Explore the vast range of titles available.

Women at universities are at high risk of sexual assault. In this trial at three Canadian universities, women assigned to a four-session sexual assault resistance program had a significantly lower 1-year risk of completed rape and attempted rape than did a control group. Young women attending university 1 , 2 face a substantial risk of being sexually assaulted. The incidence of sexual assault is estimated to be between 20% and 25% over a period of 4 years and to be highest during the first 2 years. 3 , 4 Being sexually assaulted can result in post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, alcohol use, and decreased safer-sex practices, among other negative health outcomes. 5 In addition to the specific health consequences for the woman, 6 the social and financial costs to society are also high. 7 , 8 With the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act 9 and establishment of a White House task . . .

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a crucial global health problem among all age groups, including adolescents. This study describes incidences of GBV, as well as factors associated with sexual assault, among female adolescents in class six living in urban informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. Study participants were interviewed using a structured survey instrument focusing on experiences of GBV, including emotional, physical, and sexual violence, and corresponding perpetrators, as well as gender attitudes, alcohol use, self-efficacy, and previous sexual experiences. Summary statistics and clustered bootstrap confidence intervals were calculated for social behaviors and violence rates. Stepwise logistic regression identified variables associated with an adolescent's experience of sexual assault. In this population 7·2% of adolescent girls reported being raped in the prior twelve months, with 11·1% of these rape victims reporting over five experiences. Among the 21·3% who report having had a boyfriend, 38·1% reported emotional, physical, and/or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV). Boyfriends were identified most often as perpetrators, accounting for 46·3% of reported lifetime rapes. Previous experience of physical (p = <0·001) or emotional (p<0·001) IPV and home violence (p<0·001) were risk factors for being raped, while high self-efficacy (p<0·001) was a protective factor. Sexual assault and GBV are major challenges in this highly-disadvantaged population. Novel prevention efforts are needed for this age group, as prevention is often targeted at older adolescents. Prevention efforts should focus on assaults by perpetrators known to adolescents, especially boyfriends, and may need to account for the adolescents' previous experience of, and exposure to, violence.

Sexual assault (SA) is a serious problem at universities. It is estimated that 1 in 5 women students will experience SA before they graduate. The primary aim of this randomized controlled trial is to test whether a synchronous web-based facilitated adaptation of an efficacious intervention (the Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act [EAAA] program) can reduce the 1-year incidence of rape among first- and second-year undergraduate women. Secondary aims will assess the impact of the Internet-Delivered EAAA (IDEA ) on other forms of SA (attempted rape, attempted and completed coercion, and nonconsensual sexual contact). Tertiary aims will evaluate effects of the program on (1) survivor self-blame in the event of an assault, (2) 6 known mediators of the intervention effect to guide revision of IDEA if necessary, and (3) 2 exploratory outcomes measuring acceptance of sexualized aggression and sexual empowerment. In this multisite open-label randomized controlled trial, 1920 diverse women students at 2 Canadian and 4 US universities will be randomly assigned to receive either the 12-hour IDEA (intervention arm) or standard of care (control arm: 60-minute, web-based, live-facilitated consent workshop). Outcomes are measured at baseline, 1 week, 6 months, and 12 months post intervention. SA will be assessed using the Sexual Experiences Survey-Short Form Version. Survivor self-blame and outcomes known to be mediators of EAAA's reductions in SA will also be measured. Funding was received in October 2022. Recruitment began on October 2, 2023, and the first participant was randomized on October 23, 2023. As of August 2025, a total of 683 participants have been enrolled and randomized. Data collection will end in May 2027. If efficacious, IDEA will be made available to universities in Canada and the United States. To date, 6 provinces in Canada and the Campus SaVE Act in the United States require institutions to provide SA prevention programming. An evidence-based, cost-effective option that can be delivered remotely via the internet has the potential to become the gold standard. The research, therefore, has the potential to impact women's health and safety internationally. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06058455, https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06058455. DERR1-10.2196/72087.

