Preventing Sexual Assault Through Engaging College Men

Abstract

Sexual assault occurs at alarming rates on college campuses, with men committing 99% of these crimes toward women and in some instances toward other men (Rennison, 2002). The number of women who report surviving a completed or attempted sexual assault while in college has hovered around 25% since Mary Koss completed the first well-documented study of college acquaintance assault in 1985 (Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, 2000; Warshaw, 1994). Historically sexual assault prevention has been seen as a “women’s issue,” and programmatic initiatives have focused on teaching women how to “protect” themselves, and largely neglected to engage men as allies in ending sexual violence against women. Prevention consisted of teaching women how to avoid potential perpetrators and by using tactics to escape dangerous situations, measures that are generally ineffective in addressing acquaintance rape, the most common form of sexual assault (Schewe & O’Donohue, 1993). Recently some campus prevention programs have engaged men as allies in addressing sexual violence, recognizing that most men do not perpetuate sexual violence, and given the right skills will intervene in potential sexual assault situations. Although few people intend to cause harm, not acknowledging and addressing the environments that allow sexual violence to occur contributes to the problem of sexual violence. When students do not understand the complex connection between sexual violence and sexism, a rape-prone culture is perpetuated in unintentional ways, including inappropriate behaviors, traditions, and rituals that maintain some men’s power over women (Davis & Liddell, 2002). Sexual assault is “a learned behavior acquired through routine social and environmental interaction . . . and an extreme form of the traditionally socialized ways that men and women act in the context of sexual relations” (Davis & Liddell, 2002, p. 36). Researchers have found positive correlations between rape-supportive attitudes and behaviors including sexual aggression, history of sexual aggression, and likelihood of future sexual aggression (Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1994; Truman, Toaker, & Fischer, 1996). Additionally, belief in traditional gender roles positively correlates with greater acceptance of rape myths, making obvious the link between traditional gender roles and sexual assault (Davis & Liddell, 2002; Truman et al., 1996).