Sixth Edition of ‘The Evidence’: We Need a New Approach to Preventing Sexual Violence

In this month’s installment of The Evidence newsletter, journalist Josephine Lethbridge explores recent research into sexual violence prevention programs and interviews experts on why it’s time to take a new approach. 

Between 1985 and 2015, rates of sexual violence on U.S. university campuses remained constant. Worryingly, these figures may have increased in recent years. 

This is despite the millions that universities and the US government have spent on prevention programs. Officials and researchers have been left wondering: why have these significant financial investments failed to produce the intended real-world impact? 

A recent meta-analysis covering all previous global research on sexual violence prevention programs has the answer. 

Up until now, the prevailing belief has been that changing people’s attitudes was key to lowering rates of sexual violence.  

This is reflected in the approaches taken by many awareness programs. A central focus of these programs is on dispelling “rape myths” like “some women deserve to be raped” and “when women say no, they really mean yes.”  

But as new research demonstrates, these interventions have not lowered rates of sexual violence because changing a person’s beliefs does not encourage them to act differently.  

So, what lessons can we learn from this meta-analysis?  

For some, this discovery is a “damning wake-up call to the field of sexual violence prevention.”  

Yet for Elise Lopez, one of the authors of an accompanying comment piece, there are reasons to be positive about the findings.  

Talking about the potential impact of the study, Lopez said, “When you identify a fundamental flaw, you can stop recreating the wheel and instead grasp the opportunity to create something new.” 

Ana Gantman, who co-authored the study, reflected on past prevention programs. She commented: “Changing people’s perceptions is still important! But this just isn’t the right lever to pull to reduce sexual violence rates.”  

Read this month’s full newsletter. An archive of previous issues can be accessed through Social Science Space. 

Sage – the parent of Social Science Space – sponsors The Evidence, a bold new feminist newsletter that covers everything you need to know about the latest social and behavioral science research into gender inequality. The newsletter makes research accessible and understandable, empowering readers to respond to today’s crises by making changes in their communities, their workplaces, or in the laws of their country.