The PAR Model is the foundation for the new
"National Violence
Reduction Initiative."
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View the brief PAR introduction video.

The PAR Model

Violence Integrative Prevention and Restoration (PAR) Model is a new, evidence-based, cognitive approach to violence response and prevention built upon a public health foundation. It is a significant departure from the traditional “punitive” model for dealing with violence. The PAR Model incorporates new thinking about and language for describing violence, provides a new framework for preventing and responding to violence, and presents an effective alternative to the commonly-used traditional punitive-based approaches for dealing with violence.

"Rethinking Violence" Video

Report on Clallam Bay

Robert F. Kennedy Video

To view the video "Rethinking Violence: Opportunities" which examines the opportunities to reduce violence in corrections and other settings,
click here.

PROJECT UPDATE:
CLALLAM BAY RESULTS

Click here to view a copy of the Project Update (PDF file, 396 kb) which summarizes the results of applying the PAR Model at Washington State's Clallam Bay Corrections Center (courtesy of Edvita Institute).

To view the video of the speech, "The Mindless Menace of Violence," made by Robert F. Kennedy on April 5, 1968,
click here.

Courtesy of YouTube

The Model

The Violence	Integrative	Prevention	and Restoration	Model
Addresses the public health challenge of violence	Integrates the physical, emotional, mental, environmental, and spiritual aspects of human existence	The first focus is on prevention of violence	The second focus is on the restoration of those who have be exposed to violence	This is a model — a utilitarian way of describing and understanding violence

The PAR Model provides a foundation for the reduction and, in many settings, elimination of violent crime, child abuse, war, rape, genocide, “honor” killings of women, “ethnic cleansing,” family violence, terrorism, slavery, and other forms of violence.

Violence is also an economic problem, reflected in the cost of prisons, police forces, the War on Terror, security (borders, airports, ports, etc.), health costs, veteran costs, economic disruption, and personal security.

The PAR Model strips violence of its overtones of fear, superstition, demonization, vengeance, and powerlessness. Those using the PAR Model have reported that they see violence and its dynamics in new ways, resulting in more positive, effective, lasting, and compassionate outcomes.

Violence

	Thought-borne pathogen:	Severe Malevolent Thought Virus (SMTV)
	. . . arising from the:	Experienced Power Deficiency Disorder (EPDD)

The SMTV presents as any action resulting from

An intention to do harm; and/or
Attempts to gain inappropriate power and control for self-serving gain which results in harm.

Harm can be physical, sexual, mental, emotional, and economic. The actions can be “active” — such as hitting or intimidating someone, or depriving someone of rights — or “passive” — such as generating harm through exploitation or neglect. It can also be self-directed, as in the case of self-inflicted injury and suicide. A definition of violence allows us to move forward with an elementary sense of the nature of this disease.

Power and Control

There are three basic questions related to issues of human power and control which are incorporated into the PAR Model. They are:

Who am I (what is my value)?
What is the nature of the world?
What is my place in that world (what does my life mean)?

Exploring the Model

A general overview of the PAR Model can be found on the following pages (click on the page title to go to the subject page):

2	The Cost of Violence	The emotional, mental, economic, environmental, and quality of life costs of violence.
3	Conceptual Foundations	Basic questions, conclusions, and influences which helped form the PAR Model.
4	Foundational Elements	The PAR Model is built upon three key elements, seven basic concepts, and a new vocabulary to describe violence and the functions of the PAR Model.
5	Applications and Outcomes	Applications, outcomes, effectiveness, and how the PAR Model produces results.
6	Comparing Models	Comparing key concepts and components of the PAR Model and the more traditional "punitive" model.
7	Comparing Results	Comparing the impact (outcomes) of the "punitive" model with those of the PAR Model.
8	The Construct	A key concept which describes how "reality" is experienced and how it relates to the choices human being make.
9	Definition of Violence	A more exact definition which is used with the PAR Model.
10	Fear	The role fear plays in the cycle of violence. The PAR Model identifies nine general manifestations of fear.
11	Objectification/Action Process	The "objectification/action process" (also called "the actualization process") consists of a progression of events must take place in order for those with five functioning bodies to commit acts of violence.
12	Degrees of Severity	The level of harm done to a physical, emotional, mental, environmental, and/or spiritual body.
13	The "Five Bodies"	The five manifestations or “bodies” the PAR Model employs to describe individual and collective human existence.
14	Developmental Stages	The PAR Model is applied to individuals and their environments in terms of general developmental stages.
15	Resiliency	Resiliency is defined as the capacity of a body to withstand violent infection, trauma, and toxicity as well as the range of healthy responses available to that body to deal with the violent infection, trauma, and toxicity.
16	Frequently Asked Questions	Some of the common questions frequently asked about the PAR Model.