Development and evaluation of the red flag campaign for the primary prevention of sexual and dating violence on college campuses

Abstract

Objective Sexual and dating violence (SV/DV) on college campuses is a pervasive problem with far-reaching implications for public health. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a widely disseminated SV/DV primary prevention program, the Red Flag Campaign (RFC). Participants and Methods: An online survey was administered to 203 freshmen at a southeastern US university, of whom 82% reported exposure to the RFC in the previous month. Results: College students exposed to the RFC reported greater efficacy for intervening as a bystander compared to those students who were not exposed. These results held when looking at exposure to RFC messages specifically, but not RFC events. Conclusions: This evaluation offers preliminary evidence that the RFC is effective at increasing determinants of prosocial bystander behavior, the enactment of which could reduce SV/DV on college campuses. Implications and recommendations for college personnel implementing the RFC are discussed.

Keywords:

• Bystander intervention
• college campuses
• dating violence
• health behavior change theory
• sexual violence

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from the Virginia Commonwealth University Institutional Review Board.

Data availability statement

Data available from authors upon request.

Additional information

Funding

Funded by Virginia Commonwealth University Community Engagement Grant.