Beyond individual-level interventions: Creating and implementing a theory driven, multilevel violence prevention program on campus

Until recently, sexual assault prevention in higher education has focused on individual-level prevention often targeted at single-gender groups. Research suggests these strategies can change individuals' attitudes toward rape, but they are limited by their focus on individual risk reduction, generally teaching women to protect themselves. According to an ecological model, sexual assault risk originates in multiple levels of the environment, and thus prevention efforts must similarly work on individual, relationship, community, and social levels. The CDC and the WHO recommend ecological theory in violence prevention to provide a framework for addressing the interactions of multilevel risk. This paper describes an innovative community approach to bystander education for campus violence prevention: One Act, a comprehensive sexual and relationship violence prevention program that embodies multilevel prevention. One Act's ecological approach recognizes the: (a) importance of relationships in students' lives; (b) influence of social groups and organizations in students' interactions; (c) influence of the campus community climate; and (d) how larger societal factors influence sexual violence perpetration and prevention. We review the theoretical and evidence-based foundations of bystander education and utilize a social ecological framework, detailing the specific strategies used at each level. This paper describes the development of the conceptual model and programmatic structure of One Act, a bystander education program that creates a network of campus allies for preventing and interrupting interpersonal violence. We discuss strategies for engaging diverse academic stakeholders, including administrators, faculty, staff and students, in an initiative that supports the academic, social, and health missions of a university.