The Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence Against Adolescents in School and Community Settings: A Scoping Review

ABSTRACT

Sexual Violence (SV) is a public health problem with serious long-term consequences for victims. This scoping review aimed at summarizing the implementation, methodology, characteristics, and efficacy of SV prevention programs conducted in school and community settings with middle and high school students. This study also gathered recommendations for future research. Studies were searched in three databases: EBSCOHOST, SCOPUS and Web of Science. Eighty-six peer-reviewed empirical studies about SV prevention programs applied in school and community settings with samples of middle and high school students were analyzed. Most original studies (46.3%) used sexual violence outcomes, although many approached sexual violence in the context of dating violence (43.3%). Most SV prevention programs were applied in the U.S.A. although studies were identified across the globe. Prevention programs tend to reduce SV attitudes, perpetration, and victimization and to increase SV knowledge, as well as bystander attitudes and behaviors. The evidence reveals the efficacy of these programs, although future studies are needed to clarify the specificities of SV prevention. This article provides recommendations considering the measurement of SV outcomes, the role of technology, the involvement of adults and communities, the timing of interventions, sexual education, and reporting practices.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2024.2367562.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia); PhD Grant number [2022.11986.BD].