NCJ Number
228816
Journal
Crime Prevention and Community Safety Volume: 11 Issue: 4 Dated: October 2009 Pages: 258-276
Date Published
October 2009
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Based on focus groups conducted with 49 advocates of sexual-assault prevention, this study determined whether structural barriers to effective sexual assault prevention differed for community-based and campus-based sexual-assault prevention efforts.
Abstract
Community-based advocates of sexual-assault prevention identified three main structural barriers to their efforts: lack of protocol, cultural differences, and geographical challenges. Lack of protocol refers to differences in the way communities respond to sexual assaults. This was a significant issue for advocates who worked across several different communities simultaneously; for example, in one community there may be a lack of uniformity in the investigation of sexual assaults by local law enforcement agencies; and in another community, social service and child protection agencies may have different guidelines for responding to sexual assault victims, particularly children. Regarding cultural differences, community-based advocates noted the cultural features of the various racial/ethnic groups in their communities, which reflected various concepts of and responses to sexual assault as defined by State law. Geographical challenges pertain to serving large geographical areas that may contain isolated settings where there are few services for sexual assault victims. Campus-based advocates, on the other hand, identified the following three main structural barriers to sexual-assault prevention: the demographic and sociocultural composition of colleges, the transient nature of the student population, and competition with community sexual assault centers for funding. Both groups thus identified barriers related to cultural differences among populations targeted for intervention. Differences arose due to the broader geographical area served by community-based programs. Based on these findings, recommendations are offered for improving sexual assault prevention and intervention on both campuses and in the community. One recommendation for both settings is for all advocates to cooperate in seeking increased funding for prevention programs, increasing awareness of violence prevention, and increasing the involvement of all agencies with a stake in violence prevention. 43 references