Program Profile: The Women's Program

This is a sexual assault risk-reduction program that is designed to teach college women bystanders about sexual assault, characteristics of men who perpetrate the crime, and how to intervene. The program is rated Promising. Experimental group participants demonstrated statistically significant increases in their ability and willingness to intervene, compared with control group participants. However, there was no statistically significant impact on rape myth acceptance.

A Promising rating implies that implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s).

A Promising rating implies that implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s).

Program Goals

The Women’s Program is a rape awareness and sexual assault risk-reduction program. The program focuses on the bystander behavior of female college students and their willingness to intervene in situations in which a sexual assault or rape could occur. Through the program, women are taught to recognize characteristics of men who may perpetrate the crime, empowered to intervene in potential high-risk situations, and encouraged to help rape survivors. College women are provided pertinent information about rape, recovery, and other helpful resources.

Program Activities

The Women’s Program was developed in 2006, as an effort to increase awareness of sexual assault and rape across college campuses. The program sought to empower college-aged women to help survivors of rape and avoid high-risk situations and person (Carey 2011).

The program is delivered by male members of the organization, called One in Four. The presenters begin the program with an overview of the basic definitions of rape, mental incapacity, and physical helplessness. Following the brief overview, facilitators show a DVD entitled The Undetected Rapist, which depicts a researcher interviewing a man who had committed rape. Presenters discuss the interview with program participants, identifying characteristics of possible rapists in an effort to prepare the audience and their friends for potentially dangerous situations in the future.

Following the interview discussion, presenters explain ways participants can help assault survivors by explaining the importance of understanding the needs and personal limitations of the survivors. As an interactive part of the program, presenters then ask audience members to discuss how they could intervene as an active bystander in a potential rape situation. Furthermore, to promote safety, presenters review intervention techniques, such as calling the police, verbal intervention, diverting attention, and physical intervention. Presenters remind the audience that their personal safety should be their top priority. The program concludes with presenters asking audience members what they are willing to do to help their friends avoid risky or dangerous situations. It is important to note that throughout the program, there is an emphasis on encouraging participants to avoid victim blaming (Foubert 2010).

Program Theory

The Women’s Program is built on work in the feminist aspect of the routine activities theory (Schwartz and Pitts 1995). The routine activities theory includes three major elements on why crime occurs: lack of effective guardian, presence of a person motivated to commit the crime, and the presence of available or suitable targets (Cohen and Felson 1979). According to the theory, if all three components are present, crime is much more likely to occur. When applied to the context of sexual assault or rape, the effective guardian acts as a buffer to crime; therefore, without an effective guardian, the possibility of crime increases. The effective guardian is a major aspect of the Women’s Program. It is believed that through empowering women bystanders to take the initiative in intervening in high-risk situations, women can function as effective guardians and assist in the prevention of a crime (in this instance, rape or sexual assault).

Study

Foubert and colleagues (2010) evaluated the Women’s Program on a college campus in the southern United States. A total of 279 female college students participated in the study, with the majority of participants identifying as a first-year freshman (n = 266). The average age of participants was 18 years.

Participants in the control group (n = 90) and the experimental group (n = 189) were recruited from freshman orientation courses. As part of the freshman orientation courses, all students in the experimental class participated in the Women’s Program. Although all students attended, participation in the survey was voluntary and data was collected anonymously. Prior to the start of the program, researchers provided a consent form and discussed the form with students in the experimental group. After obtaining consent, pre-surveys were distributed with the post-surveys; however, researchers explained that the post-surveys were to remain sealed until the program concluded. Researchers collected the pre-surveys after completion and began the program. After the program concluded, participants completed the post-surveys, which were collected by the researchers.

To obtain a control group, researchers contacted randomly selected freshman orientation instructors via email to request permission to attend their classes and provide information on a topic unrelated to the Women’s Program. Of the 16 instructors contacted, 9 agreed to have their classes receive the stress management control condition, for a total of 10 classes. Data was collected from the 9 classes that received the stress management control condition. Similar to the experimental condition, researchers provided a consent form and discussed the form with students. After obtaining consent, pre-surveys were distributed with the post-surveys; however, researchers explained that the post-surveys were to remain sealed until the program concluded. After pre-surveys were collected, researchers showed a video and had a discussion on either stress management or attention difficulties. After the presentation, participants opened the sealed envelopes and completed the post-surveys. Prior to adjourning, researchers held a debriefing session where they discussed the study and answered participants’ questions.

