The study was unique because it examined a wide variety of outcomes and explored the impact of several program factors on program effectiveness. Meta-analyses were conducted with 69 studies and 102 treatment interventions. The results showed that sexual assault programs influenced the most positive change in rape knowledge. The programs had a small, but positive influence on rape attitudes. They had a smaller impact on behavioral intentions, rape-related attitudes, and incidence of sexual assault and no impact on rape empathy and rape awareness behaviors. Several factors were associated with program effectiveness including length of the intervention, type of presenter, program content, type of audience, and gender of audience. Implications for practice and research are presented.
These summaries were written by SVPEP staff and are based on original papers published within the last 6 years. The information available on this web site is provided as a public service and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the Arizona Department of Health Services, or the University of Arizona. To conduct an individual search or locate older articles use the Search Summary Database which includes over 600 articles related to sexual violence.
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Anderson, L. A., & Whiston, S. C. (2005). Sexual assault education programs: A meta-analytic examination of their effectiveness. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 29, 374-388.
Azikiwe, N., Wright, J., Cheng, T., & D’Angelo, L. J. (2005). Management of rape victims (regarding STD treatment and pregnancy prevention): Do academic emergency departments practice what they preach? Journal of Adolescent Health, 36, 446-448.
Results showed that 60% of emergency departments screen for STDs. Additionally, 85.9% provide EC counseling, 87.7% administer the first dose in the emergency department, and 64.7% offer HIV postexposure prophylaxis (PEP). Interestingly, only 67.9% of emergency departments have an EC policy and only 55.3% have a nonoccupational HIV PEP policy. As such, the majority of academic emergency departments are apparently offering EC counseling, EC treatment, and HIV PEP to victims of sexual assault, despite the absence of institutional policies.
Beck, A. J., & Hughes, T. A. (2005). Sexual violence reported by correctional authorities, 2004. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice. NCJ 210333. Available online at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/svrca04.htm
Sexual violence was measured as nonconsensual sexual acts, abusive sexual contacts, staff sexual misconduct, and staff sexual harassment. Results of the review revealed that 5,528 allegations of sexual violence were recorded in 2004, with prison systems reporting 42% of those allegations. Specifically, staff sexual misconduct yielded the highest rate (with 1.31 allegations/1,000 inmates) and inmate-on-inmate nonconsensual acts yielded the second highest rate (1.16 allegations/1,000 inmates). Additional rates are reviewed concerning substantiated incidents, victim and perpetrator demographics, and administrative responses to sexual violence within corrections.
Brecklin, L. R., & Ullman, S. E. (2005). Self-defense or assertiveness training and women’s responses to sexual attacks. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 738-762.
The sample included 3,187 undergraduate females from 32 colleges who completed a self-report questionnaire (National Survey of Intergender Relationships). Students were asked about experiences pertaining to unwanted sexual contact, sexual coercion, attempted and/or completed rape, assault characteristics, their perception concerning their victimization experiences, and postassault experiences. Analyses compared women with preassault training to women without any reported self-defense or assertiveness training prior to their assault experiences. Findings revealed that students who had participated in training were more likely to be less scared and more angry during their assault than women who had not had any training. The former were also more likely to report success at stopping the offender. Interestingly, though, the students with preassault trainings were also more likely to undervalue the extent of their resistance. The authors postulate ways in which such findings may improve prevention programs designed to enhance women’s resistance strategies while also recognizing that the origin of sexual violence still rests with males.
Burgess, A. W., & Morgenbesser, L. I. (2005). Sexual violence and seniors. Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention, 5, 193-202.
In this article, the authors outline key issues related to the risk factors, psychological and physical impact, role of forensic services, and therapy unique to elderly victims of sexual assault. That is, reasons why the literature on sexual violence has overlooked elderly victims are reviewed. Additionally, the authors discuss: early recognition and detection tactics, intervention services addressing signs and symptoms of physical and emotional trauma, specifics concerning forensic examinations on elderly victims, therapy focusing on individual counseling (concerning rape trauma symptoms and rape trauma syndrome), group counseling and music therapy, living situations (independent/assisted living or nursing home), interventions for relatives of abused elderly, prevention suggestions, crisis intervention, and recommendations for nursing home staff – e.g., the need to establish behavioral baselines upon admission of new residents in order to identify victimization responses should abuse occur within the nursing home.
Clay-Warner, J., & Burt, C. H. (2005). Rape reporting after reforms: Have times really changed? Violence Against Women, 11, 150-176.
The authors review the current literature on rape reform legislation, changes in reporting behaviors, and factors impacting the reporting of rape. In this study, analyses of data collected from the National Violence Against Women (NVAW) Survey demonstrated that, although rapes committed post-1990 are more likely to have been reported than those committed prior to 1974, despite legislative reforms in this domain simple rapes are under-reported in comparison to aggravated rapes.
