Military Sexual Assault Prevention

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Promoting healthy relationships amongst Service members through education and preparation.

The Department of Defense reported 6,290 instances of sexual assault within the military in 2020. The number of sexual assaults within active-duty Service members is rising and an effective solution is necessary to combat the issue. RTI has extensive expertise in development and evaluation of programs to prevent sexual assault perpetration, victimization, and revictimization. We develop and test tailored sexual assault prevention programs and classroom-based implementation.

Our work with the United States Airforce dates to 2014 and has involved a multitude of various programs and data-focused methods to solve the issue.

Our work in military sexual assault prevention has involved:

Formative research with Service members and other stakeholders.
Intervention development and adaptation, including multimedia production and curriculum manual development.
Instructor training, oversight, and support.
Program implementation logistics on a military installation.
Screening for sexual assault risk.
Quantitative and qualitative data collection with Service members and instructors.
Analysis and reporting of feasibility, acceptability, and changes in program outcomes.

We are now working with the University of Florida to pilot test, adapt, and evaluate the sexual assault prevention programs at the Air Force Academy, including development of additional leadership training.

Our expertise can be expanded to support all branches of the military, behavioral health domains, and across the career spectrum, with the aim of helping the military build programs and organizational climates to prevent sexual violence, improve Service member well-being and empower the Armed Forces to increase trust and cohesion among its ranks.