Community Responsibility for Preventing Sexual Violence: A Pilot Study with Campus Greeks and Intercollegiate Athletes

SUMMARY

Previous research has noted higher incidences of sexual violence on campus among members of campus Greeks and athletes and the need to do prevention programs with them. This article presents the results of an exploratory pilot study of a sexual violence prevention program with members of one fraternity, sorority, men's and women's intercollegiate athletic team. The program, experimentally evaluated and found to be effective with a general sample of undergraduates, was used to determine its efficacy specifically with Greeks and athletes. The model on which the program is based calls for prevention efforts that take a wider community approach rather than simply targeting individuals as potential perpetrators or victims. Results from repeated-measures analysis of variance indicate that the program worked overall. Future directions are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Bystander education
• men and women campus Greeks and athletes
• sexual violence prevention

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This project was supported by grant No. 2003-WA-BX-0011 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of View of this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Notes

∗p < .008 (2-tailed).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mary M. Moynihan

Mary M. Moynihan, PhD, is Research Associate Professor, Women's Studies Program.

Victoria L. Banyard

Victoria L. Banyard, PhD, is Associate Professor, Department of Psychology.