Systematic Review of Sexual Assault Prevention Programming in Institutions of Higher Education

• In Event: 477 - Section on Crime, Law, and Deviance Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 13. Discussions Regarding Sexual Violence

Abstract

This paper examines literature reviews focused on sexual assault prevention programming in colleges and universities in the United States. Medline CSA was the search engine used to conduct this systematic literature review. Literature reviews were eligible for inclusion if they were published in a scholarly journal; were peer-reviewed; publication were between 2008-2013; were conducted in the United States; were available in English; used original data; examined the effectiveness of a sexual assault prevention program; and focused on college and university settings. Ten articles met the inclusion criteria. The results suggest that the effectiveness of sexual assault prevention programming in institutions of higher education can vary based on type of audience, format, and program content, although participants receiving the full extent of whatever program was evaluated did experience some benefit regarding prevention skills. The bystander intervention model was most often used by these programs and can prove helpful to changes the communities’ understanding and acceptance of sexual assault. Administrators of college or universities should consider existing reviews and recommendations when designing and implementing their own sexual assault prevention programing.

Author

• Abigail Marie Malick, University of Central Florida