Violence and Injury Prevention Specialization
Students in this specialization engage at both the clinical and macro levels on issues of interpersonal violence, with a focus on prevention and response to violence toward children, intimate partner violence, and sexual violence.
This specialization is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the overlapping and interdisciplinary nature of interpersonal violence.
Students will understand the complex relationship between forms of violence, as well as gain a systems-based perspective that addresses the role of families, communities, policies, and resource disparities in violence.
鈥婥areer Paths
Students earning an MSW with this specialization are qualified for a range of career paths in prevention and intervention, program implementation, research and clinical practice. Recent graduates have been employed in positions such as:
- Victim Advocate in Court Programs for IPV and Sexual Violence
- Program Supervisors in Agencies Addressing Child Welfare, Family Support or Gender-based Violence
- Research Fellows in Organizations Dedicated to Children or Family Studies
Specialization Requirements: 9 Credits
- Theoretical Approaches to Interpersonal Violence Across the Life Course (3 credits)
- Two of the following are required:
- Addressing & Preventing Intimate Partner Violence in Practice (3 credits)
- Child Maltreatment Prevention (3 credits)
- International Child Welfare (3 credits)
- Intervention Approaches to Address Gender-Based Violence (3 credits)
- Core Concepts in Trauma Treatment for Children and Adolescents (3 credits)
Specialization Practicum
The VIP specialization requires 120 hours of VIP-related tasks during the concentration practicum.
Sample VIP practicum sites include:
- ALIVE
- Vision for Children at Risk
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Trauma Response Program
- 17吃瓜 Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention
- Safe Connections
- St. Louis Crisis Nursery
- Healing Action
Specialization Chair
Melissa Jonson-Reid is the Ralph and Muriel Pumphrey Professor of Social Work and the director of an NICHD-funded Center for Innovation in Child Maltreatment Policy, Research and Training. Her research focuses on child maltreatment, with a practice background in child welfare and violence against women services. She also serves as the Associate Dean for Educational Programs.
鈥�I chose the Brown School to focus on international human rights and social justice issues, especially those related to women’s rights and conflict-related sexual violence. I was hired by CARE to work on its sexual and reproductive health and rights team, a dream position which allows me to make the world a better place for girls and women.鈥�
April Houston, MSW/MPH 鈥�17
Senior Program Officer, Care