Boston Public Health Commission launches citywide gender‑based violence prevention initiative

The Boston Public Health Commission on Thursday outlined a new Domestic, Sexual and Gender‑Based Violence Prevention Initiative intended to centralize data and coordinate prevention and response across city agencies, community providers and health systems.

The initiative, the BPHC said, will build on the Family Justice Center’s work, create a confidential city data infrastructure for gender‑based violence, and expand training and capacity building for organizations that encounter survivors.

Officials said the program began formally in January 2025 but grew from longer community engagement. "We engaged more than 500 residents through 16 community listening sessions," Kim Mendoza Iraita, program director for the initiative, told the City Council. Mendoza Iraita said the project’s draft goals are to foster an inclusive, equitable collective response to gender‑based violence and to better identify prevention and early‑intervention opportunities.

"Prevention must begin with education, particularly with children and young people," Mendoza Iraita said, describing school‑based curricula on consent, boundary setting and healthy relationships and cross‑training for community violence responders and domestic‑violence advocates. She told councilors the initiative will partner with Boston EMS, hospitals, the Boston Police Department and community organizations to build a confidential data system that can guide resource allocation.

Mark Scott, interim director of the Office of Violence Prevention at BPHC, said the new initiative expands the scope of violence prevention beyond the Family Justice Center by reaching organizations that are not physically based in that building. "This issue is bigger than what is sitting in that building," Scott said, noting that many community providers have grown or operate offsite and that available information is fragmented.

Councilors pressed BPHC on the evidence base and timing. Mendoza Iraita said the commission is launching a gender‑based violence landscape survey for providers and will phase data‑infrastructure work so survivor safety and confidentiality are protected before any broader data sharing.

Looking ahead, the initiative will prioritize: (1) developing shared data standards and a confidential collection hub at BPHC; (2) expanding prevention programming (including Start Strong school work and social‑media campaigns); (3) cross‑training community and domestic‑violence responders; and (4) creating a combined risk/safety‑planning tool for co‑occurring community and domestic violence.

Officials asked for council support for funding and partnership as the initiative hires staff and builds the systems needed for data analysis and survivor‑centered reporting. The BPHC materials and testimony emphasize survivor privacy and trauma‑informed approaches as core constraints that shape the rollout.

Mendoza Iraita concluded: "Through strengthened collaboration, improved data collection, and a more coordinated response, we are confident that we will create a safer and healthier Boston for all."