NCJ Number
185716
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 6 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2000 Pages: 1255-1268
Date Published
November 2000
Length
14 pages
Annotation
A peer education program that took place in one high school in a Detroit suburb and that emphasized male responsibility in decreasing sexual assault was evaluated in terms of its impact on attitudes regarding rape.
Abstract
The Peer Education Project aimed to reduce sexual assault and decrease victim blaming and stereotypical attitudes about rape and rape victims. Teams of male and female peer educators who had received 15 hours of training presented information in classrooms and large-group assemblies. Topics for the 45-minute presentations included sexual assault, risk reduction, rape culture, sexual assault law, how to help a friend who has been assaulted, and male responsibility in preventing sexual assault. The main form of publicity was direct, one-on-one contacts in which the peer educators approached teachers to schedule presentations. Two hundred fifty-three students who attended the program completed pretests and posttests that consisted of a 20-item rape attitude scale and 1 demographic question about the participant’s gender. The posttest also included a 6-question evaluation, measured on a 10-point Likert-type scale. Results revealed that attendance at the program led to a decrease in rape-tolerant attitudes immediately following the presentation. The scores of female students revealed less acceptance of rape myths and victim-blaming attitudes than males at both pretest and posttest, but males’ attitudes improved more than did females’ attitudes. However, the impact of the program on sexual assault rates is not yet known. Table, figure, note, and 14 references