Reviewing the prevalence and causes of dating violence, innovations in prevention, and looking at the possibilities for local action in a discussion titled… 

"Preventing Dating Abuse and Promoting Healthy Relationships:  
A Whole Community Approach to Supporting Youth"

September 12, 2011 – Wayland, Mass. – Join us as a trio of dating violence experts addresses the Walden Forum at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 18. The Walden Forum is held at First Parish Meeting House, at the intersection of Routes 20 and 27 in Wayland, Mass. 

The forum talk will be presented jointly by Dr. Emily F. Rothman, an Associate Professor at the Boston University School of Public Health; Casey Corcoran, the Director of the Start Strong dating violence prevention initiative at the Boston Public Health Commission; and Joanne Patterson, the Director of Education and Prevention programs at REACH Beyond Domestic Violence.

The speakers will discuss the prevalence of dating abuse in the United States, review what is known about risk and protective factors for perpetration and victimization, and outline elements of the most successful prevention initiatives. In addition, they will highlight cutting-edge dating violence prevention materials and events (including the “Break Up Summit,” which was recently featured on the CBS Early Show), and elaborate on the local prevention efforts that are scheduled to take place in 2011-12.

Emily Rothman, ScD, is a dating violence researcher in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health and a visiting scientist at the Harvard Injury Control Research Center (HICRC). She earned her doctorate from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2004, where her dissertation research focused on correlates of intimate partner violence perpetration, and where she was awarded the Martha May Eliot fellowship in Maternal and Child Health. She also worked for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health from 1997-2004 as the Director of Batterer Intervention Program Services. She has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications, chapters and other publications, and in 2009 was recognized for excellence in work-family research by the national Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award committee. She is currently the recipient of a federal grant from the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) to study underage alcohol use and dating abuse perpetration.   She is also the empowerment evaluator on a CDC-funded project to develop a statewide prevention plan for sexual assault in Massachusetts and domestic violence in Rhode Island (EMPOWER and DELTA). She is a research advisor to the Massachusetts Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, and the Boston Public Health Commission Start Strong dating abuse prevention initiative. Her research has been featured by NPR, USA Today, Newsweek.com, and The Boston Globe among others.

Casey Corcoran is the Director of the Start Strong Initiative at the Boston Public Health Commission. The Start Strong Initiative focuses on preventing teen dating violence and promoting healthy relationships. The youth-driven work of Start Strong Boston has been featured on MSNBC, CNN, The Early Show and was recently profiled in the New York Times Magazine. For the past ten years Corcoran has also worked with at-risk adults and youth in Boston around issues of dating violence, domestic violence and sexual health. He received his M.Ed. from Trinity College and is a certified batterer/dating violence intervention counselor.

Joanne Patterson, MPH/MSW is the Director of Education and Prevention Programs at REACH Beyond Domestic Violence. She received her Master’s degrees from Boston University where her work focused on women’s health and violence prevention, and where she was awarded a fellowship in Intentional Injury. The founder of Peers Against ViolencE (PAVE), a dating abuse prevention program, Patterson has engaged over 10,000 teens and adults in Massachusetts through community-based training and an annual leadership summit. In 2008 she was a recipient of the Rising Star Award for young professionals who have made significant contributions toward advancing the well-being of girls. Currently, as a member of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health State Prevention Team and co-chair of Boston GLBT Domestic Violence Coalition, Patterson seeks to engage community members and professionals together to prevent and reduce the impact of abuse on youth and adults. 

About Walden Forum

The Walden Forum is a free public series that brings people together to talk, listen, and learn from one another in a civil environment. It fosters discussion about important ethical, religious, political, scientific, social and other topics in a live forum setting. Dynamic speakers may challenge and expand our views about the world around us and offer the opportunity for an open discussion of these issues in a convenient, local setting. Featuring world-class speakers on great topics throughout the year, the Walden Forum is a non-religious community program supported by First Parish in Wayland and others, and held at the historic 1815 First Parish Meetinghouse at the intersection of Routes 20 and 27 in Wayland Center. For more information go to www.waldenforum.org or write to info@waldenforum.org.