issues AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF SEXUAL ASSAULT NO. 19 2014 Reﬂecting on primary prevention of violence against women The public health approach Inara Walden Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse Liz Wall Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault Australia has committed to a public health approach to preventing violence against women, transforming how policies and programming address this difﬁcult social issue. The aim is to prevent the problem from occurring in the ﬁrst place by directing policy and strategies towards changing the underlying causes, behaviours and attitudes that lead to the perpetration of violence against women. This Issues Paper provides reﬂections on Australia’s efforts in primary prevention of violence against women and offers suggestions for the next steps to continue the momentum. KEY MESSAGES  The public health approach to preventing violence against women is now a major inﬂuence on policy areas in Australia and internationally.  Evidence about what works in prevention is still emerging and is currently quite disparate, due to the diverse nature of programs and settings.  There are challenges in the evaluation of primary prevention work, but a clear understanding and agreement of what is meant by “success” will enable useful evaluation design.  Australia now has a clearly articulated goal to reduce violence against women and their children. The next steps should translate evidence into action and maintain the positivity that is currently driving the unprecedented energy in this sector.