Collectives Against Conflict: Evaluating School-Based Interventions Against Intimate Partner Violence in Durham, Wake and Orange Counties

This thesis investigates the current status, challenges, and opportunities of school-based intimate partner violence primary interventions in Durham, Wake, and Orange counties. Particular attention is paid to program efficacy and how it is measured. The qualitative research defines the current status, challenges, and opportunities of prevention efforts in the three counties. Thereby, a mixed methods approach employing twelve expert interviews was used for this study. The participant population included experts with nation-wide experiences teaching, facilitating, litigating, and directing intimate partner violence prevention. Findings from a comprehensive literature review were integrated with the findings of the expert interviews. Interviews revealed the significance of community-oriented, well-funded approaches to locale-specific curricula in county schools. The interviews also revealed a discrepancy between the prevention efforts in Durham, as opposed to those Wake and Orange counties as a result of significant resourcing constraints in Durham.