The data collection for the control group took place prior to the experimental procedures occurring on campus. Therefore, women who were randomly recruited for the control condition were instructed not to complete the survey if and when they were recruited to participate in the Women’s Program. To ensure compliance, multiple verbal and written reminders were also provided during the experimental portion of the study.

Three scales were used to collect data from participants in the experimental and control groups:

• The Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale-Short Form (IRMA-SF) evaluated participants’ attitudes toward sexual assault using 20 items scored on a scale from 1 to 7, with 7 indicating the student “strongly agrees.” “Rape myths” are beliefs about sexual assault that (1) place blame on women (e.g., women falsely accuse men of rape, women who go to bars alone are "asking for" rape), and (2) minimize offender culpability (e.g., rape is a spontaneous and impulsive act, men are seduced into rape), and (3) downplay the significance of rape (e.g., that it is not traumatic for the victim, that it is not common).
• The Bystander Efficacy Scale (BES) measured participants' self-assessed confidence that they would be able to perform 18 bystander behaviors.
• The Bystander Willingness to Help Scale (BWHS) measured participants’ degree of likelihood of engaging in 12 bystander behaviors on a 7-point scale; these items include behaviors such as calling police, calling resident hall counselors, personally intervening in a risky situation by knocking on a door, calling out if someone needed help.

The two Bystander scales were used because the project authors assert that there is an important distinction between feeling confident in intervening and feeling as if one is in fact likely to intervene.

Using a multivariate analysis of variance, authors evaluated the effects of the intervention on both the experimental and control groups. A two-group (experimental versus control) by two-occasion (pre- and posttest) method was used to evaluate the bystander willingness, bystander efficacy, and the rape myth acceptance measurements. No subgroup analysis was conducted.

The book, The Men’s and Women’s Programs: Ending Rape through Peer Education, is a step-by-step guide on how to implement the program in different settings and how to administer the program to different populations. 

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

Bannon, R. Sean, and John D. Foubert. 2017. “The Bystander Approach to Sexual Assault Risk Reduction: Effects on Risk Recognition, Perceived Self-Efficacy, and Protective Behavior.” Violence and Victims 32(1):46–59. (This study was reviewed but did not meet CrimeSolutions criteria for inclusion in the overall program rating.)

Carey, Lois A. 2011. “The Men’s and Women’s Programs: Ending Rape through Peer Education by Foubert, J.” Social Work with Groups 34:357–8.

Cohen, Lawrence E., and Marcus Felson. 1979. “Social Changes and Crime Rate Trends: A Routine Activities Approach.” American Sociological Review 44:588–608.

Foubert, John D. 2011. The Men’s and Women’s Programs: Ending Rape through Peer Education. New York, N.Y.: Routledge.

Schwartz, Martin D., and Victoria Pitts. 1995. “Exploring a Feminist Routine Activities Approach to Explaining Sexual Assault.” Justice Quarterly 12(1):9–31.

Following are CrimeSolutions-rated programs that are related to this practice:

Bystander Education Programs for Sexual Assault Prevention on High School and College Campuses

This practice comprises programs designed to decrease the prevalence of sexual assault among adolescents and college students by educating would-be bystanders (i.e., witnesses) about sexual assault, and promoting the willingness to intervene in risky situations. The practice is rated Effective for reducing rape myth acceptance, increasing bystander efficacy, and increasing intent to help. It is rated Promising for increasing bystander helping behavior and decreasing rape supportive attitudes.

Evidence Ratings for Outcomes

	Attitudes & Beliefs - Bystander Efficacy
	Attitudes & Beliefs - Intent to Help
	Attitudes & Beliefs - Rape Myth Acceptance
	Attitudes & Beliefs - Rape Supportive Attitudes
	Victimization - Actual Helping Behavior

Why might a practice's outcome ratings differ from the ratings of specific programs encompassed by that practice?