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. 2024 May:140:107488.
doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2024.107488. Epub 2024 Mar 6.

Safer Bars: A cluster-randomized effectiveness evaluation of alcohol-related sexual violence prevention through bar staff bystander training

Kelly Cue Davis  1 , Mary P Koss  2 , Elise C Lopez  3 , Karyn Roberts  4
Affiliations

Safer Bars: A cluster-randomized effectiveness evaluation of alcohol-related sexual violence prevention through bar staff bystander training

Kelly Cue Davis et al. Contemp Clin Trials. 2024 May.

Abstract

Background: Sexual assault is consistently associated with social contexts that support high levels of alcohol consumption such as alcohol-serving establishments (i.e., bars). The significant rates of alcohol-involved sexual assault among college students demonstrate the critical need for evidence-based efforts to reduce alcohol-involved sexual assault in this population. Although bystander approaches have demonstrated some promise for reducing alcohol-involved sexual assault, to date no published studies have examined the effectiveness of implementing bystander prevention approaches with bar staff. Given the robust evidence indicating that bars serve as hot spots for sexual aggression, interventions that improve bar staff's ability to identify and intervene in sexually aggressive situations may offer a useful approach for reducing rates of alcohol-involved sexual assault.

Methods: The Safer Bars study utilizes a cluster-randomized trial design that randomizes participants at the bar level into intervention and waitlist control arms. The sample includes bars (Nbars = 56) within a three-mile proximity to the three major public Arizona universities, with an average of 10 staff members per bar (Nstaff = 564). Assessments of individual-level and bar-level outcomes occur at baseline, training completion, and 3-months post-training, with an additional individual-level assessment at 6 months. Community-level effects are assessed using GIS data regarding police dispatches.

Conclusion: Safer Bars represents a novel, theory-driven approach to promote effective bystander behavior among bar staff working in close proximity to university campuses to reduce rates of alcohol-involved sexual assault.

Keywords: Alcohol; Bystander training; Prevention; Sexual aggression; Sexual assault.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Safer Bars Conceptual Model
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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