Knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about sexual violence, and the implementation of sexual violence prevention programming: Survey of faculty at seven universities in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND

College campuses are a common setting for sexual violence prevention efforts. Those efforts are often focused solely on students, though implementation theory suggests that campus faculty and leaders must be engaged for successful implementation. This is especially true in low- and middle-income countries, where resources are scarce and norms may support sexual violence. Little research has examined knowledge attitudes and beliefs around sexual violence and implementation readiness. We present findings from a faculty survey at seven Universities across Vietnam which assessed knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs, along with the acceptability and feasibility of sexual violence prevention programming.

METHOD

2343 faculty (68% response rate) at seven Universities in Vietnam were surveyed preceding the implementation of the GlobalConsent intervention. Faculty reported on demographics; measures of knowledge, attitudes and beliefs (KAB) about sexual violence; and perceptions of the acceptability and feasibility for sexual violence implementation programming at their University. Analyses present descriptive data for key KAB measures, variation in KAB measures by key demographics, and regression models predicting implementation readiness.

RESULTS

Faculty did not believe sexual violence was rare or problematic at their University, and while they tended not to endorse rape myths about victims, they tended to endorse rape myths about perpetrators, and beliefs supporting the need for sexual consent were moderate. Faculty did report positive campus climate for victims of sexual violence and believed sexual violence programming was acceptable and feasible. Female and younger faculty generally had more progressive mean scores for KAB measures. Several KAB measures related to the perceived feasibility and acceptability of sexual violence prevention programming, but the single strongest predictor of perceived feasibility and acceptability were perceptions of leader support for a positive campus climate around sexual violence.

CONCLUSION

Faculty perceived sexual violence prevention programming as both feasible and acceptable, and this was strongly related to university leadership's support for a positive campus climate around sexual violence. Cultivating visible and consistent leadership support appears to be crucial to fostering faculty buy-in and enhancing prevention efforts. Interventions should address faculty KAB and actively engage institutional leaders; this is key to creating a supportive climate for victims of sexual violence.