Build Healthy Relationships to End Violence
Formerly known as the Grand Challenge to Stop Family Violence, the Grand Challenge to Build Healthy
Relationships to End Violence recognizes the traumatizing impact of interpersonal violence across the
lifespan on individuals and families, as well as on communities and society. Whereas the former name of
this Grand Challenge focused on the overlap between child maltreatment and intimate partner violence,
the new framing assumes a broader mandate, grounded in the recognition that violence extends beyond
the family unit. Violence is associated with power differentials between dominant and non-dominant
groups (e.g., gender, race) and, as such, is perpetuated by prevailing social norms, structures, and
systems. The goal of the Grand Challenge is ambitious yet specific: to reduce interpersonal violence by
10% within the decade by strengthening healthy relationships.
To this end, network members have spent the past five years publishing widely, convening inclusively,
and collaborating creatively with researchers and practitioners from inside and outside the field of social
work. They have also articulated and advocated for their policy recommendations. Looking ahead, they
have developed a robust strategic plan to organize their activities over the next five years.
MURAL HONORS THE POSITIVE ROLE
OF LATINX FAMILIES IN THE PHOENIX AREA
The Si Se Puede - Yes We Can! mural was created in collaboration with the Survivor Link program in the
School of Social Work at ASU and community partner Chicanos Por La Causa.
Photo courtesy of Jill Messing, MSW, PhD
14 | Progress and Plans for the Grand Challenges