Rape Prevention Programs Research Articles

The Men’s Program: Does It Impact College Men’s Self-Reported Bystander Efficacy and Willingness to Intervene?

This study considered whether a rape prevention program could reduce men's rape myth acceptance, enhance the perceived effectiveness of college men's bystander behavior, and increase men's willingness to intervene as bystanders in potentially dangerous situations. As predicted, college men who experienced The Men's Program significantly increased their self-reported willingness to help as a bystander and their perceived bystander efficacy in comparison to college men who experienced the comparison condition. Men's Program participants also significantly decreased their self-reported rape myth acceptance in comparison with comparison condition participants. The college policy and rape prevention program planning implications of these findings are discussed.

The Efficacy of a High School Rape Prevention Program in Israel

Sexual violence against women and girls in Israel is rather prevalent. To address this problem, the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI) provides rape prevention programs for middle to high school teens. These programs have been in place for several decades, but their effectiveness has not been evaluated empirically to date. This study seeks to fill this gap by performing an evaluation of one such preventive program. Three hundred and ninety-four 11th graders completed a preintervention and postintervention questionnaire, assessing their rape-related attitudes and behaviors. Results indicate a significant improvement following the workshop in the understanding of what distinguishes rape from mutually consensual relations, along with a substantial shift in many rape-supportive attitudes. At the same time, some victim blaming still remained. Likewise, self-reported behavioral changes were minimal, possibly because of a ceiling effect. Implications for future rape prevention programs in Israel are discussed.

First-Year Male Students' Perceptions of a Rape Prevention Program 7 Months After Their Participation: Attitude and Behavior Changes

Seven months after seeing The Men's Program, a commonly used rape prevention program, 248 first-year college men responded to four open-ended questions concerning whether or not the program impacted their attitudes or behavior, particularly regarding alcohol related sexual assault. Two thirds of participants reported either attitude or behavior change during the preceding academic year due to the program's effects or that the program reinforced their current beliefs, with many describing specific incidents of either intervening to prevent a rape, or stopping themselves from engaging in risky behavior.

The interACT model: Considering rape prevention from a performance activism and social justice perspective

Although a number of rape prevention programs exist, the interACT Troupe is distinguished by their commitment to social justice pedagogy and proactive performance. Influenced by critical pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed, interACT uses embodied techniques aligned with feminist pedagogies to raise awareness, promote empathic responses, challenge (hyper)masculinity and encourage bystander interventions.

“I'd Rather Be Doing Something Else:” Male Resistance to Rape Prevention Programs

Although scholars have argued that sexual assault is a growing crisis on college campuses, there are few studies that highlight the ways in which college men communicate their feelings about sexual assault education. This pilot study fills that void by highlighting college male students' voices. Using open-ended questions and thematic analysis, the authors noted how respondents confirmed and contradicted earlier findings. The authors conclude by offering future directions for prevention educators and gender studies teacher-scholars.

The Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) Theory Model of Community Change: Connecting Individual and Social Change

Social work practice has long focused on the connections between an individual and the social environment that affect the individual's social functioning. The Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) Program's theory model, Creating Safer Communities: The Rape Prevention and Education Model of Community Change, provides family social workers with a framework for examining and changing the individual and social factors that lead to sexual violence. This model connects two societal change theories, community readiness and diffusion of innovations, with three individual level theories, theory of reasoned action, theory of planned behavior and the health belief model, for the purpose of ending sexual violence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created this theory model to promote the use of theory-based prevention strategies among RPE Program grantees. In this article the authors (1) describe the theoretical underpinnings of the RPE theory model; (2) explore how one RPE grantee, supported with funding from the EMPOWER Program, used the RPE theory model to create a state sexual violence prevention plan; and (3) discuss how family social workers can utilize the model to promote sexual violence prevention within their own states and communities.

Young Heterosexual Men’s Use of the Miscommunication Model in Explaining Acquaintance Rape

This article describes a program of research that systematically examined the ways in which young heterosexual men draw on widely culturally shared accounts of rape to account for sexual coercion and sexual assault. In particular, the authors discuss the reliance placed on a lay version of Tannen’s (1992) miscommunication model of (acquaintance) rape—the claim that rape is a consequence of men’s not knowing—and young men’s use of this account as a device to accomplish exculpation. The authors discuss the implications of their methods for capturing young people’s understanding of sexual coercion, rape, and consent, as well as for designing rape prevention programs.

