O’Brien 1

Brigid O’Brien

Advanced Composition

Dr. Dworsky

April 29, 2018

The Issue of Sexual Assault and Rape and the Effectiveness of Bystander Education Programs

Sexual assault and rape awareness has reigned in 2018 perhaps more than ever before,

and numerous groups of women and men have begun to speak out on the topic. The popularity of

the “Me Too” movement has also brought about awareness on sexual offense. This campaign has

sought to empower women, reveal sexual misconduct allegations, and end sexual harassment.

Celebrities have promoted this campaign at events such as the 2018 Golden Globes and through

various platforms of social media. Impactful to many people, this movement encourages those

that have experienced rape or sexual assault to let their voices be heard. However, this campaign

does not explore or publicize explicit solutions to end sexual assault and rape, which would be

specifically beneficial to teenage females. Although a variety of different people experience

sexual assault and rape -- males, females, teenagers, middle aged people, and so on -- teenage

females are most impacted by these offences. Moreover, because teenage females are the age

group of which sexual assault is common, it is imperative that they learn how to avoid sexual

assault and rape -- as teenagers -- so that they can carry such knowledge with them for the rest of

their lives; furthermore passing these skills onto their children or friends. Sexual assault and rape

has become an increasingly prominent issue in today's society. While the aforementioned

movement is a positive attempt at bringing about awareness to sexual assault and rape, it does

not provide definitive solutions for ending sexual offense, especially for teenage females who
 O’Brien 2

would benefit more from prevention workshops and programs that specifically highlight the

significance and importance of bystanders.

As stated previously, a significant number of teenage females have experienced sexual

assault or rape. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), women

ages 16 through 19 “are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape,

attempted rape, or sexual assault.” Although there are varying definitions of rape, the terms

general characterization is “​unlawful sexual activity, usually sexual intercourse carried out

forcibly or under threat of injury against a person's will or with a person who is beneath a certain

age or incapable of valid consent…” (“Rape”). ​Sexual assault is defined as “​illegal sexual

contact that usually involves force upon a person without consent or is inflicted upon a person

who is incapable of giving consent” (“Sexual Assault”). The definition of these two terms are

similar, especially in that they are both unconsensual actions. Fundamentally, rape and sexual

assault occur when consent is not given -- conscious or unconscious -- to someone carrying out

sexual activity. These two issues​ are complex in that they can occur in a plethora of different,

unpredictable and difficult situations. Sexual assault and rape are often committed when the

victim is unconscious or inebriated. Rape may be committed by a significant other, and sexual

assault may transpire in a club or on the street. These are just a few situations where sexual

assault and rape may occur. Teenage females that have experienced sexual assault or rape are

affected physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Many women that have suffered through

such offences experience intense side effects from rape or sexual assault. These may include post

traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), self harm, and suicide, amongst many others (RAINN). This

hinders several aspects of life, not only to the victim of sexual assault or rape, but also to the
 O’Brien 3

people within the victims circle. From these possible situations -- amongst others -- fear of

experiencing or encountering sexual assault and rape is prominent amongst teenage females.

Whether females are in high school or beginning college, their focus should be on their

aspirations and what gives them purpose in life rather than whether or not they will encounter

sexual offense or rape. The possibility of sexual assault and rape will terrify ten year olds in a

few years if action is not taken.

To pinpoint the exact reason why someone would commit sexual assault and rape upon

another person is a complicated, convoluted, and highly opinionated subject. A large majority of

people maintain that sexual assault and rape occurs because of the perpetrator and the perpetrator

alone -- meaning the person who forces a sexual action onto another person is completely

responsible for that event. Most people with this mindset additionally believe that those who

commit sexual assault or rape disregard and disrespect women, and place their own desires over

the consent of that victim. For example, in a situation where someone is being raped or sexually

assaulted, the person who is forcing sexual action onto another person -- the perpetrator -- is

responsible and putting their own desires above the other person’s consent. The person that is

being raped -- the victim -- is never to blame for this situation. Contrasting this belief, a different

group of people believe sexual assault and rape occur because of what the victim wore, how they

presented themselves and acted. For instance, if a person is being raped or sexually assaulted it is

their fault because of how they dress or act around or towards the perpetrator. For instance, even

if the victim does not verbally consent to the perpetrator, the victim is at fault because they were

wearing provocative clothes. There are also those that presume sexual assault can occur as an

accident because the perpetrator is drunk, as well as those who think that if the victim doesn’t
 O’Brien 4

say anything during rape or sexual assault they are consenting. These are only a few opinions of

why sexual assault and rape occur, amongst many others.

To put an end to sexual assault and violence for teenage females, it is imperative to not

only bring up awareness on the issue for women who have experienced sexual assault, but also

look for ways to teach teenage females what to do in situations of sexual offense, how to avoid

these situations, if possible, and so on. Recently, numerous celebrities have encouraged women

to let their voices be heard, increasing awareness around the issue of sexual assault and rape.

