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“They're hoping we can stop it”: Student leadership in sexual violence intervention and response at West Point
Author(s) -
Arbeit Miriam R.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.21961
Subject(s) - intervention (counseling) , psychology , feeling , perspective (graphical) , social psychology , sexual violence , cynicism , applied psychology , criminology , political science , psychiatry , politics , artificial intelligence , computer science , law
Abstract This study identified risks and opportunities in peer leadership approaches to sexual violence intervention and response. Constructivist grounded theory was used to analyze semistructured interviews with 24 cadets, including a bystander intervention scenario. With regard to bystander intervention, cadets adhered to gendered assumptions that blocked action, drew upon community values to plan intervention, and thus prepared in ways that reinforced gender biases. With regard to incident response, cadets struggled with cynicism regarding their role in addressing sexual assault, but wanted incidents to be reported despite victim blaming and lack of supports, and responded from their feelings instead of skillfully acting on their values. This study explicates opportunities for leveraging community values in service of intervention and response while illustrating risks of rape myths and gender biases. Addressing inaccurate assumptions and reinforcing positive values could better prepare cadets and other undergraduate students for leadership.