The Effectiveness of ASU Wellness' Sexual Violence Prevention Initiatives

Sexual violence is a serious issue, particularly on college campuses, and many sexual assaults among college students involve alcohol consumption. Universities have begun implementing sexual violence prevention programs on their campuses, but many do not examine their programs to determine if they are actually effective in increasing students' knowledge on consent and therefore reducing rates of sexual violence on their campuses. This study examines a sexual violence prevention program at Arizona State University called Consent 101, given by the ASU Wellness Department. This research seeks to determine if attending the presentation increases students' knowledge about the conditions of consent; specifically, if students are more likely to correctly answer a question regarding sobriety and consent after viewing the presentation. The hypothesis is that attending the Consent 101 presentation increases the likelihood that students will perceive that people must be sober in order to consent to sexual activities. A survey was used to test students' knowledge about consent and sexual violence, as well as their attitudes. Some students took the survey prior to attending the presentation while others took it after, allowing the groups to be compared to determine effectiveness. This study specifically focuses on whether students correctly choose true, incorrectly choose false, or choose don't know when given the statement "people must be sober in order to give valid consent to sex". There were 685 participants in the study. The "before" group contained 59% of the total participants, while the "after" group contained 41%. In the before group, 87.1% correctly answered true, 6.43% incorrectly answered false, and 6.18% answered don't know. In the after group, 85.71% answered true, 12.09% answered false, and 2.13% answered don't know. The results were significant and the hypothesis was not supported, meaning students were more likely to incorrectly answer the question after the presentation than before. There are multiple explanations for why this was found, including: different pre- and post-groups, misinterpreting the question and resistance to consent education. Ideas for future research and ways to increase effectiveness are provided.