Reducing sexual assault on campus: Lessons from the movement to prevent drunk driving

S.J. Potter

American Journal of Public Health, 2016, vol. 106, issue 5, 822-829

Abstract: I examined similarities and differences between the movement to prevent drunk driving of the 1980s, and current efforts to prevent and address campus sexual assault. As college and university administrators design policies and initiatives to reduce campus sexual assault in response to new federal legislation and regulation, they can apply lessons from successful public health initiatives to reduce drunk driving initiated more than 3 decades ago. I illustrate how interventions at the 5 levels of the social-ecological model, and messages that address entrenched cultural attitudes condoning sexual assault and blaming its victims can be used to combat campus sexual assault as a crime and a public health problem. I also show how efforts to promote community engagement can change behavioral norms and reduce offenses.

Keywords: administrative personnel; college; crime; drunken driving; human; law; model; public health problem; sexual assault; university; victim; consumer; crime victim; cultural anthropology; drunken driving; human relation; policy; prevention and control; psychology; public health service; sexual crime; social change; social marketing; social norm; student, Consumer Participation; Crime Victims; Culture; Driving Under the Influence; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Policy; Public Health Practice; Sex Offenses; Social Change; Social Marketing; Social Norms; Students; Universities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303082

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2016.303082_5

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303082

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().