This has been a popular trend throughout social media. This attempt at ending sexual harassment

by bringing perpetrators to light and encouraging awareness through social media is a strategy

used by the now viral campaign “Me Too.” In the article “The woman behind ‘Me Too’ knew

the power of the phrase when she created it — 10 years ago: 10 years before #MeToo went viral,

Tarana Burke was using “me too” to reach women of color who survived sexual violence”

Tarana Burke, creator of the Me Too movement, explains the purpose and agenda of the

campaign. ​Burke “​wanted to do something to help women and girls — particularly women and

girls of color — who had also survived sexual violence” (​Ohlheiser​). Burke’s movement did just

that, and is extremely beneficial, because it helps women who have survived sexual assault and

rape come together and support each other. The movement has been viewed as an inspiration to

many people, and Banks is proud to see that the campaign is “promoting power through

empathy” (​Ohlheiser​), and that women throughout the world that have experienced sexual

offence are encouraging one another and are motivated by the movement.

While this is an incredibly useful campaign for those who have experienced sexual

assault and rape, “Me too,” along with other movements, does not address possible solutions for
 O’Brien 5

ending sexual assault and rape. Constructive solutions for this issue may include workshops or

programs to educate teenage females on sexual assault and rape -- how to avoid and prevent

sexual violence -- and what to do if someone tries to sexaully assault you or your friend, and so

forth. The article called “Effectiveness of a sexual assault awareness and prevention workshop

for youth: A 3-month follow-up pragmatic cluster randomization study” written by Isabelle

Daigneault ​evaluates how effective awareness and prevention workshops are for students (male

and female) aged 15 to 17. The purpose of the workshop was to “​modify [youths] attitudes

toward ​sexual assault, ​promote gender-equitable attitudes, increase youth awareness of

community resources in case of dating violence, increase prosocial helping behaviours and

diminish at-risk behaviours.” In creating these types of workshops and programs, teenage

females are able to be more conscious of actions that might assist them with preventing sexual

offense. The outcome of this study on sexual assault and rape workshops found that ​“abilities to

identify sexual assault in a dating situation and to respond to sexual assault disclosures can be

improved after a 75-minute workshop” (​Daigneault).​ While this may appear to be a small

improvement, implementing workshops or programs like these in high schools and colleges

would benefit female teenagers by helping them understand sexual assault since sexual violence

situations can be confusing and difficult to decipher. The benefits of workshops and programs

include an increase in teenager’s knowledge of ways that sexual assault prevention is possible,

and focuses on solutions rather than awareness in order to inhibit sexual assault and rape

situations in the future.

Both the “Me Too” campaign and prevention workshops are valuable for the complex

issue of sexual assault and rape in different ways. The “Me Too” movement focuses on support
 O’Brien 6

of sexual assault and rape victims, while the previously mentioned sexual assault workshop

focuses on prevention strategies for sexual violence. These workshops and programs centered

around sexual assault prevention are the most worthwhile and beneficial solutions for teenage

females at risk for experiencing rape and sexual assault. However, in order to make an immense

difference in preventing sexual offence, these workshops and programs should emphasize the

role of bystanders in situations where sexual violation escalates or occurs. Most prevention

strategies suggest what the victim can do to stop the situation from happening, which can be

constructive but sometimes impractical. Teenage females react to threatening situations in

different ways, and some young women may find these prevention strategies useful while others

find them difficult or unrealistic to carry out. Freezing up, fleeing, violence -- amongst others --

are all reactions that teenage girls may experience when confronted with a sexual assault or rape

situation. It is for this reason that workshops similar to ​Daigneault’s are only useful to a certain

portion of young women who react to sexual offense in a certain way. For example,​ if a teenage

female freezes up when someone is attempting rape she will likely not be able to utilize the

strategies that the workshop in the cluster randomization study provided. Thus, bystander action

is necessary in order to help prevent sexual assault or rape from occurring. When someone

notices unusual or unwanted sexual behaviour being imposed onto another person it is

imperative to take action. This type of sexual assault and rape prevention could be especially

conducive for teenage females that experience sexual assault or rape in group settings such as

parties and dances. This solution would also be beneficial to teenagers who experience dating

sexual assault -- their friends may feel more comfortable to speak up if they notice anything

unusual. While bystander intervention could have a significant impact on decreasing sexual
 O’Brien 7

assault and rape for teenage females, most peers, classmates, and friends to potential victims find

it difficult to act as a bystander. “A Situational Model of Sexual Assault Prevention through

Bystander Intervention” analyzes different reasons why people do not intervene when noticing a

situation that might lead to sexual assault or rape. Diffusion of responsibility is an example of

why people fail to intervene when seeing a situation that might escalate to sexual offense. Unsure

thoughts may include: “Even though I thought someone was at risk for being sexually assaulted,

I would probably leave it up to others to intervene,” or “If I saw someone I didn’t know [that]

was at risk for being sexually assaulted, I would leave it up to his/her friends to intervene”

(​Burn).​ This reaction renders the effectiveness of bystanders somewhat useless, which is why

students would benefit from training camps that teach bystanders what to do in such situations.

