Sovereignty For Your Body: Acceptability of Sexual Victimization Risk Reduction Interventions among Indigenous...

The goal of this study is to understand what type of sexual violence risk reduction intervention programs and elements are acceptable to Indigenous college students via quantitative survey research methods.

401 Indigenous college students (77.1% women, 19.7% men, 3.0% trans or Two Spirit) from across North America were recruited. Students read standardized descriptions of four different sexual victimization risk reduction interventions (SVRRIs) that ranged in characteristics and ranked the interventions. All students provided acceptability ratings for Flip the Script with Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act (EAAA) and a program of their choice. Participants also rated the importance of specific intervention elements, including cultural content.

Most participants had a history of sexual victimization; 80.8% had been sexually victimized at some point in their life. The combined sexual violence and substance use reduction intervention (Sexual Assault Risk and Alcohol Use Reduction Program [SAARR]) was most frequently ranked as the first choice by 36.2% of the sample, p < 0.1. Considering acceptability ratings, all four SVRRIs were considered acceptable by most of the sample, with Flip the Script with EAAA rated highest of acceptability at 95.3% and Bringing in the Bystander having the lowest rate of acceptability at 71.4%. Cultural content was rated as a moderately important intervention element.

Indigenous college students are open to many different forms of sexual violence risk reduction interventions. Our findings suggest that simple cultural adaptations would be welcomed and scientifically supported to increase access and acceptability to violence interventions for Indigenous college students.