Stop Blaming the Victim: A Meta-Analysis on Rape Myths

Although male rape is being reported more often than before, the majority of rape victims continue to be women. Rape myths-false beliefs used mainly to shift the blame of rape from perpetrators to victims-are also prevalent in today's society and in many ways contribute toward the pervasiveness of rape. Despite this, there has been limited consideration as to how rape prevention programs and policies can address this phenomenon, and there is no updated information on the demographic, attitudinal, or behavioral factors currently associated with rape myths. This research aimed to address this gap by examining the correlates of rape-myths acceptance (RMA) in published studies. A total of 37 studies were reviewed, and their results were combined using meta-analytic techniques. Overall, the findings indicated that men displayed a significantly higher endorsement of RMA than women. RMA was also strongly associated with hostile attitudes and behaviors toward women, thus supporting feminist premise that sexism perpetuates RMA. RMA was also found to be correlated with other "isms," such as racism, heterosexism, classism, and ageism. These findings suggest that rape prevention programs and policies must be broadened to incorporate strategies that also address other oppressive beliefs concurrent with RMA. Indeed, a renewed awareness of how RMA shapes societal perceptions of rape victims, including perceptions of service providers, could also reduce victims' re-victimization and enhance their coping mechanisms.

The Roles of Victim and Offender Substance Use in Sexual Assault Outcomes

The impact of victim and offender preassault substance use on the outcomes of sexual assault incidents was analyzed. Nine hundred and seventy female sexual assault victims were identified from the first wave of a longitudinal study based on a convenience sampling strategy. Multivariate models showed that victim injury was more likely in assaults involving offender substance use (regardless of whether or not the victim was also using substances). Offender use of physical force and verbal threats were also related to greater odds of completed rape and injury, and force was associated with medical attention seeking. Based on this study, rape prevention programs should target men and focus on the role of substance use in sexual assault. These prevention programs should incorporate information on the roles of offender and victim substance use, offender aggression, and other situational factors in sexual assault outcomes. Study limitations and suggestions for future research on the role of victim and offender substance use in rape incidents are presented.

In Their Own Words: Sophomore College Men Describe Attitude and Behavior Changes Resulting From a Rape Prevention Program 2 Years After Their Participation

The study conducted involved assessing students from a Southeastern public university during two academic years, after their participation in an all-male sexual assault peer education program. The study findings revealed that 79% of 184 college men reported attitude change, behavior change, or both. Furthermore, a multistage inductive analysis revealed that after seeing The Men's Program, men intervened to prevent rapes from happening. Participants also modified their behavior to avoid committing sexual assault when they or a potential partner were under the influence of alcohol. Implications for future research were discussed.

Rape Myth Acceptance Among Korean College Students: The Roles of Gender, Attitudes Toward Women, and Sexual Double Standard

The purpose of the current study was to examine factors that influence rape myths among Korean college students. This study was particularly interested in the ways in which attitudes toward women and sexual double standard affect the relationship between gender and rape myths. Although the incidence of rape is a common concern in many current societies, within each society, the specific components of rape myths reflect the cultural values and norms of that particular society. A sample of 327 college students in South Korea completed the Korean Rape Myth Acceptance Scale-Revised, the Attitudes Toward Women Scale, and the Sexual Double Standard Scale. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test hypothesized models. Results revealed that in three of the four models, rape survivor myths, rape perpetrator myths, and myths about the impact of rape, attitudes toward women were a more important predictor of rape myths than gender or sexual double standard. In the rape spontaneity myths model, on the other hand, sexual double standard was a more important predictor than gender or attitudes toward women. This study provides valuable information that can be useful in developing culturally specific rape prevention and victim intervention programs.

Acquaintance Rape Workshops: Their Effectiveness in Changing the Attitudes of First Year College Men

This study supports the contention that certain features of acquaintance rape prevention programs are more effective than others in changing the attitudes of first year college men about the sexual assault of women.

Risky Situation or Harmless Fun? A Qualitative Examination of College Women’s Bad Hook-up and Rape Scripts

College students appear to be increasingly engaging in casual, non-committed sexual relationships, which may represent potential situations in which sexual assaults occur. The current study sought to assess if college students regard rape as a potential outcome of hooking up through examination of students’ rape and hook-up scripts. A multi-ethnic sample of 109 US college women (54% European American, 19% Latina, 21% African American) described a typical rape and bad hook-up. Hook-up scripts generally did not include the possibility of sexual assault and instead focused on psychological consequences (e.g., shame). Participants’ rape scripts generally did not occur in the context of casual sexual encounters. Implications of the results for understanding students’ sexual behavior and developing rape prevention programs are discussed.

