Sexual Assault - Prevention

Prevention

Sexual harassment and assault may be prevented by secondary school, college, and workplace education programs. At least one program for fraternity men produced "sustained behavioral change."

Several research based rape prevention programs have been tested and verified through scientific studies. The rape prevention programs that have the strongest empirical data in the research literature include the following:

The Men's Program. The Men's Program, also known as the One in Four program, was written by John Foubert. Its focus is on increasing empathy toward rape survivors and motivating men to intervene as bystanders in sexual assault situations. Published data show that high risk men who saw The Men’s Program committed 40% fewer acts of sexually coercive behavior than those who didn’t. These treated men also committed acts of sexual coercion that were 8 times less severe than a control group. Further research also shows that men who saw The Men’s Program reported more efficacy in intervening and greater willingness to help as a bystander after seeing the program. Several additional studies are available documenting its efficacy

Bring in the Bystander. Bring in the Bystander was written by Victoria Banyard. Its focus is on who bystanders are, when they have helped, and how to intervene as a bystander in risky situations. The program includes a brief empathy induction component and a pledge to intervene in the future. Several studies show strong evidence of favorable outcomes including increased bystander efficacy, increased willingness to intervene as a bystander, and decreased rape myth acceptance. (Banyard, Moynihan & Plante, 2007; Banyard, Plante & Moynihan, 2004; Banyard, Ward, Cohn, Plante, Moorhead, & Walsh, 2007).

MVP: Mentors in Violence Prevention. The MVP program was written by Jackson Katz. This program focuses on discussing a male bystander who didn’t intervene when woman was in danger. An emphasis is placed on encouraging men to be active bystanders rather than standing by when they notice abuse. The bulk of the presentation is on processing hypothetical scenarios. Outcomes reported in research literature include lower levels of sexism and increased belief that participants could prevent violence against women (Cissner, 2009).

Green Dot. The Green Dot program was written by Dorothy Edwards. This program includes both motivational speeches and peer education focused on bystander intervention. Outcomes show that program participation is associated with reductions in rape myth acceptance and increased bystander intervention(Coker, Cook-Craig, Williams, Fisher, Clear, Garcia & Hegge, 2011).