One in five girls of college age is raped. Most of them are intoxicated at the time.  In an effort to prevent this startling fact the University of New Hampshire under a grant from the National Institute of Justice has developed an educational program designed to educate bystanders to recognize potentially dangerous situations and teach them how “to intervene safely and effectively in cases of sexual violence before, during, and after incidents with strangers, acquaintances, or friends.”

First the researchers studied recent psychological and social data regarding both men and women as potential bystanders to sexual violence and “community-focused” intervention techniques and solutions to this issue.  Then 389 undergraduates were placed in treatment and control groups which were studied for two months.

From this research an effective program was developed which has been found to be equally useful and effective in changing attitudes of both men and women towards this problem as well as teaching them methods of recognizing dangerous situations and preventing them with nonviolent intervention.

The program also educates men and women regarding how to effectively and compassionately react to a sexual violence situation after it has occurred, particularly how to assist and aid the victim.

For more information on how to deliver such a program to your school or youth group click here.