Predictors of Sexual Violence Across Young Women's Relationship Histories

Making Visible the Myths About Cyber-Sexual Violence Against Women: An Analysis of Social Reactions Toward Victims on Twitter

Cyber-sexual violence is a prevalent and harmful form of aggression committed against women, yet little attention has been paid to the attitudes about cyber-sexual violence. This research therefore aimed to explore the negative attitudes or myths that serve to justify, minimize, and deny the experiences of cyber-sexual violence disclosed by women on Twitter. Using a thematic analysis, we analyzed 4,048 replies to 18 experiences reported on Twitter around the time of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. After the data were cleaned and coded, the results revealed 18 myths about cyber-sexual violence, grouped into four main themes: (1) minimization/conceptualization, (2) victim blaming, (3) factors related to the diffusion context, and (4) exonerating the perpetrator's responsibility. This study constitutes the first attempt to analyze the myths surrounding cyber-sexual violence on Twitter, including content areas not yet addressed in the literature, such as contextual factors. Strikingly, most of the analyzed reactions appeared to deny and downplay the importance of sexually aggressive behaviors perpetrated against women online, suggesting that these beliefs could influence the underreporting of cyber-sexual violence. Based on these data, it was concluded that while Twitter can serve as a useful "loudspeaker" for victims, it is also a mechanism by which myths about cyber-sexual violence can be supported and disseminated. Finally, it highlights the importance to consider the influence of online cultural frame on the social perception of cyber-sexual violence and point out the specific beliefs that educators, researches and psychologist could work though psychoeducational programs.

Drinking, Diversity, and Discrimination: Campus-Level Factors that Influence Students' Risk of Experiencing Sexual Assault

College students' individual-level risk factors for sexual assault victimization have been studied for decades, but fewer studies have looked at whether and how campus-level factors, such as campus-level rates of discrimination and campus diversity, might also influence student victimization risk. Identifying these broader factors can inform efforts to develop more effective campus-level sexual assault preventive interventions. We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a large, multi-campus health and well-being survey (N = 309,171 students across 474 US campuses) to explore how campus-level factors shape students' risk of experiencing sexual assault after accounting for students' individual-level risk factors. Using mixed-effects logistic regression, we examined the influence of campus-level factors (e.g., campus sexual orientation demographics and gender diversity) on students' odds of experiencing sexual assault, after accounting for individual risk factors (e.g., sexual and gender minority status). Although some campus characteristics, such as enrollment size, had small significant effects on students' odds of experiencing sexual assault, we found larger significant effects from aggregated campus-level rates of binge drinking, campus diversity (particularly regarding sexual orientation and gender), and discrimination. These findings suggest that comprehensive campus sexual violence prevention would benefit from strategies that promote safe and inclusive campuses, especially for students with marginalized sexual and gender identities.

Online sexual violence prevention on a female college campus in India: Evaluation of the RISE-ON program

Background

Sexual violence represents a severe problem for young Indian women and requires effective prevention. Since face-to-face prevention programs are limited in reach, we developed the online sexual violence prevention program RISE-ON consisting of three modules, namely Gender, Sexual Violence, and Bystander Education. The study's objective is to investigate the short-term effects of the RISE-ON modules on participants' knowledge and attitudes.

Method

A total of N = 244 female college students from Delhi aged 17 to 22 were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups with two of the three modules. By design, each group functions as a treatment group for the two included modules and as a control group for the third, missing module.

Results

From pre- to posttest, there were significantly larger increases of participants' knowledge on gender, sexual violence, and bystander education in the treatment than in the control group. Concerning attitudes, we found significant increases for gender awareness and bystander attitudes across all groups.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that the RISE-ON modules are effective in terms of increasing knowledge, but there were no module-specific changes of attitudes. Thus, future online prevention programs need to focus increasingly on attitudes, especially attitudes about sexual violence, and behavior change.

Sexual Violence Perpetration Against Intimate Partners: Current Progress and Future Directions

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The literature on sexual violence perpetration against an intimate partner is reviewed and synthesized. Intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) is compared to other forms of interpersonal violence, and the heterogeneity of perpetrators is explored through an examination of proposed taxonomies. This review also addresses the applicability of existing risk assessment tools to IPSV perpetrators and identifies criminogenic needs of particular relevance to IPSV.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent research suggests the perpetration of IPSV is heterogeneous in nature, and individuals who perpetrate IPSV present with criminogenic needs consistent with exclusively sexual and violent offenders. There is support for existing risk tools to predict recidivism, but they may not encompass all relevant risk factors specific to IPSV offending. Commonality exists with other forms of interpersonal violence; however, the literature indicates that IPSV is complex and does not wholly resemble other sexual or violent offenses. Although further study is needed to fully understand IPSV perpetration, best practices in risk assessment and rehabilitation should employ tools that capture criminogenic needs.