*Prevention begins
with education*
Practicing common
sense, learning self
defense and avoiding dangerous areas at night is only a small part
of rape prevention. Focusing only on the obligations of the victim places
the burden solely on them. In over 70% of sexual assaults the perpetrator is someone the victim knows. "In
order to have a better understanding of the aftermath of criminal victimization,
we must begin to accept the reality that crime is sometimes random, senseless
and can happen to anyone regardless of the precautions that are taken
to prevent being victimized. We must also understand that a victim's life
is turned upside down when he or she becomes a victim of crime." National
Center for Victims of Crime
The term an ounce
of prevention is worth a pound of cure is appropriate in this situation.
The prevention needs to be taken by all areas of society in promoting
non aggressive behavior in children. They are our most precious resource
and our future.
Sexual
assaults happen to all types of people including disabled people, the
elderly and men. It's not a crime of strangers. Rape is a crime of power
and control.
Preventing rape starts
with teaching young people to respect other people, women, girls and personal
boundaries. Please scroll down for self defense information.
For a full listing
please see this
chart on page 45 of Acquaintance
Rape of College Students, from the US Dept.
Of Justice. More effective responses which were listed above the following
were: General assault education of male students, female students, faculty
and police staff.
Public education campaign
ideas:
The pain of rape is often invisible.
Rape is not about the obvious physical wounds- it's about psychological
damage to the actual brain via ptsd. It's more complex than being hit,
it's a violation of the right to control your body and actions.
Education about the effects
of rape. Often nobody thinks about the frequently life long complications
of sexual assault. Some of those are PTSD, eating disorders, self injury,
OCD, and RTS.
The images of rapists. They
frequently ARE the boy next door. This has to become more widely accepted.
End
Abuse
http://endabuse.org/
End Abuse Campaigns: Reaching
Men
Coaching Boys into Men
Boys are swamped with influences outside of the home – from friends,
the neighborhood, television, the internet, music, the movies… everything
they see around them. They hear all kinds of messages about what it means
to “be a man” – that they have to be tough and in control.
There are numerous conflicting and some harmful messages being given to
boys about what constitutes “being a man” in a relationship.
So teach boys early, and teach them often, that there is no place for
violence in a relationship.
http://endabuse.org/programs/printable/display.php3?DocID=9902
Audio
for endabuse - Train boys not to abuse women.
Coaching
Boys Into Men Play book
http://www.coaches-corner.org/
"Athletics has always been
at the forefront of social change. Playing sports has helped our country
break down barriers of segregation and racism; it brings the world together
during times of war and provide inspiration and optimism when the public
needs it most. Today, you are being called upon to address a major societal
problem: violence against women."
Speech exerpt:
"COACH: I have one more
important point to make. You all know the team rules and what I expect
of you on the field and in the classroom. What I want to talk to you about
now is a matter of personal conduct. I know you all spend a lot of time
thinking about girls. Yeah, believe it or not, I was your age once. And
athletes have been known to get their fair share of attention from women.
Well, there's a right way and a wrong way to treat women. I want strong
men on this team. And a man does not prove his strength by catcalling
or harassing girls, spreading stories about them, bragging about what
he may or may not have done on some date or using derogatory terms to
refer to women. And a man does not prove his strength by making a woman
feel threatened or imposing himself physically on a woman in any way.
And a strong man does not stand by and watch or listen while somebody
else treats a woman in these ways, even if the person doing it is a friend
and teammate. A man proves his strength by treating women with honor and
respect and does everything he can to make sure that others do so as well."
Founding
Fathers
http://www.founding-fathers.org/
"I am a "founding father"
because I want to make a difference for the next generation by creating
a legacy of non-violence that will - eventually - change the world."
Healthy
dating - Program on sexual assault education in middle and high schools
http://www.healthy-dating.com/
Research:
Sexual
Violence Prevention: Beginning the Dialogue
"Sexual Violence is a serious
public health problem with extensive short- and long-term health consequences.
Sexual Violence Prevention: Beginning the Dialogue identifies concepts
and strategies that may be used as a foundation for planning, implementing,
and evaluating sexual violence prevention activities."
The
Men's Program: A Peer Education Guide to Rape Prevention, Third Edition
Author(s) - John D Foubert
Acquaintance
Rape of College Students,
COPS, March 2002, NCJ 195868. (61 pages- full version).
See page 45 for a
chart of prevention activities and their effectiveness. "The
table below summarizes the responses to acquaintance rape of college students,
the mechanism by which they are intended to work, the conditions under
which they ought to work best, and some factors you should consider before
implementing a particular response."
"Rape is the
most common violent crime on American
college campuses today.1 This guide describes the problem
of acquaintance rape of college students, addressing its
scope, causes and contributing factors; methods for
analyzing it on a particular campus; tested responses; and
measures for assessing response effectiveness. With this
information, police and public safety officers can more
effectively prevent the problem.
The Problem-Oriented
Guides for Police series is very much a
collaborative effort. While each guide has a primary
author, other project team members, COPS Office staff
and anonymous peer reviewers contributed to each guide."
