Pass it On: An Evaluation of a Sexualized Violence Prevention Program for Middle School and High School Students

Sexualized violence is a growing problem among middle school and high school students, exacerbated by the proliferation of social media and technology. A group of community members and university researchers created the Pass it On program using feminist definitions and bystander frameworks to address this problem. This program was implemented in two waves, with three middle school and three high school male-only groups in the Thames Valley District School Board in London, Ontario, Canada. After the five-week program, high school participants showed significant positive change in both bystander and victim blaming attitude measurements. Both groups of participants showed significant positive change in knowledge about bystander intervention. Due to test version interaction, results about bystander beliefs could not be assessed. Results indicate that there were no significant changes in most attitude, knowledge, and belief measurements about sexualized violence in both age groups. Limitations and future directions of this program are discussed.M.A