Efficacy of a Sexual Abuse Prevention Program with Children on an Indian Reservation

“I learned that I am worth defending”: A process evaluation of a sexual assault prevention program implemented on an Indian reservation

“…For instance, in a Malawi trial of the program, researchers found that past-year SA prevalence was reduced among intervention participants (Decker et al, 2018) and in two Kenyan trials of the program researchers found a decrease in the incidence of SA victimization among participants at follow-up (Baiocchi et al, 2017;Sinclair et al, 2013). Data collected from the outcome evaluation arm of the current study showed that Native American girls who received IMpower reported fewer experiences of sexual assault at the follow-up compared to Native American girls who did not receive the program in a nearby city (Edwards et al, 2020). Despite the efficacy of the program in reducing SA victimization, an evaluation of its acceptability among participants and community members has never been conducted.…”

“…Reservation was acceptable as evidenced by favorable disclosures from program participants and community stakeholders. Although the IMpower program is likely in need of some cultural adaptations, results from this paper and the outcome evaluation paper (Edwards et al, 2020) suggest that the IMpower program is highly promising in helping to reduce SA among Native American girls and provide some "clues" about the mechanisms through which the program is believed to be effective.…”

Using intergenerational photovoice to understand family strengths among Native American children and their caregivers

“…Additionally, caregivers noted the importance of teaching their children protective behavioral strategies, including self‐defense. Interestingly, research suggests that empowerment self‐defense training is effective in reducing sexual assault and sexual harassment victimization among Native American middle and high school girls (Edwards et al 2020).…”

“…Connection to culture included prayer, dance, and song, all of which are traditional Lakota practices both in daily life and in ceremonies (Marshall, 2002). Although not specific to ACEs, research suggests that connection to Lakota culture, which included engaging in traditional practices, was related to lower rates of sexual harassment and physical dating violence victimization among middle and high school Native American girls (Edwards et al 2020). Connection to culture has been linked to lower rates of caregiver substance use and caregiver mental illness (Kahn et al, 2016; Teufel‐Shone et al, 2018; Weaver, 2019; Yuan et al, 2015), which are ACEs.…”

Engaging Native American Youth and Their Caregivers in Sexual Violence Research: A Case Study Documenting Challenges, Opportunities, and Lessons Learned

“…However, to date, we are aware of only a few studies that examined the effectiveness of SV prevention program with Native American youth. In one study among 4 th and 5 th grade students, residing on an Indian reservation, researchers found that knowledge of child sexual abuse increased following exposure to a child sexual abuse prevention program, and that the vast majority of children reported liking the intervention (Edwards et al, 2022). On the same reservation, researchers found that middle and high school Native American girls exposed to an empowerment self-defense class reported fewer experiences of SV victimization and sexual harassment victimization as compared to Native American girls in a nearby small city who did not participate in the class (Edwards et al, 2022).…”