Primary Prevention of Violence Against Women

Practitioners in domestic violence and sexual assault programs have been encouraged by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control to enhance their activities in violence prevention; however, many practitioners have not been trained in prevention concepts and strategies. Therefore, a needs assessment was undertaken with practitioners in the Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership Through Alliances and the Rape Prevention and Education programs to determine training needs. Results show that practitioners are very interested in primary prevention. They want to learn about working at the community level (rather than the individual level), developing and evaluating prevention activities, and identifying effective primary prevention programs.

Alcohol Consumption and Women's Vulnerability to Sexual Victimization: Can Reducing Women's Drinking Prevent Rape?

Before effective prevention interventions can be developed, it is necessary to identify the mechanisms that contribute to the targeted negative outcomes. A review of the literature on women's substance use and sexual victimization points to women's heavy episodic drinking as a proximal risk factor, particularly among college samples. At least half of sexual victimization incidents involve alcohol use and the majority of rapes of college women occur when the victim is too intoxicated to resist (“incapacitated rape”). Despite the importance of women's heavy episodic drinking as being a risk factor, existing rape prevention programs have rarely addressed women's alcohol use and have shown little success in reducing rates of sexual victimization. We argue that given the strength of the association between heavy episodic drinking and sexual victimization among young women, prevention programs targeting drinking may prove more efficacious than programs targeting sexual vulnerability. Applications of existing drinking prevention strategies to reducing women's sexual victimization are discussed.

Identifying Common Practices in Community-Based Rape Prevention Programs

SUMMARY Community-based rape prevention programs have received little attention in the research literature. In this study qualitative methods were used to describe such programs and to assess the degree of homogeneity in their practices. In-depth interviews were conducted with representatives of 10 community-based prevention programs in a single state. Findings suggest that two typologies exist: short programs and extended programs. Homogeneity across programs was common as most programs emphasized secondary and tertiary prevention and relied on short curricula that are implemented with mixed-gender groups of students. A comparison to practices found in the research literature indicate that they are mostly using the same practices and these practices have not been demonstrated to have sustained behavioral effects that would reduce the incidence of sexual violence. Implications for future practice are discussed.

Rape Against Women

Although a pervasive problem that confronts females of all races and ages, studies show that some women are more likely to be rape victims than are others. Research reveals that certain behavioral and situational factors increase the risk of rape. To be most effective at reducing victimization, rape prevention programs and risk reduction interventions should target these behavioral and situational factors. A growing understanding of the relationships among these factors is evident, but to date what works to reduce vulnerability to rape remains somewhat obscure because of methodological weaknesses inherent in the limited number of published evaluations. Based on the current body of research, the authors offer suggestions regarding who should be targeted and what content should be included in rape prevention programs and risk reduction interventions to effectively reduce rape and its negative consequences.

Behavior Differences Seven Months Later: Effects of a Rape Prevention Program

First-year men at a midsized public university either saw a rape prevention program or were in a control group and were asked to complete attitude and behavior surveys at the beginning and end of an academic year. Participants were also asked whether they joined fraternities during that year. With 90% of first-year men participating throughout the duration of the study, results showed that men who joined fraternities during the year and had seen a rape prevention program at the beginning of the academic year were significantly less likely to commit a sexually coercive act during the year than control group men who joined fraternities. Long-term attitude change was also associated with program participation. Results are discussed regarding effective program strategies for educating fraternity men about rape on college campuses.

Behavior Differences Seven Months Later: Effects of a Rape Prevention Program

First-year men at a midsized public university either saw a rape prevention program or were in a control group and were asked to complete attitude and behavior surveys at the beginning and end of an academic year. Participants were also asked whether they joined fraternities during that year. With 90% of first-year men participating throughout the duration of the study, results showed that men who joined fraternities during the year and had seen a rape prevention program at the beginning of the academic year were significantly less likely to commit a sexually coercive act during the year than control group men who joined fraternities. Long-term attitude change was also associated with program participation. Results are discussed regarding effective program strategies for educating fraternity men about rape on college campuses.

Attitudes Toward Date Rape Among University Students in South Korea

The purpose of this study is to examine attitudes toward date rape among university students in South Korea. Participants included 163 students recruited from two universities in South Korea. Results show that male students were less rejecting of date rape-tolerant attitudes than female students were. Also, male students were less rejecting of the belief that the use of force to have sex on a date is acceptable under certain conditions. Attending a sexual assault educational program was associated with more rejection of date rape-tolerant attitudes among females, but not among males. The results will be of particular value to advocates who provide rape prevention and victim intervention programs.