Deer, S. (2005). Sovereignty of the soul: Exploring the intersection of rape law reform and federal Indian law. Suffolk University Law Review, 38, 455-466.
Rape and sexual assault rates are higher among Native Americans than any other ethnic or racial groups. The level of violence used is also higher. Native American women were struck more often during attacks, and physical injuries in addition to the rape were also more common. Weapons were used three times as often. Although most sexual assault occurs within races, perpetrators of sexual violence against Native people are more likely to be white. The high rates of violent crime in Indian Country may be directly related to jurisdictional problems and to the lack of resources for law enforcement and justice systems. For example, tribes do not have criminal jurisdiction over anyone who is not enrolled in a federally recognized tribe (arrests may be made but the courts cannot prosecute.) These factors create vulnerabilities that may be exploited by sexual offenders. The author attempted to reconstruct how tribes dealt with rape before colonization by reviewing oral traditions and belief systems as well as historical European-American documents. While varying by tribe, there is evidence that tribal women’s sexual autonomy was respected more than in European cultures, and that pre-colonization tribal justice systems considered rape a serious crime with established penalties. Recommendations for addressing sexual violence include considering the historic role of rape as a tool of conquest and how the deliberate weakening of tribal justice systems impacts accountability for perpetrators of rape.
This article is a review of existing laws and data, and does not present specific recommendations for practice.
Finch, E., & Munro, V. E. (2005). Juror stereotypes and blame attribution in rape cases involving intoxicants: The findings of a pilot study. British Jounal of Criminology, 45, 25-38.
The authors outline some of the difficulties in defining drug-assisted rape; particularly, the impact drugs such as Rohypnol and GHB have by inducing amnesiac effects and reducing the possibility of consent. Noteworthy is the very fact that the inability to provide consent lies at the core of what defines rape. However, the authors note also that the issue of consent is without legal specification – whether in its definition or in determining the absence or presence thereof. The pilot study involved two focus groups and a trial simulation whereby four themes influenced the participants’ decision-making process: victim’s responsibility, defendant’s intentions, the parity of the parties’ intoxication, and the victim’s response to intoxication. Participants’ attribution of blame and responsibility were impacted by misperceptions concerning the actual impact of such drugs, belief in rape myths, and consideration of the defendant’s motivation in administering intoxicants.
Hensley, C., Koscheski, M., & Tewksbury, R. (2005). Examining the characteristics of male sexual assault targets in a southern maximum-security prison. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 667-679.
In this paper, the authors present an overview of the literature concerning sexual victimization among inmates whereby the purpose of this study is to elucidate demographic and behavioral characteristics of targets of sexual assault within correctional facilities. The sample included 142 inmates from within a maximum-security correctional facility for men. Inmates were given a questionnaire that included items addressing consensual inmate sex and sexual coercion/assault. Results demonstrated that, while incarcerated, 18.3% of the sample had been sexual targets and 8.5% had been sexually assaulted. Additional findings are presented along with a discussion of the significance of sexual orientation as a risk factor for sexual victimization during incarceration.
Hollander, J. A. (2005). Challenging despair: Teaching about women’s resistance to violence. Violence Against Women, 11, 776-791.
Hollander presents a discussion of specific readings as well as a discussion of the use of guest speakers and particular course assignments designed to integrate the theme of resistance into a course about violence against women. The purpose of this approach is to teach women about violence by focusing on resistance, thereby reducing fear, vulnerability, and despair that otherwise serve only to disempower women.
Howard, D. E., & Wang, M. Q. (2005). Psychosocial correlates of U.S. adolescents who report a history of forced sexual intercourse. Journal of Adolescent Health, 36, 372-379.
Participants were given the 2001 national school-based Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Results showed that 7.7% of high school adolescents had experienced forced sexual violence. Moreover, girls reported a 10.2% lifetime prevalence whereas boys reported a 5.1% lifetime prevalence of forced sex. Additional results yielded associations between a history of forced sexual violence and suicidal thoughts and behaviors as well as substance abuse and other risky behaviors. The authors emphasize the need for clinical applications of these findings and recognize the issue of forced sexual intercourse among adolescents as a growing public health concern.
Klaw, E. L., Lonsway, K. A., Berg, D. R., Waldo, C. R., Kothari, C., Mazurek, C. J., & Hegeman, K. E. (2005). Challenging rape culture: Awareness, emotion and action through campus acquaintance rape education. Women & Therapy, 28, 47-63.
The Campus Acquaintance Rape Education (CARE) program is based on a feminist perspective, emphasizing the role of gender inequality in sexual violence. Students enrolled in the course are trained to facilitate rape education workshops on campus. The data sources consisted of focus group discussions and reaction papers written by CARE students. Using content analysis, the authors identified three themes related to the effects of the CARE course: 1) increased rape consciousness, 2) emotional reactions to the course material, and 3) increased skills and activism. Unique reactions by men, women, and female survivors were documented. The authors conclude with suggestions for rape education programs and related research.