Engaging Boys and Men in Sexual Assault Prevention

Book excerpt: Engaging Boys and Men in Sexual Assault Prevention: Theory, Research and Practice explores sexual assault prevention programs for boys and men. Following an ecosystemic perspective, the book examines individual risk and protective factors, discusses initiatives to prevent sexual aggression (i.e., bystander intervention programs, given their use among men), covers programs that specifically seek to engage boys and men in sexual assault prevention, presents key risk and protective factors for sexual aggression (i.e., healthy masculinity, rape myth acceptance), and describes the need and rationale for sexual assault prevention efforts. - Addresses current challenges and controversies in the field of sexual assault prevention - Explores existing individual-level workshops and media-based interventions that address men's violence against women - Reviews the association between traditional masculine norms and sexual violence perpetration - Discusses international sexual assault prevention programs that engage boys and men - Highlight how aspects of hypermasculinity strongly correlate with sexual aggression - Provides an overview of research that examines risk factors for sexual aggression - Synthesizes the conceptualization of rape myths, current assessments of rape myths, and examines how rape myths function as a risk factor for perpetration