NCJ Number
143408
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1993) Pages: 277-295
Date Published
1993
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This article addresses the issue of sexual assault prevention, an area of research replete with ethical, conceptual, and methodological problems.
Abstract
The author describes the historical debate over whether or not sexual assault prevention should be viewed from a crime-control or public-health perspective. He identifies limitations of both perspectives in providing a conceptual foundation on which rape prevention efforts can be designed and evaluated. The review documents the paucity of extant work on sexual assault prevention and laments the fact that most prevention efforts have been designed to ensure that the rapist picks a more vulnerable target than the woman being trained in preventive measures; this does little to reduce the rate of sexual assault. By highlighting the pioneering work of Sparks and Bar On (1985) and the typology of rape prevention strategies developed by Fischoff, Furby, and Morgan (1987), the article shows that real rape prevention requires moving beyond victim control by addressing the fundamental causes of sexually aggressive behavior. The author concludes that this has not yet happened. 71 references