etc.

Media Coverage

Media coverage of success stories coupled with the realistic portrayal of personal violence risks will significantly contribute to the reduction of fear. People can support this strategy by advising the media (particularly local papers) of success stories they are aware of, or by making complaints in relation to the unrealistic portrayal of personal violence resulting from particular stories.

Assertive Behaviour

Encouraging community members, friends and family to be assertive and confident will assist in reducing their fear of crime, as well as their risk of becoming a victim of personal violence.

Reinforcement of Personal Strengths

People who experience fear are generally not confident in maintaining their personal safety. By encouraging people to be committed to their personal safety, and reinforcing their personal strengths, such as negotiation skills, physical strength and/or self defence skills, you can assist to increase their confidence and commitment to their safety, and reduce their fear of crime.

Home and Property Security Education

Providing community members with crime prevention information on topics such as home and property security, may alleviate their fear of crime by being aware of, and taking action to address their fear whilst in the home or of having property stolen.
Last updated 09/12/2005