How a support provider responds to disclosure of sexual victimization has important implications for the process of recovery. The present study examines the associations between various positive and negative social reactions to sexual assault disclosure and psychological distress, coping behavior, social support, and self-esteem in a sample of college women (N = 374). Social reactions to assault disclosure that attempted to control the survivor’s decisions were associated with increased symptoms of posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety and lower perceptions of reassurance of worth from others. Blaming social reactions were associated with less self-esteem and engagement in coping via problem solving. Social reactions that provided emotional support to the survivor were associated with increased coping by seeking emotional support. Contrary to expectations, social reactions that treated the survivor differently were associated with higher self-esteem. Implications are discussed.

Sexual assault prevention on college campuses often includes programming directed at men, women, and all students as potential bystanders. Problematically, specific types of sexual assault prevention are often implemented on campuses in isolation, and sexual assault risk reduction and resistance education programs for women are rarely integrated with other approaches. With increasing focus on the problem of sexual assault on college campuses, it is timely to envision a comprehensive and interconnected prevention approach. Implementing comprehensive prevention packages that draw upon the strengths of existing approaches is necessary to move toward the common goal of making college campuses safer for all students. Toward this goal, this commentary unpacks the models and mechanisms on which current college sexual assault prevention strategies are based with the goal of examining the ways that they can better intersect. The authors conclude with suggestions for envisioning a more synthesized approach to campus sexual assault prevention, which includes integrated administration of programs for women, men, and all students as potential bystanders on college campuses.

Communication on Twitter surrounding violence against women often occurs through the use of “hashtags” that allow users to engage in shared discourse. The present study examined utilization of the Twitter hashtag #MeToo, which emerged in 2017 as a method for disclosing personal experiences of sexual victimization. Specifically, the present study sought to clarify how Twitter users utilized the #MeToo tag to disclose and respond to sexual violence by conducting a qualitative analysis of a random sample of tweets using #MeToo (N = 1,660). Survivors frequently prioritized the “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how” of personal trauma experiences when disclosing using #MeToo. Twitter users also reflected on the prevalence of violence in society, acted as advocates to highlight the problem of violence against women, called attention to the experiences of other survivors of violence, or utilized the forum in a manner that distracted from survivors’ experiences. The present data highlight the utility of Twitter for raising awareness regarding the prevalence of sexual violence, and providing a space where users can share personal trauma, connect to others with similar experiences, and provide support to others.

A prospective design was utilized to explore the impact of social reactions to sexual assault disclosure among college women who experienced sexual victimization over a 4-month academic quarter. Women completed baseline, 4- and 7-month assessments of symptomatology, beliefs about why sexual assault occurs, victimization, and social reactions to sexual assault disclosure. Accounting for symptomatology or beliefs reported prior to the assault, positive social reactions were not associated with victims’ subsequent symptomatology or beliefs. However, accounting for symptomatology or beliefs reported prior to the assault, higher negative social reactions were associated with victims’ post-assault reports of hostility, fear, and beliefs about why sexual assault occurs.

Despite the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses, few interventions aimed at decreasing college men’s proclivity to perpetrate sexual aggression have been developed and tested. This article details the theoretical framework, content, and piloting of a sexual assault prevention program for college men who engage in heavy drinking, a high-risk group who may be particularly well positioned to intervene as proactive bystanders in drinking environments. In an open trial, male facilitators delivered the three-session Sexual Assault and Alcohol Feedback and Education (SAFE) program to 25 heavy drinking college men. Session 1 was a 90-min review of personalized normative feedback regarding alcohol use, sexual activity, alcohol-related sexual consequences, understanding of consent, and engagement in bystander intervention, delivered individually in a motivational interviewing style. Session 2 was a 2½-hr group-based sexual assault prevention workshop focusing on social norms, empathy, masculinity, consent, and bystander intervention. Session 3 was a 90-min booster group session that reviewed previous topics and included the active practice of bystander intervention skills. Analyses of postsession assessments of utility, therapeutic alliance, and satisfaction and examination of alcohol use and sexual assault–related outcomes from baseline to the 2-month assessment support the preliminary feasibility and acceptability of the SAFE program.

Examining how adolescents understand the concept of sexual consent, and expect to garner or confer consent in sexual encounters, can contribute to the design of age- and developmentally appropriate prevention programs that promote healthy adolescent dating and sexual relationships. The current qualitative study utilized semi-structured in-depth interviews (N = 33) to explore perceptions of sexual consent among high school students (ages 14-18). Thematic analysis identified three salient themes pertaining to (a) the definition of consent as indicating a verbal “yes” to engage in sexual activity, (b) beliefs that an array of verbal and nonverbal strategies would be utilized to garner or convey consent in actual sexual encounters, and (c) expectations that consent would be communicated differently following an initial sexual encounter. Specifically, whereas consent was defined as a verbal provision of affirmative consent, both male and female adolescents believed girls typically conveyed consent nonverbally in sexual encounters. Adolescent girls indicated that they would convey sexual refusal through nonverbal cues, whereas adolescent boys reported they would proceed with sexual activity until they heard the verbal expression of “no.” Regardless of gender, participants shared the perception that adolescents who previously engaged in sexual activity can expect that sexual activity will happen again without the need for verbal consent, particularly within established relationships. These findings highlight important discrepancies in adolescents’ definition of sexual consent—primarily through verbal consent—and how they behaviorally indicated sexual consent and sexual refusal—primarily through nonverbal actions.