Domestic violence: critical issues on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) primary prevention strategies

Background Domestic violence is one of the most critical issues worldwide, often reported in newspapers and faced with prejudices and cliches. Violence against women in particular continues to be an obstacle to reaching equality, development, peace and the achievement of respect for women human rights. Primary prevention strategies aim to increase awareness and critical capacity of the phenomenon in the general population. They are therefore not only a clinical challenge, but also a social, cultural and political one. Objective The objective of this literature review is to identify primary prevention programs and interventions related to interpersonal violence Methods A literature search was conducted through major databases: MEDLINE/PubMed, PsycINFO/PsycLIT, Excerpta Medica/EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science (ISI), Cochrane Library. National data were collected from, the ISTAT website, the Ministry of Health and the Interior and the Institute of Health. Conclusions The analysis of primary prevention programs highlighted two elements of criticality: insufficient involvement of the perpetrators of the violent behaviour (men) compared to the involvement of women, and lack of attention to specific risk and protective factors for each level.