Preliminary evidence of promise of a sexual violence risk reduction intervention for female students in South African tertiary education institutions

摘要

Campus sexual violence risk reduction and resistance interventions havebeen developed and tested among female students in the global Northand proven effective. Evidence-based interventions to prevent sexualviolence tested amongst female students in the global South and inSouth African campuses are lacking. We present preliminary evidence ofpromise of Ntombi Vimbela! (NV!), a sexual violence preventionintervention piloted amongst first year female students in eightpurposively selected campuses in South Africa. Focus group discussionswere conducted with 118 female students who participated in NV!workshops. Most students found the content of NV! relevant andreported having experienced its positive effects. They perceived thatNV! empowered them with skills to assess and deal with sexual assaultrisky situations. NV! changed their attitudes and beliefs about gender,shifted their acceptance of rape myths and beliefs, improvedcommunication skills, enhanced self-esteem, and confidence to defendoneself in risky sexual assault situations. Few participants were unsurewhether they will be able to use the skill in real life. These findingsindicate a range of short-term positive outcomes which we anticipatewould reduce the risk of sexual assault among first year femalestudents. This suggests that NV! should be subject to further evaluation.