What is Violence Prevention?

Prevention means taking steps before harm happens. It’s about building a campus culture where respect and consent are the norm - and where everyone plays a role in keeping each other safe.

Instead of only responding to incidents of harm, prevention focuses on stopping them from happening in the first place. This is often called an upstream approach (preventing harm at the source rather than just responding downstream), and it includes things like:

• Challenging harmful behaviors and beliefs, such as victim-blaming or jokes that normalize violence.
• Teaching and modeling healthy relationship skills, including how to communicate boundaries and work through conflict.
• Empowering bystanders to step in when they see someone at risk or hear something harmful.
• Creating safer environments in classrooms, residence halls, social spaces, and beyond.

At UT, our prevention efforts are grounded in education, campus partnerships, community engagement, and awareness-building. Through workshops, student leadership programs, and campus events like Breaking the Silence and Take Back the Night, we work together to create a safer, more supportive campus environment.

Get Involved

Prevention goes beyond a single program - it's a collective mindset and a shared community responsibility. Every student, faculty member, and staff member at UT plays a crucial role in preventing sexual harassment, discrimination, and interpersonal violence. Here are ways you can get involved and make an impact:

Request a Workshop

• Explore trainings on UT policies, boundaries, healthy relationships, and bystander intervention
• Title IX trainings are open to all students, faculty, and staff. To request a workshop, please fill out our request form.

Become a Title IX Peer Educator

• Title IX Peer Educators are students who support their peers by providing education and prevention programming concerning Title IX policies and processes, support and resources, prevention, and intervention!

Join a Student Organization

• Get connected with student groups that promote safety and advocacy
  • Voices Against Violence Student Org
  • Not On My Campus

Participate in Annual Events

Support awareness efforts by attending key events throughout the year – Breaking the Silence and Take Back the Night. Follow us on Instagram @utaustintix to stay up to date on upcoming events!

Together, we can foster a campus culture where respect, safety, and accountability are the norm.