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

Abstract

A great deal of programming has been developed to prevent sexual assault (SA) among adolescents. Few studies examine programming implementation among minority groups and present information about program acceptability among participants and community stakeholders. The purpose of the current study was to examine the acceptability of implementing an empowerment SA self‐defense program for adolescent girls on an Indian reservation. Data for the study came from posttest surveys of Native American adolescent girls who participated in an SA prevention program (N = 102) and interviews with community stakeholders, including program participants (N = 18). Results showed that acceptability was high among program participants and community stakeholders. Program participants noted that they liked the program overall and liked components of the programming. Participants noted that they disliked pressure to participate, program length, and missing class. Among community stakeholders, all expressed an overall positive impression of the program, felt that the program had a positive impact on program participants, and appreciated that girls learned to use refusal skills. Community stakeholders provided several programming improvement ideas such as incorporating culturally specific content into the program for future implementation. These findings can be used by other researchers, schools, and practitioners implementing prevention programs with Native American girls.

The Importance of Reflexivity in Program Development: A Case Study Involving Teaching Self-Defense to Middle School Girls in PE Class

“…Forty-three percent of the girls had used self-defense skills, where 49% had used verbal skills only, 13% had used physical skills only, and 38% had used a combination of verbal and physical. Importantly, a series of research articles presented by Edwards et al (2022), Siller et al (2021) and Edwards et al (2020) illustrate the efficacy of the IMpower program used in Kenya and Malawi. These researchers brought the program to American Indian girls.…”

Sexual harassment, sexual assault, violence, self‐esteem, and the role of LGBTQ‐specific parental support in a sample of Latinx sexual and gender minority youth

“…Sexual harassment consists of unsolicited verbal or nonverbal sexual advances including sexual jokes, comments, gestures, or touching (Mora et al, 2022). Research shows that youth experience sexual harassment in multiple settings, and it is specifically a concern within the school system (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022; Clear et al, 2014; Crowley & Cornell, 2020; Hill & Kearl, 2011; Siller et al, 2021). Sexual harassment among youth is generally never an isolated experience, and by the time they report experiencing sexual harassment they have likely experienced it on multiple occasions (Felix & McMahon, 2007; Mora et al, 2022).…”

In Their Own Words: Sexual Assault Resistance Strategies Among Kenyan Adolescent Girls Following Participation in an Empowerment Self-Defense Program

“…As such, researchers and practitioners have developed empowerment self-defense programs (see Hollander, 2018 for definition) that teach girls and women skills to prevent sexual assault, and evaluations of these programs document reductions in rates of attempted and completed sexual assault victimization among girls and women (Edwards et al, 2021;Hollander, 2014;Hollander & Cunningham, 2020;Orchowski et al, 2020;Senn et al, 2015Senn et al, , 2017Siller et al, 2021), including girls in Nairobi, Kenya (Sarnquist et al, 2014;Sinclair et al, 2013). To date, however, we know very little about the types of strategies that girls use to resist a potential sexual assault following participation in empowerment self-defense classes.…”

“…In sum, research suggests that IMpower (Sarnquist et al, 2014;Sinclair et al, 2013) and other empowerment self-defense programs (Edwards et al, 2021;Hollander, 2014;Hollander & Cunningham, 2020;Orchowski et al, 2020;Senn et al, 2015Senn et al, , 2017Siller et al, 2021) lead to reductions in sexual assault victimization. However, we are not aware of any research that has examined girls' specific resistance strategies in situations of sexual assault victimization following participation in an empowerment selfdefense program.…”