Info

The Family Violence and Sexual Assault Institute (FVSAI) was founded in 1984 in Texas by Dr. Robert Geffner. It became an independent non-profit corporation in 1990. Dr. Robert Geffner established the FVSAI due to the need for a national resource center that focused directly and specifically on family violence issues. With the increase in awareness of spousal and partner abuse, the FVSAI created a center to assist professionals in obtaining the latest information on the treatment of batterers, therapy for children who had been exposed to violence or maltreatment, education on the need for research and evaluation in these areas, and to conduct training, consultation, and professional networking among the researchers and treatment providers in the field of family violence and sexual assault. The organization provides information, networking, training, education, and program evaluation for other agencies, practitioners, and organizations. As mentioned above, one component of the FVSAI's work is the quarterly publishing and distribution of it's international bulletin. The first Family Violence Bulletin (FVB), now the Family Violence & Sexual Assault Bulletin (FVSAB), was published in 1985. This was the first national publication focusing specifically on family violence.