Topic: Bullying, Intimate Partner Violence, Media Literacy
Target Population: Adolescents, Adults
Sector: Community-Based, School-Based
Military Sector: All Branches
This program is for adolescent and adult males and females.
Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), a community-based, gender violence-prevention leadership program, is designed to educate participants about men's violence against women and help participants learn how to prevent, intercede in, and respond to abusive or violent situations.
Results from one quasi-experimental study demonstrate that students in an MVP school perceived aggressive and less aggressive behaviors as more wrong than did students in a non-MVP school. Students in the MVP school were also more likely to intervene in a situation in which behaviors were more aggressive than were non-MVP students. However, there was no difference between MVP and non-MVP students in their likelihood of intervening in a situation where behaviors were perceived as less aggressive.
MVP intends to encourage individuals to challenge and change the social, cultural, and institutional norms that support abusive behaviors. This program introduced the bystander approach in which young men are not viewed as perpetrators but as empowered bystanders who are able to confront abusive peers and give support to abused peers. Young females are not portrayed as victims of harassment, rape, or abuse, but they are shown as empowered bystanders who can support abused peers and confront abusive peers.
MVP consists of facilitated, interactive scenarios and group discussions in single- and mixed-gender classes and workshops in which realistic scenarios are presented. These scenarios depict aggressive or abusive situations that young males and females in high school, college, and other social contexts could encounter. Participants are taught skills that can help them become leaders and mentors to others around issues of sexual assault and the prevention of abuse.
The primary tool used in the program is the Playbook, which includes separate versions for males and females, and contains a variety of scenarios that depict abusive behavior. Participants must explore and consider a variety of intervention options before, during, or after the episode of abuse. In addition, basic media literacy skills that teach participants how to critically view public images of men's violence against women are included and discussed.
MVP programs are available for high school, college, college athletics, professional sports, the Department of Defense, senior leadership training, and corporations. Please visit https://mvpstrat.com/mvp-programs/ for more information.
MVP was created in 1993 at Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society. The program was adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps in 1997, and it has spread to all of the Services. MVP has also been implemented in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, The World Cup, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, Women’s National Basketball Association, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, over 200 colleges and universities and 200 high schools in the United States.
This program is delivered by MVP staff or by trained facilitators, and two facilitators generally lead each discussion group. In high school settings, adult professionals are trained to be trainers for student “mentors” who, then, lead MVP discussions with peers. In college settings, juniors and seniors are trained to facilitate workshops with incoming freshman. On-site training-of-trainers is available in 2- or 3-day formats for a maximum of 30 professional staff, students, and faculty. Open-call trainings are also scheduled once or twice per year in the Los Angeles area and in western Massachusetts. Please use details in the Contact section for more information.
Considerations for implementing this program include obtaining buy-in from school administration, teachers, and participants and consent from parents of participants who are under 18 years of age; understanding this program will discuss sensitive and difficult issues; finding suitable space to hold sessions; and recognizing the Playbook and other materials will need to be purchased.
The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
If you are interested in implementing MVP, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
Implementation times vary. Workshops are typically 90 minutes each.
A set of Playbooks and trainer's guides for high school males and females (i.e., 4 volumes) costs $35. A Playbook and a trainer's guide for college males cost $20. A set of all six items costs $50.
To move MVP to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation should be performed demonstrating positive effects lasting at least one year from the beginning of the program or at least six months from program completion.
The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu
You may also contact MVP Strategies by email mvpstrategies@yahoo.com or visit https://www.mvpstrat.com/contact-us/
Katz, J., Heisterkamp, H. A., & Fleming, W. M. (2011). The social justice roots of the Mentors in Violence Prevention model and its application in a high school setting. Violence Against Women, 17(6), 684-702. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801211409725
Bruno, L., Joelsson, T., Franzén, A. G., & Gottzén, L. (2020). Heroes and others: Tensions and challenges in implementing Mentors in Violence Prevention in Swedish schools. Journal of Gender-Based Violence, 4(2), 141-155. https://doi.org/10.1332/239868020X15881856376347
Katz, J. (2018a). Bystander training as leadership training: Notes on the origins, philosophy, and pedagogy of the Mentors in Violence Prevention model. Violence Against Women, 24(15), 1755-1776. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801217753322
Katz, J. (2018b). Response to commentaries on bystander training as leadership training. Violence Against Women, 24(15), 1802-1809. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801217753321
Williams, D. J., & Neville, F. G. (2017). Qualitative evaluation of the Mentors in Violence Prevention pilot in Scottish high schools. Psychology of Violence, 7(2), 213-223. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000046
Wilmerding, E., Knuth-Bouracee, M., & Edleson, J. L. (2018). Reflections on Jackson Katz and the MVP program. Violence Against Women, 24(15), 1794-1801. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801217753324