“Bystander Education Training for Campus Sexual Assault Prevention: An Initial

Meta-Analysis” written by Jennifer Katz and Jessica Moore analyzes the effectiveness of

“bystander education training” on college campuses. Moore and Katz’s Meta Analysis results

show​ “​ support for the effectiveness of in-person bystander education training,” which states that

the analysis had a positive impact on students. The conclusion portion of the evaluation goes on

to explain that “bystander education programs are effective, particularly in promoting bystander

efficacy and intent to help others at risk. Bystander education programs also reduce

rape-supportive attitudes and rape proclivity” (Moore, Katz). Essentially, the study shows that

bystander workshops and programs increase bystanders willingness to help victims in sexual

assault and rape situations, thereby decreasing the likelihood for students to turn to the ‘diffusion

of responsibility’ phenomena. Furthermore, bystander training workshops also decreased

 O’Brien 8

rape-positive perspectives and tendency to rape, which helps further rape and sexual assault

prevention for current teenage females and future teenage females.

Implementing these bystander education training workshops or programs into high

schools and colleges could decrease the statistic of teenage females experiencing sexual offence

and rape. “Bringing in the Bystander®: A Prevention Workshop for Establishing Community of

Responsibility” is a program primarily used for college freshmen, “teaching community

members to intervene before, during and after instances of sexual and relationship violence.”

This is incredibly impactful for teenage females around eighteen and nineteen years old. If high

schools and homeschool programs also integrated bystander education into their curriculum they

would reach teenagers at a younger age. “Learning knowledge and skills to identify and safely

intervene to prevent sexual assault and relationship violence” is crucial to begin the process of

ending the issue of sexual assault and rape (Bringing in the Bystander). Incorporating workshops

into high schools and homeschool programs is usually costless, however, if the program does

require payment, schools should recognize the importance of these programs and account for

these costs in their budget. In order to reduce sexual assault and rape of young women, it is

essential for bystander education programs to be put into place in colleges, high schools, and

homeschool programs.

To decrease the possibility of sexual assault and rape, it is important to not only bring

about awareness on the issue, promote workshops and programs for teenagers to learn about

prevention techniques, but specifically highlight the importance of bystanders in sexual assault

and rape situations. Bystanders often struggle with understanding when it is and is not their

responsibility to intervene in situations that look dangerous. Implementing prevention workshops

 O’Brien 9

as well as bystander educational workshops into schools and colleges gives teenagers the

knowledge and proficiency to interfere in rape or sexual offense situations. Overall this leads

teenage females and males to be more aware of how they can eliminate the issue of teenage

females experiencing sexual assault and rape; because they are impacted more than any other age

group or sex. The future of sexual assault and rape will be diminished because future young

women and men will understand how to prevent sexual offence that is imposed upon themselves,

their friends or family members. Programs will reduce the likeliness that teenage females are

raped or sexually assaulted, thereby lowering the likelihood that they commit suicide and self

harm or experience PTSD. The acts of sexual assault and rape are detrimental to young women’s

mental and physical state because of lack of action in uneducated bystanders. It is for this reason

that implementing bystander prevention workshops and programs into schools and colleges is

necessary and will better teenage female’s futures overall.

 O’Brien 10

Works Cited

Burn, Shawn M. "A Situational Model of Sexual Assault Prevention through Bystander

Intervention."​ Sex Roles​, vol. 60, no. 11-12, 2009, pp. 779-792​. ProQuest​,

https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.sanjuancollege.edu/docview/225365730?accountid=

39502, doi:​http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.sanjuancollege.edu/10.1007/s11199-008-9581-5​.

“Bringing in the Bystander®: A Prevention Workshop for Establishing Community of

Responsibility.” ​Overview​,

preventionnavigator.rainn.org/program/bringing-in-the-bystander/overview/.

Daigneault, Isabelle, et al. "Effectiveness of a Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention

Workshop for Youth: A 3-Month Follow-Up Pragmatic Cluster Randomization Study."

The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality​, vol. 24, no. 1, 2015, pp. 19-30​. ProQuest​,

https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.sanjuancollege.edu/docview/1667326453?accountid

=39502​.

“Effects of Sexual Violence.” ​Effects of Sexual Violence | RAINN​,

www.rainn.org/effects-sexual-violence​.

Katz, Jennifer, PhD., and Jessica Moore PhD. "Bystander Education Training for Campus

Sexual Assault Prevention: An Initial Meta-Analysis."​ Violence and Victims​, vol. 28,

no. 6, 2013, pp. 1054-67​. ProQuest​,

https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.sanjuancollege.edu/docview/1470426123?accountid

=39502​.

Ohlheiser, Abby. ​The Woman Behind ‘Me Too’ Knew the Power of the Phrase when She

Created it — 10 Years Ago. ​WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post,
 O’Brien 11

Washington, 2017​. ProQuest​,

“Rape.” ​Merriam-Webster​, Merriam-Webster, ​www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rape​.

“Victims of Sexual Violence Statistics.” ​Victims of Sexual Violence: Statistics | RAINN​,

www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence.

“Sexual Assault.” ​Merriam-Webster​, Merriam-Webster,

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sexual%20assault.

https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.sanjuancollege.edu/docview/1953014009?accountid

=395