Engaging Boys and Young Men in the Prevention of Sexual Violence

"It is increasingly understood that men's use of violence is generally a learned behavior, rooted in the ways that boys and men are socialized....Adolescence is a time when many boys and young men first explore and experiment with their beliefs about roles in intimate relationships, about dating dynamics and male-female interactions. Research has shown that this is also the time when intimate partner violence first starts to manifest itself..."

This review analyses 65 studies that investigated the effectiveness of interventions for preventing boys' and young men's use of sexual violence, such as by increasing gender-equitable attitudes and behaviours. Commissioned by the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI), funded by the Oak Foundation, the review aims to explore the potential for intervening directly with boys and young men in community and school settings to address risk factors for sexual violence within diverse socio-cultural locales around the world. The focus is on studies of interventions that have a randomised controlled or quasi-experimental design. In addition to assessing relevant studies, the review examines the extent to which the interventions have been adapted from one setting, culture, or context to another, as well as from one age group to another.

The interventions included in this review draw from several different theories, including social learning theory, social norms theory, belief system theory, and theories around bystanders, which are discussed in the review. The interventions are primarily focused on directly impacting individual and group attitudes and behaviours (though the authors recognise that it is necessary to also focus on communities, systems, and structures). Amongst the communication approaches utilised by the interventions reviewed: (i) preventing rape through strategies such as the development of empathy for victims, learning the meaning of consent, addressing bystander behaviour, and re-imagining what it means to be male; (ii) preventing dating violence and addressing various forms of violence in the context of intimate relationships more broadly; and (iii) addressing gender norms and stereotypes that are linked to violence - prevention of rape and sexual violence are not necessarily the primary goal of the intervention.

The studies took place in 11 different countries, 4 of which are classified as high-income (Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, and the United States), 4 of which were classified as middle-income (Brazil, India, Korea, and South Africa), and 3 of which were classified as low-income (Ethiopia, Nicaragua, and Thailand). Among the interventions reviewed, the most common methodologies are workshops. Some are based on active learning and are interactive, while others are didactic and more passive. Others are a combination of both styles. The vast majority (90%) took place in school settings. Nearly one-third (n=20) of interventions were one session, with another 14 interventions conducted in 2-9 sessions, and another 12 being conducted in 10-15 sessions. Session lengths ranged from about 1 hour to 4.5 hours, with the majority lasting about 1 hour. Some interventions were not session-based but, rather, were conducted as media or education campaigns that lasted from a few weeks to several years. A majority of the interventions involved teachers (n=17), with 4 of these including health education teachers, specifically, or facilitators (n=18). The majority (n=55) used group education methods to deliver the intervention, often using existing curricula (e.g., Reaching and Teaching Teens to Stop Violence).

Overall, the studies "provide substantial evidence of effectiveness of interventions to improve boys' and young men's attitudes towards rape and other forms of violence against women, as well as attitudes towards rigid gender stereotypes that condone or allow this violence to occur. Evidence of effectiveness related to behaviors is less straightforward." For example:

• Related to behaviour change - While changes in attitudes have been linked to improvements in non-violent behaviour outcomes in the research literature, there is little evidence of the effectiveness of interventions to actually decrease boys' and young men's perpetration of violent behaviours in the long term. But one study found that, 4 years after participating in Safe Dates (a school-based, multi-component, mixed-sex intervention), adolescents reported perpetrating significantly less sexual and physical dating violence than those in a control group.
• Related to attitude change - With regard to "rape myths" (defined here as beliefs that "deny or minimize victim injury or blame the victims for their own victimization"), 5 studies involved relatively short-term interventions of 1-6 sessions; 3 worked with boys and/or young men in single-sex groups, and 2 worked with boys and/or young men in mixed-sex groups. All 5 studies showed significant reductions in rape myth acceptance, with follow-ups of at least 4 weeks post-intervention, with one following up 5 months after the intervention. The authors also found that interventions with a focus on bystander attitudes (willingness to intervene to prevent or stop a sexual assault) "represent a promising and growing area in rape prevention....Since many interventions target general populations of boys and men, among whom there are generally only a minority who are perpetrators or likely perpetrators, the logic is that it is more effective to approach men as allies, and to cultivate their commitment to and capacity for preventing and intervening."

Findings from this review that have implications for practice are outlined in the document, including findings related to the relative effectiveness of the following: single-sex or mixed-sex interventions; active learning or more didactic strategies; a focus on perpetrator behaviours versus consequences of abuse versus gender socialisation, empathy, and bystander behaviours; implementation by facilitators versus peers; system-wide versus targeted interventions; dosage/length of interventions; and the cultural reach of interventions. Also outlined are findings that have implications for research. For instance, more research is needed on links between bullying and sexual aggression, on which components of programming are responsible for effects, and on appropriate dosage (how much time and intensity is required to achieve the desired outcome(s) of the intervention).