Community-based programs reduce sexual violence, study shows

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-12/uop-cpr121820.php

 

News Release 22-Dec-2020
University of Pittsburgh

 

Through small, neighborhood classes, researchers at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and Promundo-US significantly reduced sexual violence among teenage boys living in areas of concentrated disadvantage.

The study, published today in JAMA, is the culmination of a large Centers for Disease Control and Prevention clinical trial spanning 20 racially segregated neighborhoods in the Pittsburgh area to evaluate two violence prevention programs. The proportion of youth reporting the use of sexual or partner violence in their relationships decreased in both groups by about 12 percentage points.


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For young men enrolled in Manhood 2.0, the use of partner violence--including physical or verbal abuse, sexual harassment, sexual coercion and cyber abuse--dropped from 64% at baseline to 52% in the months following the program. For those who received job training, self-reported sexual violence dropped from 53% to 41%.

That was a surprise. Miller said she expected job training to have a positive impact in other areas of life, but not violence towards women.

"Job skills training is a structural intervention, grounded in economic justice," Miller said. "Perhaps this resonated and resulted in young men using less violence because they felt more hopeful about their future."

Next, the researchers hope to study whether combining Manhood 2.0 with job readiness training might have an even greater impact on intimate partner and sexual violence than either curriculum alone.

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