Rape prevention: What do we actually know? - (article in process)

By: Tom Cloyd - 4 min. read; reviewed: 2024-04-14:1444 Pacific time (USA))

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Article status

I am still collecting resource articles. At first glance, there appears to be a lot of material on this topic, but what we most need are literature summaries and reviews, so that we can see to what extent there is a developing consensus about what works, and how well.

How can you help? Offer us your general comments, concerns, or needs; contribute resource articles of any kind which you think might be useful; offer to review and/or edit draft of articles prior to their publication. contact us

Plan

  1. [ ] Search for resource articles - primarily literature review articles rather than primary research reports.
  2. [ ] Summarize chosen resource articles.
  3. [ ] Develop article outline.
  4. [ ] Write article sections, as indicated by outline.
  5. [ ] Asssess outcome for adequacy; if necessary, obtain more resource articles.
  6. [ ] Edit article draft: check for
    1. [ ] assertions: clarity, logical justification, overall conceptual integration; 1, [ ] narrative flow;
    2. [ ] technical errors (spelling, punctuation).
  7. [ ] Publish

Key questions:

The victim population is not homogenous.

What demographic groups exist in this population?

  • What natural groups exist relative to prevention strategies?
  • Relative to different victim groups, what interventions have been tried, where, and when?

Interventions

  • How effective have these interventions been, in terms of percent reduction In rape incidence?
  • What appears to be the best focus for our resources in the immediate future, given what we know about Incidence reduction?
  • What blocks exist to the implementation of interventions that are worth our investment?

Resource articles

Preliminary note: there’s a lot available on this subject. What follows is only a selection of obviously interesting material.

General violence prevention

Fazel, S., Burghart, M., Wolf, A., Whiting, D., & Yu, R. (2024). Effectiveness of Violence Prevention Interventions: Umbrella Review of Research in the General Population. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 25(2), 1709–1718. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380231195880 - “We conclude that simple, scalable, and cost-efficient programs, such as sport-based initiatives, have the clearest empirical support as population-based approaches to violence prevention.”

Sexual violence prevention

DeGue, S., Valle, L. A., Holt, M. K., Massetti, G. M., Matjasko, J. L., & Tharp, A. T. (2014). A systematic review of primary prevention strategies for sexual violence perpetration. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 19(4), 346–362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2014.05.004. Retrieved 2024-04-13 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5875446/ - An especially valuable, though technical, summary. Key finding: “The majority of sexual violence prevention strategies in the evaluation literature are brief, psycho-educational programs focused on increasing knowledge or changing attitudes, none of which have shown evidence of effectiveness on sexually violent behavior using a rigorous evaluation design. Based on evaluation studies included in the current review, only three primary prevention strategies have demonstrated significant effects on sexually violent behavior in a rigorous outcome evaluation…”

Lonsway, K. A., Banyard, V. L., Berkowitz, A. D., Gidycz, C. A., Katz, J. T., Koss, M. P., Schewe, P. A., & Ullman, S. E. (2009). Rape Prevention and Risk Reduction: Review of the Research Literature for Practitioners. Retrieved 2024-04-13 from https://vawnet.org/sites/default/files/materials/files/2016-09/AR_RapePrevention.pdf - See valuable introduction, here: https://vawnet.org/material/rape-prevention-and-risk-reduction-review-research-literature-practitioners

Campbell, R., & Wasco, S. M. (2005). Understanding Rape and Sexual Assault: 20 Years of Progress and Future Directions. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20(1), 127–131. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260504268604. Retrieved 2024-04-13 from http://svri.org/sites/default/files/attachments/2016-01-13/127.full_.pdf

Vladutiu, C. J., Martin, S. L., & Macy, R. J. (2011). College- or University-Based Sexual Assault Prevention Programs: A Review of Program Outcomes, Characteristics, and Recommendations. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 12(2), 67–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838010390708. Retrieved 2024-04-13 from https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=9dae85534d1f03fb1ba92b5f3b307852f0cc0959

Cermele, J., & McCaughey, M. (2022). Self-Defense as an Effective and Neglected Form of Sexual Assault Prevention: A Commentary and Overdue Correction to the Literature. Sex Roles, 86(9), 493–503. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-022-01284-3. Retrieved 2024-04-13 from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-022-01284-3 - abstract only; no full-text open-access version available online. Victim assistance interventions

Lomax, J., & Meyrick, J. (2022). Systematic Review: Effectiveness of psychosocial interventions on wellbeing outcomes for adolescent or adult victim/survivors of recent rape or sexual assault. Journal of Health Psychology, 27(2), 305–331. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105320950799- Retrieved 2024-04-13 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8777327/ - Important because of the conclusion: inadequate research support exists for any first-response recent-victim intervention. This issue needs more attention.

 

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