Summary
Sexual violence is an issue on college campuses across the nation, with 26.4% of women and 6.9% of men being victims of sexual violence (Association of American Universities, 2019). Sexual trauma can have many long-term mental and physical effects, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and greater risk of heart disease (Campbell et al., 2008; Senn et al., 2015). This indicates that sexual violence is something that needs to be addressed and prevented as much as possible. To prevent sexual violence at the University of Idaho, a trauma-informed approach to bystander intervention, focusing on the relationship level of the socio-ecological model, is proposed. Bystander prevention strategies will be shared with students to increase their belief that they can do something to help others in harmful situations. Peer educators, rather than just faculty and/or staff, will help provide trainings and bringing awareness to every student’s role in preventing violence. Though these activities promote prevention, students will also be linked to resources on and off campus, and information about confidential versus non-confidential employees and resources will be shared through all activities. By increasing bystander attitudes and behaviors, students will be better equipped to help their friends and acquaintances and the campus will be safer for all.
Public Health Framework
Utilizing a public health framework requires addressing 3 levels of prevention: primary, secondary, and tertiary (Feuer-Edwards et al., n.d.). Bystander intervention focuses on the primary level of prevention, as it attempts to educate people who could intervene and stop violence from occurring to others (Kettrey & Marx, 2019; Feuer-Edwards et al., n.d). Peer education also serves as primary prevention, as it allows peers to share information about red flags and green dots in relationships to decrease the likelihood of intimate partner violence, stalking, and sexual assault. Secondary prevention, which seeks to reduce the impact of violence after it has occurred (Feuer-Edwards et al., n.d), is addressed in our program by linking students to resources on- and off-campus and sharing information about which resources are confidential. This information is shared on the Violence Prevention Program’s website, in the student handbook, and is shared when students go to any of the programs partnering organizations on campus. This information is also shared with all faculty and staff in their onboarding training so that they can share these with students who disclose experiences of violence with them. Lastly, tertiary prevention that seeks to treat ongoing health conditions (Feuer-Edwards et al., n.d), is provided by the counseling and testing center at the University of Idaho, which the Violence Prevention Program and others provide referrals to but will not specifically be carried out through this program, as the Violence Prevention Program does not have a confidential staff member or counselor housed within the program.
Level(s) of Social-Ecological Model
The focus of this intervention is at the individual and relationship levels of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC, 2022) socio-ecological framework. The individual level is addressed through bystander prevention training that provides education to increase bystander efficacy, intentions, and actions. This training also aims to decrease common rape myth beliefs and improve knowledge of warning signs someone might be experiencing intimate partner violence. The relationship level of this model is addressed through both the bystander intervention training and the peer education model that this intervention is proposing. Since bystander intervention increases knowledge of intervening actions and warning signs, this allows friends, acquaintances, and others to intervene on behalf of someone in a situation that might lead to intimate partner violence. The peer education portion of this intervention creates a safe space for students to support one another, practice intervening, and apply the principles to their daily life as students. This also helps link survivors to resources without the intimidating nature of speaking to someone in a position of authority on campus. By focusing more on the relationship level of the socio-ecological model, this intervention minimizes victim-blaming attitudes and creates a safer campus climate.
Trauma-Informed Principles Utilized
SAMHSA (2014) outlines six trauma-informed principles that are essential to public health promotion activities. Physical and psychological safety is promoted through education on how to intervene when someone may be in a situation that leads to violence, as well as campus resources for survivors and campus programs, such as Safe Walk. The Clery Act ensures that all higher education institutions are required to disclose crime statistics, which include sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and stalking, and contribute to the principle of trust and transparency. This principle is also established by discussing the differences between confidential staff and mandatory reporters and ensuring that students are aware of this prior to disclosing information. This also contributes to the principle of empowerment, voice, and choice, as it ensures all students have a choice of what actions they would like to take, whether that be finding academic and living accommodations, taking legal actions, or working with a counselor. The principle of collaboration and mutuality is fostered by working with students to identify the information that they find most helpful and ensuring that they have a voice in intervention activities. The principle of peer support is addressed through the peer educators that will be staffed through this program. Lastly, cultural, historical, and gender issues are addressed by the Violence Prevention Program’s partnership with the LGBTQA Office, Women’s Center, and UNITY, an organization on campus that represents 16 different multicultural organizations at the University of Idaho. The activities of this project will be carried out in collaboration with these campus partners, and staff will be trained on appropriate cultural, historical, and gender issues that relate to intimate partner violence.
References
Association of American Universities. (2019). AAU releases 2019 survey on Sexual Assault and Misconduct. Association of American Universities (AAU). https://www.aau.edu/newsroom/p...sault-and-misconduct
Campbell, R., Greeson, M. R., Bybee, D., & Raja, S. (2008). The co-occurrence of childhood sexual abuse, adult sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and sexual harassment: a mediational model of posttraumatic stress disorder and physical health outcomes. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 76(2), 194.
CDC. (2022). The social-ecological model: A framework for prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violencepr...ecologicalmodel.html
Feuer-Edwards, A., O'Brien, C., & O'Connor, S. (n.d.). Trauma-informed philanthropy [Digital File]. Philanthropy Network of Greater Philadelphia. https://philanthropynetwork.or...raumaGUIDE_Final.pdf
Kettrey, H. H., & Marx, R. A. (2019). The effects of bystander programs on the prevention of sexual assault across the college years: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of youth and adolescence, 48(2), 212-227. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0927-1
SAMHSA. (2014). SAMHSA's concept of trauma and guidance for a trauma-informed approach. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://ncsacw.samhsa.gov/user...es/SAMHSA_Trauma.pdf
Senn, C. Y., Eliasziw, M., Barata, P. C., Thurston, W. E., Newby-Clark, I. R., Radtke, H. L., & Hobden, K. L. (2015). Efficacy of a sexual assault resistance program for university women. New England journal of medicine, 372(24), 2326-2335. 10.1056/NEJMsa1411131
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