In 1979, reports of sexual harassment and accusations of sexual assault at the University of Rhode Island led to the formation of a Sexual Harassment Committee. One of the tasks undertaken by a subgroup of this committee was a survey of the university community to identify actual experiences of and the attitudes of student and staff toward sexual…

Examined rape by strangers and by acquaintances, including nonromantic acquaintances, casual dates, steady dates, and family members in 489 rape victims. Acquaintance rape typically involved single offender and multiple episodes, was less often perceived as rape or revealed to anyone, and, except for rapes by family members, was rated less…

Suggests that, although a young woman who has been sexually assaulted may experience pain and alienation as an individual, family members also experience trauma, often left unresolved while retaining an impact on the family's ability to function. Introduces family therapy as a desirable approach to treatment of the rape victim. (Author/JAC)

Studied how Catholic women who have experienced sexual assault not only have to deal with society's negative reactions but an additional guilt instilled by religious education. Proposes that religious values have traditionally ignored male responsibility. Suggests counselors may find bibliotherapy an effective intervention tool in these cases.…

Comparison of 61 self-identified rape victims in France with 122 nonvictims found a prevalence rate of rape of 0.9% for girls, 0.6% for boys and a relationship between rape and current sleep difficulties, depressive symptoms, somatic complaints, tobacco consumption, and behavior problems. Additional problems for male victims included attempted…

Discusses the establishment of a course on the victimization of women in order to facilitate dialogue on the subject and to lay the groundwork for a sexual assault center. Describes course composition, expectations, format, syllabus, group projects, and reading lists. Emphasizes feminist sociological theories of female victimization. Includes a…

Researchers describe here the traumatic stress reactions of a group of fifth-grade children to the sexual assault of their classmate. The children's "secondary trauma"--trauma caused by empathizing or identifying with the victim--presented a distinct yet variable etiology. The authors offer suggestions for working with child secondary…

College students (157 men and 158 women, mostly white middle-class) rated their agreement with statements reflecting myths about male rape. A majority disagree with all the myths, most strongly with the myth that rape is not traumatic for men. Results are discussed in terms of societal attitudes. (SLD)

Suggests the ultimate competition for writers of contemporary adolescent fiction is life--the world that children inhabit is getting stranger and stranger. Discusses parents' and adolescents' different reactions to the novel "Boys Lie," which addresses the issues of rape and sexual harassment. Presents reactions to the speech and the responses of…

Courts have shown themselves increasingly willing to hold institutions of higher education responsible for rapes that occur on their campuses. In some instances, federal law now mandates a duty to help prevent these campus crimes. Provides a general campus security checklist. (82 footnotes) (MLF)

Critically reviews current rape prevention education programs, focusing on common techniques and the assumption that change in rape-supportive ideologies will decrease the actual incidence of sexual aggression. Identifies many issues that must be addressed through rigorous experimentation so that the promise of rape prevention can be realized…

Studies beliefs about dating violence in a sample of 298 undergraduate and graduate students. After reading 15 vignettes, respondents were asked to rate how violent and abusive a depicted incident was, what they thought was likely to happen to the relationship in the future, and what should happen following the incident. Incidents varied along…

The current study examined the impact of complainant sexual history evidence on mock jurors' judgements in a sexual assault trial. One hundred and sixty-nine undergraduates listened to an audiotape of a sexual assault trial in which the sexual history between the complainant and defendant was systematically varied to include either sexual…

To examine the utility of a self-report scale of sexual assault trauma, 223 female victims were interviewed with the 43-item Sexual Assault Symptom Scale II (SASS II) at 1, 3, 7, 11, and 15 months postassault. Factor analyses using principal-components extraction with an oblimin rotation yielded 7 common factors with 31 items. The internal…

Even though rape is the crime they fear most, women hold strong beliefs that their personal risk for sexual victimization is lower than the risk for other women. Victimization shatters illusions of invulnerability, and results in feelings of vulnerability, suggesting that sexual victimization should decrease women's perceived invulnerability for…