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Sexual Assault

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Essay
Preventing Sexual Violence in the Military
The military has worked hard in recent years to raise awareness about the problem of sexual violence. But it needs to take a big step forward to make investments and change the culture in ways that will deter sexual assault and sexual harassment by holding perpetrators and leaders accountable.
Nov 2, 2021
Report
Countering Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Military
The Department of Defense has taken significant steps for more than a decade to address sexual assault and sexual harassment in the U.S. military. And yet these behaviors remain a persistent problem. To reduce rates of sexual assault and sexual harassment, efforts should focus on the current state of prevention.
Jul 19, 2021

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Brochure
RAND Research on Harmful Interpersonal Behaviors
The U.S. Department of the Air Force seeks to prevent harmful interpersonal behaviors among airmen and guardians and keep victims of these behaviors safe. This document provides an overview of selected work that RAND has conducted in this area.
Nov 16, 2023
Dissertation
Three Essays in Policy Analysis Among Vulnerable Populations
Three essays that explore policy analysis among vulnerable populations.
Aug 21, 2023
Report
Novel Methods to Assess the Military's Evolving Prevention Capabilities: Development and Pilot Test of the On-Site Installation Evaluation Process
This report describes the development, pilot test, and validity testing of a set of prevention capability metrics to improve the deterrence of sexual assault, sexual harassment, suicide, and domestic violence among military service members.
Jun 28, 2023
Commentary
Outrage Is Not Enough: Preventing Sexual Violence Starts with a Skilled Prevention Workforce
Preventing sexual assault requires a myriad of competencies including an understanding of the contributing factors so that intervention programs can be designed or adapted to address them. RAND developed a first-of-its-kind tool to assess whether sexual assault prevention practitioners have the core competencies to do their job well.
May 1, 2023
Report
Identifying Types of Sexual Assault and Harassment in the Army Can Inform Prevention Efforts
Sexual assault prevention efforts in the Army are heavily oriented to the kinds of assaults seen in college populations. But in the Army, a much larger fraction of sexual assaults have male victims; are done with the intent to abuse, bully, or haze; involve multiple perpetrators; do not involve alcohol; or occur in the workplace.
Feb 24, 2023
Blog
Earthquake in Turkey and Syria, Facial Recognition, Gun Violence: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, regulating the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement, improving data collection on gun violence, and more.
Feb 17, 2023
Commentary
Preventing Military Sexual Assault Is Important. So Is Getting Mental Health Care Afterward
Despite a decade of scrutiny on the issue, sexual assault and harassment in the military is still a pervasive problem. The effects of the trauma from these assaults can be lasting. So it's not just the military services, but also veterans' services, that need to connect these people to appropriate care for mental health.
Feb 15, 2023
Blog
U.S. Gun Laws, China's COVID Outbreak, Space in 2050: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on gun policy in America, the myth of America's “Ukraine fatigue,” the COVID outbreak in China, and more.
Jan 13, 2023
Report
Considerations Around the Use of Intensive Outpatient Programs for Service Members Who Experienced Sexual Trauma in the U.S. Military
This report summarizes a review of clinical practices and TRICARE requirements for intensive outpatient programs to treat active-duty members affected by the mental health consequences of sexual harassment and sexual assault while in the military.
Jan 10, 2023
Report
Psychological Harms and Treatment of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment in Adults: Systematic and Scoping Reviews to Inform Improved Care for Military Populations
Researchers conducted three evidence reviews on interventions for victims of sexual assault and harassment in military settings, barriers and facilitators to accessing care, and associations between victims and specific mental health conditions.
Jan 9, 2023
Research Brief
Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault in Military Settings
Members of the military who have been victims of sexual assault or sexual harassment often experience PTSD, depression, and substance use disorders. What therapies are effective at treating these conditions? And what barriers prevent service members from getting the care that they need?
Jan 9, 2023
Infographic
Characteristics of Active-Duty Soldiers' Most Serious Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Experiences
This infographic presents characteristics of sexual harassment and sexual assault experiences among U.S. active-duty soldiers, with a focus on identifying differences across several demographic and military characteristics.
Oct 20, 2022
Research Brief
Actions the Army Can Take to Reduce Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment, and Gender Discrimination
This research brief highlights top-line findings from four different projects that have implications for strategies to prevent sexual harassment and sexual assault in the U.S. Army.
Oct 20, 2022
Report
Sexual Assault Experiences in the Active-Component Army: Variation by Year, Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Installation Risk Level
Researchers describe the most common types of behaviors that occurred during active-component soldiers' most serious experiences of sexual assault, characteristics of alleged perpetrators, and times and places in which these experiences occurred.
Oct 20, 2022
Journal Article
Development and Pilot Test of Criteria Defining Best Practices for Organizational Sexual Assault Prevention
This study describes the development of the Prevention Evaluation Framework, an assessment targeting organizational best practices for comprehensive sexual assault prevention across multiple domains.
Oct 19, 2022
Journal Article
Development and Pilot Test of the Competency Assessment for Sexual Assault Prevention Practitioners
The purpose of this study was to develop an assessment tool for sexual assault prevention practitioners regarding knowledge about and job relevancy of the core competencies.
Oct 14, 2022
Multimedia
Using Getting To Outcomes® to Strengthen Sexual Assault Prevention Activities in the Military
A series of three videos guides viewers through the process of using Getting To Outcomes® (GTO) to strengthen sexual assault prevention.
Oct 12, 2022
Journal Article
Trajectories of Emerging Adults' Binge Drinking and Depressive Symptoms and Associations With Sexual Violence Victimization: Examining Differences by Sexual and Gender Minority Status
We examined longitudinal associations between binge drinking (BD), depressive symptoms, and sexual violence (sexual harassment and sexual assault) among sexual and gender minority (SGM) and non-SGM emerging adults.
Oct 11, 2022
Tool
Getting To Outcomes® Handbook for Strengthening Sexual Assault Prevention Activities in the Military
This web-based Getting To Outcomes handbook and PDF for offline use provide streamlined instructions and resources to help with the planning, implementation, evaluation, and sustainability of military sexual assault prevention activities.
Jun 20, 2022
Commentary
Harmful Interpersonal Behaviors in the Department of the Air Force: Informing Prevention and Response
This Perspective describes and applies a conceptual model of prevention to such harmful behaviors as sexual harassment, sexual assault, racial/ethnic harassment and discrimination, hazing, and domestic abuse in the Department of the Air Force.
Apr 20, 2022

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Joie D. Acosta

Senior Behavioral/Social Scientist

Joie Acosta is a senior behavioral/social scientist at the RAND Corporation. She specializes in community-based research focused on the implementation and evaluation of prevention and health promotion programs in the areas of public health, positive youth development, substance abuse, sexual…
Sierra Smucker

Policy Researcher

Sierra Smucker (she/her) is a policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. Her research focuses on family health and wellbeing and protecting families' most vulnerable members. To that end, Smucker works in a range of topic areas including gun violence and substance misuse prevention, and domestic…

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