Sibling Aggression and Abuse Symposium at the 2026 VPRC

Last week, SAARA participated in the University of New Hampshire's Violence Prevention Research Conference (VPRC), hosted by the Crimes against Children Research Center. Approximately 300 professionals attended this conference, representing 12 different countries. Both SAARA's Director, Corinna Jenkins Tucker, and Assistant Director, Tanya Rouleau Whitworth, presented on their current research, and together they organized a sibling aggression and abuse symposium.

The symposium consisted of three sessions highlighting the latest work and emerging research from leading experts in the sibling aggression and abuse field. The first session, "Advances in Sibling Sexual Abuse Definition, Measurement, and Response," featured presentations by Amitai Marmor, Anat Talmon and Tova Lewin, and Maria Socolof and Brandy Black. The second session, "Sibling Aggression and Abuse: Breaking Down Silos and Highlighting Unique Experiences and Protective Factors," included presentations by Tanya Rouleau Whitworth, Kay Sassan, and Corinna Jenkins Tucker. The third session, "Addressing Sibling Aggression and Abuse Identification and Intervention," featured presentations by Eva Van Kelecom, Nathan H. Perkins, Jonathan Caspi, and Payton Carroll and Laurie Kramer.

All three sessions of the symposium were well attended and successfully brought together researchers and lived experience experts from across the sibling aggression and abuse field. The sessions fostered meaningful discussion around current research and opportunities for collaboration between presenters and attendees. SAARA is thankful to everyone who attended and helped build connections and community in this field. We are one step closer to building a network and movement to end sibling aggression and abuse!