Gender-based violence has serious consequences for the psychological, physical, and sexual well-being of both men and women. Various gender roles, attitudes, and practices in South Africa create an environment that fosters submission and silence in females and hegemony and coercion in males. One of the expressions of this power inequity is a high prevalence of forced sex, which in its turn is associated with higher risk of HIV infection. This study therefore assessed potential gender differences in beliefs about forced sex and in prevalence of reported forced sex among high school students ( N  = 764) in KwaZulu-Natal. Results showed that significantly more boys were sexually active (26 %) than girls (12 %) and that boys experienced earlier sexual debut by over a year. Boys also held a more positive view about forced sex than girls since they associated it more often with signs of love, as an appropriate way to satisfy sexual urges, and as acceptable if the girl was financially dependent on the boy. The perception that peers and friends considered forced sex to be an effective way to punish a female partner was also more common among boys. On the other hand, boys were less knowledgeable about the health and legal consequences of forced sex, but no significant differences were found for other sociocognitive items, such as self-efficacy and behavioral intention items. Consequently, health education programs are needed to inform both boys and girls about the risks of forced sex, to convince boys and their friends about its inappropriateness and girls to empower themselves to avoid forced sex.

Scant research has investigated interventions to reduce forced sexual intercourse among adolescents. The need for such interventions is especially great in South Africa, which has some of the highest rates of sexual assault in the world. To determine whether an HIV/sexually transmitted disease risk-reduction intervention that reduced sexual risk behavior and sexually transmitted disease prevalence also reduced the perpetration and experience of forced sex among South African adolescents. A cluster randomized clinical trial, at schools located in a township and a semirural area, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Matched pairs of schools were randomly selected (9 of 17); of 1118 students in sixth grade at these 18 schools who had parent or guardian consent, 1057 (94%) were enrolled, and those not reporting forced sex perpetration before the intervention were included in the analyses (n = 1052). Post hoc secondary analysis of a cluster randomized clinical trial was performed, with baseline and 3-, 6-, 12-, 42-, and 54-month postintervention assessments between October 4, 2004, and June 30, 2010. Generalized estimating equation Poisson regression analyses adjusting for gender and clustering within schools were conducted between August 23, 2017, and April 30, 2018. Recruiters and data collectors, but not intervention facilitators, were blind to the participants' intervention assignment. Theory-based, culturally adapted, 6-session HIV/sexually transmitted disease risk-reduction intervention (Let Us Protect Our Future intervention) and attention-matched, chronic disease prevention control intervention implemented by specially trained man and woman cofacilitators from the community. Study outcomes for this secondary analysis (planned after the data were collected) are self-reports of perpetrating and experiencing forced vaginal intercourse. Participants included 1052 adolescents (557 girls [53%]; mean [SD] age, 12.4 [1.2] years) reporting not perpetrating forced sex at baseline. Fewer intervention than control participants reported forced sex perpetration postintervention compared with the control group at 3 months (9 of 561 [2%] vs 20 of 491 [4%]; risk ratio [RR], 0.978; 95% CI, 0.959-0.997), 6 months (17 of 561 [3%] vs 35 of 491 [7%]; RR, 0.964; 95% CI, 0.941-0.988), 12 months (21 of 561 [4%] vs 42 of 491 [9%]; RR, 0.959; 95% CI, 0.934-0.985), 42 months (41 of 561 [7%] vs 56 of 491 [11%]; RR, 0.967; 95% CI, 0.937-0.998), and 54 months (52 of 561 [9%] vs 68 of 491 [14%]; RR, 0.964; 95% CI, 0.932-0.997). In settings with high rates of sexual assault, the use of theory-based culturally adapted interventions with early adolescents may reduce rates of perpetrating and experiencing forced sex. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00559403.

The bystander intervention approach is gaining popularity as a means for engaging communities in sexual assault prevention, especially on college campuses. Many bystander programs are teaching community members how to intervene without first assisting them to identify the full range of opportunities when they can intervene. In this article, the authors review the literature on sexual violence bystander intervention and present a conceptual framework that lays out a continuum of bystander opportunities ranging from reactive situations after an assault has occurred, to situations before an assault has occurred (posing high to low risk to victims), as well as proactive situations where no risk to the victim is present. The implications of this typology are discussed in the context of program development, evaluation, and further research.

