Gender and perceived momentary effectiveness of sexual assault awareness videos

Abstract

The presented research explored the differences between male and female participants with regards to the perceived momentary effectiveness of sexual assault awareness videos. The research question explored for the purpose of the study was: What are the gender differences between the participants in relation to the observed and self-reported momentary effects of two sexual assault videos? Videos are generally considered for reaching a wider population with less emphasis on their effectiveness (Sayers, 2006). However, this study explored the perceived effects 2 videos have, by conducting 2 semistructured focus groups constituting of males and females separately, with 5 and 8 university students respectively. The focus groups consisted of an initial discussion, followed by displaying the videos and a final discussion. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was used to analyse the gathered data. Six themes were identified: differentiation of terminology, giving consent, support, victim empathy, videos' content and videos and discussion. Male and female participants differed in 4 areas of videos' effectiveness: knowledge change, quality of videos, videos' effects on the discussion and initiating a change in attitudes. The exploration of the videos' effectiveness and gender helps in improving awareness interventions.