Lesson
plans on sexual assault education
http://www.ibiblio.org/rcip//bks.html#lp
Tough
Guise: Violence, Media & the Crisis in Masculinity
http://www.transformcommunities.org/
Prevention
of sexual and physical assault toward women: A program for male athletes
"This article
presents a sexual and physical violence prevention program designed for
college student athletes. The program has been in place for approximately
10 years and has demonstrated several uniquely positive results. Implications
for prevention programs designed for high-risk groups and athletes in
particular are presented as are the components and philosophy felt necessary
for such programs."
Self Defense
and Safe Practices
Verbal
Self-Defense Against Rape, Sexual Assault
http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Abuse/lisk/
verbal_self_defense.htm
"Our voice is
frequently our first line of defense in a confrontation. Plus, at least
78% of rapes are committed by somebody we know -- coworkers, neighbors,
relatives, boyfriends, husbands. For acquaintance rape, setting clear
boundaries is particularly important. A good, loud NO is a valuable weapon.
Sometimes it's not easy to say
NO. It may take practice, but it's worth it."
Rape
Aggression Defense (RAD) Course
http://www.sexualassaultresources.org/rad.html
Find
a program near you
" The Rape Aggression Defense
System is a program of realistic self-defense tactics and techniques for
women. The R.A.D. System is a comprehensive, women-only course that begins
with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and risk avoidance, while progressing
on to the basics of hands-on defense training. R.A.D. is not a Martial
Arts program. "
RAPE
PREVENTION - from Missouri Police Department
http://www.hendersonville-pd.org/PreventionTips/
RapePreventionTips.html
"Accept the fact
that you are a potential rape victim. Many women operate under the illusion
"it will never happen to me." It may."
Arming
Women Against Rape & Endangerment
http://www.aware.org/
The
antistalking site
http://www.antistalking.com/
This is a site for anyone interested
in the crime of stalking. It is meant to be not only a resource for stalking
victims, but for law enforcement, mental health professionals, researchers,
educators, legislators and security personnel.
Tips
Do:
Be aggressive, scream, intimidate
the attacker, hit vulnerable areas like the groin, low kicks are good.
If someone is sitting on top of
you here is how to get up: Don't try to push UP because their weight is
working against you. Twist your hips/body to the side to throw them off
balance and THEN get up.
If someone has a grip on your arm:
There is a tendon on the top of the fore-arm that lines up with the thumb.
If you bring your fist down hard on it the tendon reacts and causes the
fingers to open. You might want to practise that because you have to hit
the right spot, hard.
Don't:
High kicks might let them catch
your leg and hold on, don't run after them, it's better not to wrestle
if they are stronger.
Products: Stunning
Ring Pepper Spray, Mace
Pepper Gel , Safety
Technology.
Journal articles
Anderson, L., Whiston,
S. (2005). SEXUAL ASSAULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS: A META-ANALYTIC EXAMINATION
OF THEIR EFFECTIVENESS. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 29 (4),
p374-388, 15p. link
Abstract
Meta-analyses of the effectiveness
of college sexual assault education programs on seven outcome measure
categories were conducted using 69 studies that involved 102 treatment
interventions and 18,172 participants. Five of the outcome categories
had significant average effect sizes (i.e., rape attitudes, rape-related
attitudes, rape knowledge, behavioral intent, and incidence of sexual
assault), while the outcome areas of rape empathy and rape awareness behaviors
did not have average effect sizes that differed from zero. A significant
finding of this study is that longer interventions are more effective
than brief interventions in altering both rape attitudes and rape-related
attitudes. Moderator analyses also suggest that the content of programming,
type of presenter, gender of the audience, and type of audience may also
be associated with greater program effectiveness. Implications for research
and practice are discussed.
Gidyez, Christine
A; McNamara, John R; Edwards, Katie M (2006). Women's Risk Perception
and Sexual Victimization: A Review of the Literature. Aggression and
Violent Behavior, 11, (5), pp. 441 - 456.
Quote:
"Research findings
suggest that sexual assault prevention programs must decrease women's
optimism about low personal risk while helping them to respond to particular
risks and threats once they are identified. Given the higher risk for
acquaintance rape compared with stranger rape, women's alertness for risks
in interactions with persons they know must be primary. Researchers generally
agree that women are aware that sexual assaults occur, but they believe
they are at a lower risk for sexual assault than their peers...Several
studies have found that risk recognition is related to victimization status;
however, other studies have found no such relationship and suggest that
victimization status is related to women's behavioral responses to a potentially
threatening situation, rather than their ability to recognize risk...."
Resources to research
these subjects:
Lesson
plans - Online lesson plans for awareness raising and class presentations.
(Includes visual aids)
Journals
and articles
Google
scholar or Findarticles
Search
the NCJRS Abstracts Database
Finding
books at the library
Online
Libraries on sexual assault
Encyclopedias
and Dictionaries
Stalking
Domestic
violence |