Preventing sexual assault in the United States (U.S.) military is essential to safeguard the overall well-being of military personnel and support the military to function in alignment with its intended mission and objectives. Valid instruments are needed to accurately and reliably evaluate programming effectiveness. The goal of this research was to psychometrically assess measures used to evaluate the Sexual Communication and Consent (SCC) program within the Air Force Basic Military Training (BMT) context. We evaluated four measures used to assess the SCC program implemented at Air Force BMT in 2019-2020: Date Rape Attitudes, Self-Efficacy to Resist Unwanted Advances, Risky and Protective Dating Behaviors, and Bystander Intentions. The analytic sample included 7,126 BMT trainees (74% male). We assessed structural validity with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). We used full information maximum likelihood estimation with robust standard errors in Mplus. We refined each scale based on factor analysis results and assessed internal consistency reliability by computing Cronbach's coefficient alpha for each scale in the overall sample, by sex, and by tailored SCC intervention group. We identified a two-factor structure for the Date Rape Attitudes scale; subscale reliability was moderate within the overall sample and among males, though low among females. We found single-factor structures and excellent reliability for both the Self-Efficacy to Resist Unwanted Advances scale and the Bystander Intentions scale. The Dating Behaviors scale CFA did not confirm the two-factor solution suggested by the EFA, but subscale reliability was acceptable. This research fills a critical gap in the psychometric literature in military settings. Based on our findings, we recommend approaches for using the finalized scales in future evaluations of sexual assault prevention programming in the U.S. Air Force BMT setting.

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the effects of the Safe Dates program on the primary and secondary prevention of adolescent dating violence. METHODS: Fourteen schools were randomly allocated to treatment conditions. Eighty percent (n=1886) of the eighth and ninth graders in a rural county completed baseline questionnaires, and 1700 (90%) completed follow-up questionnaires. RESULTS: Treatment and control groups were comparable at baseline. In the full sample at follow-up, less psychological abuse, sexual violence, and violence perpetrated against the current dating partner were reported in treatment than in control schools. In a subsample of adolescents reporting no dating violence at baseline (a primary prevention subsample), there was less initiation of psychological abuse in treatment than in control schools. In a subsample of adolescents reporting dating violence at baseline (a secondary prevention subsample), there was less psychological abuse and sexual violence perpetration reported at follow-up in treatment than in control schools. Most program effects were explained by changes in dating violence norms, gender stereotyping, and awareness of services. CONCLUSIONS: The Safe Dates program shows promise for preventing dating violence among adolescents.

Background Despite growing attention to intimate partner violence (IPV) globally, systematic evaluation of evidence for IPV prevention remains limited. This particularly is true in relation to low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), where researchers often organize evidence by current interventions strategies rather than comprehensive models of IPV. Applying the concept of structural interventions to IPV, we systematically reviewed the quantitative impact of such interventions for prevention of male-to-female IPV in LMIC in order to (a) highlight current opportunities for IPV research and programming and (b) demonstrate how structural interventions may provide an organizing framework through which to build an evidence base for IPV prevention. Methods We identified articles by systematically searching PubMed and Web of Science, reviewing references of selected studies, and contacting 23 experts. Inclusion criteria included original research, written in English, published between January 2000 and May 2015 in the peer-reviewed literature. Studies evaluated the quantitative impact of structural interventions for the prevention of male-to-female IPV in LMIC through (a) IPV incidence or prevalence or (b) secondary outcomes theoretically linked to IPV by study authors. After initial screening, we evaluated full text articles for inclusion and extracted data on study characteristics, outcomes, and risk of bias, using forms developed for the review. Results Twenty articles (16 studies) from nine countries met inclusion criteria, representing 13 randomized control trials and seven additional studies, all of which reported results from economic, social, or combined economic and social interventions. Standardized at p  < 0.05 or 95 % confidence intervals not including unity, 13 studies demonstrated statistically significant effects for at least one primary or secondary outcome, including decreased IPV and controlling behaviors; improved economic wellbeing; enhanced relationship quality, empowerment, or social capital; reduced acceptability of IPV; new help seeking behaviors; and more equitable gender norms. Risk of bias, however, varied in meaningful ways. Conclusions Our findings support the potential effectiveness of structural interventions for IPV prevention. Structural interventions, as an organizing framework, may advance IPV prevention by consolidating available evidence; highlighting opportunities to assess a broader range of interventions, including politico-legal and physical approaches; and emphasizing opportunities to improve evaluation of such interventions.

Objective: The bystander approach to rape prevention is gaining popularity on college campuses, although research is limited. This study explored bystander attitudes and their relationship with rape myths in a sample of college students. Participants: Surveys from 2,338 incoming undergraduate students at a large, northeastern university were analyzed. Methods: Participants completed revised versions of the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale and the Bystander Attitude Scale. Results: A higher acceptance of rape myths was reported by males, those pledging a fraternity/sorority, athletes, those without previous rape education, and those who did not know someone sexually assaulted. A greater willingness to intervene as a bystander was reported by females, those who had previous rape education, and those who knew someone sexually assaulted. Acceptance of rape myths was negatively related to willingness to intervene. Conclusions: Bystander intervention programs should include content on rape myths as well as focus on the role of gender.