Fostering men's responsibility for preventing sexual assault.

Abstract

Men must take responsibility for preventing sexual assault, because most assaults are perpetrated by men against women, children, and other men. Even though only a minority of men may commit sexual assault, all men can have an influence on the culture and environment that allows other men to be perpetrators. Thus, effective sexual assault prevention requires that men look at their own potential for violence as well as take a stand against the violence of other men. This chapter provides an overview of the issues involved in men taking responsibility for sexual assault prevention, suggests a philosophy and pedagogy for rape prevention, provides a developmental model for prevention programs, makes recommendations for advancing the field, and reviews promising interventions and strategies. The chapter's primary focus is the prevention of sexual assault perpetrated by menThe author thanks Michael Kimmel, Deborah Mahlsdedt, and Paul Schewe for their thoughtful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. The portion of this chapter titled "Essential Program Elements," including Exhibit 7.2, is adapted from A. Berkowitz, "Critical Elements of Sexual-Assault Prevention and Risk Reduction Programs for Men and Women" in C. Kilmartin, Sexual Assault in Context (2001) by permission of Learning Publications,

Using social norms to reduce men's rape proclivity: Perceived rape myth acceptance of out-groups may be more influential than that of in-groups

“…Berkowitz (2002) proposed that men who believe that their peers are using coercion to obtain sex are more likely to show similar behavior themselves. Indeed, students tended to underestimate their peers' attitudes regarding the importance of consent in sexual activities, so the correction of such misperceptions could be an important resource in the prevention of sexual violence (Fabiano, Perkins, Berkowitz, Linkenbach, & Stark, 2003).…”

Predictors of Sexual Assault–Specific Prosocial Bystander Behavior and Intentions

“…The Reactions to Offensive Language and Behavior Scale (ROLBA) is a 26-item self-report scale, adapted from questions used by Berkowitz (2002), which measures men's degree of discomfort with and willingness to confront the inappropriate behavior of other men, as well as their perceptions of other men's discomfort with and willingness to confront these behaviors. This scale yields four subscales; however, only the Self Prosocial Bystander Behavior subscale was used in the current analyses to measure self-reported prosocial bystander behavior at each time point.…”

Investigating the Utility of the Film War Zone as a Component of a Street Harassment Prevention Program

“…An impediment to the film's ability to change men's attitudes about street harassment may be that the message is coming from a woman and is often confrontational. Not only do men appear to be more receptive to other men on topics of sexual victimization (Berkowitz, 2002), but the woman in the film can be seen as taking back power from men (or exerting power over men with her camera), which may incite a more defensive stance, particularly for those men who have more hostile attitudes toward women.…”

“…Men who participated in the perpetrator-focused program demonstrated an increase in their positive evaluation of macho behavior, rape myth acceptance and acceptance of coerced sex, whereas men who viewed the victim-focused film did not show these increases, but rather showed small decreases. Experienced prevention program developers also suggest that single-gender programs are essential since the construction and experience of masculinity increases men's appreciation for antiharassment and anti-rape messages coming from other men (Berkowitz, 2002). In fact, the Brecklin & Forde (2001) meta-analysis described above found that single-gender groups had more impact on male participants than did mixed-gender groups.…”

“…Specifically, research indicates that men respond better to programs facilitated by men in a non-confrontational manner (Berkowitz, 2002). However, the film itself is made and narrated by a woman who frequently confronts men about their behavior, which could negatively impact men's receptivity to the film's message.…”