Authors: Wells, L., Litviniuc, A., Lee, L., & Hansen, B.

Date: 2023

Alberta’s Primary Prevention Playbook is a comprehensive primary prevention strategy developed for the Government of Alberta and the IMPACT collective (a 300+ provincial collective impact initiative). This Playbook emphasizes the belief that perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence are made, not born, and aims to disrupt the pathways that lead to violence while addressing the cultural and structural conditions that perpetuate inequality, exclusion, and discrimination. Drawing on 3+years of collaborative research projects and the design of 12 specific primary prevention action plans, it offers 4 plays along with pragmatic actions to eliminate drivers of violence and increase protective factors for women, equity-deserving groups, and Indigenous Peoples through policy, legislation, and behavior change. The playbook also highlights eight priority policy levers, such as providing income support and advancing Indigenous sovereignty, that can be actioned immediately to mitigate risk factors for perpetration. By implementing the playbook’s four plays, including education, workforce investment, cultural and structural change, and addressing root causes through policy and legislation change, Alberta can create an equitable, inclusive, and violence-free society.

For more information about the playbook and to access 12 research policy briefs that informed the Alberta Primary Prevention Framework Policy Collaborative on strategies and actions to prevent domestic and sexual violence, please review Alberta Primary Prevention Playbook web page.