Sexual Assault Risk Reduction Program
Problems addressed
Sexual violence
Effectiveness

No Effect

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No Effect

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Life periods served
Adults (18 to 59 years)
Where the program was applied
Education establishment
Country of application
United States
Description

This is a rape prevention program for university students. The aim is to reduce sexual assault and increase women’s self-efficacy and ability to defend themselves against potential attackers.
The program seeks to teach about the myths and truths surrounding rape, recognize risky situations, and train women in self-defense techniques.
The intervention takes place in groups of 15 to 20 women and consists of two sessions:
1) Awareness-raising about the prevalence of sexual aggression and the culture of systemic machismo;
2) A self-defense training course.
An extra session to review the lessons learned takes place three months after the end of the program.

Impact evaluations

Impact evaluation studies showed no statistically significant differences between the treatment and comparison groups in any of the behavioral measures. Although there were statistically significant differences in the outcomes of rape myth acceptance, self-efficacy, and protective dating behaviors, these differences were small. Overall, the preponderance of evidence suggests that the intervention had no impact on sexual aggression for program participants [1] [2] [3].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Gidycz, C. A., Layman, M. J., Rich, C. L., Crothers. M., Gylys, J., Matorin, A. & Jacobs, C. D. (2001). An Evaluation of an Acquaintance Rape Prevention Program. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 16(11), 1120–1138. https://doi.org/10.1177/088626001016011002

[2] Orchowski, L. M., Gidycz, C. A. & Raffle, H. (2008). Evaluation of a Sexual Assault Risk Reduction and Self-Defense Program: A Prospective Analysis of a Revised Protocol. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32(2), 204–218. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2008.00425.x

[3] Gidycz, C. A., Rich, C. L., Orchowski, L., King, C., & Miller, A. K. (2006). The evaluation of a sexual assault self-defense and risk-reduction program for college women: A prospective study. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30(2), 173-186.

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