Target population

The Know your Power social marketing campaign is targeted at college students.

Delivery organisation

Know your Power was created by Soteria Solutions. Soteria Solutions are national leaders in the area of sexual and interpersonal violence harassment prevention.

Mode and context of delivery

Know your Power uses an array of online and printed marketing strategies to raise awareness of sexual violence and inspire action around college campuses. Colleges can choose to implement these as a preventative measure, or in response to a situation that may have arisen on campus related to student sexual violence. Soteria Solutions state that Know your Power is best implemented in collaboration with other interventions targeting sexual violence, such as Bringing in the Bystander

Level/Nature of staff expertise required

Staff are required to make sure the different elements of the campaigns are visible to as many students as possible on campus. No specific expertise has been suggested as necessary by Soteria Solutions, however as the campaign may give rise to questions and disclosures then it would feel appropriate for staff to understand how to best support their students in this area.

Intensity/extent of engagement with target group(s)

The intensity of student engagement is to be determined by each individual college, however the more social marketing materials the students are exposed to, then the more the students are going to view, consider and reflect on the materials. Student engagement could be amplified by staff facilitating discussions with their students about the social marketing materials.

Description of intervention

The social marketing campaigns focus on reducing sexual and relationship violence and stalking on college campuses. Know your Power is nationally recognised and consists of a series of images which portray realistic and thought-provoking scenarios that highlight the important role all members of the community have in ending sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking. The images can be used to model and reinforce your bystander intervention skills and strategies, preferably in collaboration with other bystander interventions.

The aims of the campaign are to:

• gain an understanding of what bystander responsibility is through the presentation of concepts and examples
• gain an understanding of individual and situational factors that facilitate appropriate bystander intervention
• be able to identify the range of unacceptable sexual behaviors and become aware of the prevalence and context of sexual violence
• increase their empathy for victims
• understand the role community members can play in preventing sexual and relationship violence and stalking and reducing its negative consequences
• cultivate skills in identifying situations where bystander intervention may be appropriate
• gain knowledge of resources that are available to support bystanders and victim/survivors
• express motivation and commitment to be an active bystander
• be able to describe the range of potential bystander behaviors and situations where action might be appropriate
• gain knowledge of resources that are available to support bystanders and victim/survivors.

Materials can be purchased in bundles on the Soteria Solutions website. Below is an example of a poster that can be displayed on campus or posted online, for example in online student forum

 

Evaluation

Potter (2012) invited undergraduate students (N=353) to participate in a public awareness survey before and after a six-week Know your Power campaign was administrated throughout their college campus. The research found that exposure to the Know your Power campaign increased student awareness of their role in reducing sexual and relationship violence and stalking, increased their expressed willingness to get involved in reducing the incidence these types of violence, and resulted in participants being more likely to report having acted to reduce these types of violence. 

References

Potter S. J. (2012). Using a multi-media social marketing campaign to increase active bystanders on the college campus. Journal of American College Health. 60, 282-295. doi:10.1080/07448481.2011.599350

Potter, S. J. & Stapleton J.G. (2011). Bringing in the target audience in bystander social marketing materials for communities: Suggestions for practitioners. Violence Against Women 17, 797-812. doi:10.1177/1077801211410364

Potter, S. J. & Stapleton, J. G., (2012). Translating sexual assault and stalking prevention from a college campus to a U.S. military post: Piloting the Know-Your-Power Social Marketing Campaign. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 27: 1593-1621. doi:10.1177/0886260511425795

Potter S. J., & Stapleton J. G. (2013). Assessing the efficacy of a bystander social marketing campaign four weeks following the campaign administration. Sexual Assault Report. 16, 65-80.

Potter, S. J., Stapleton, J. G., & Moynihan, M. M. (2008). Designing, implementing and evaluating a media campaign illustrating the bystander role. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 36, 39-56. doi:10.1080/ 10852350802022308

Potter, S. J., Moynihan, M. M., Stapleton, J. G., & Banyard, V. L. (2009). Empowering bystanders to prevent campus violence against women. Violence Against Women 15, 106-121. doi:10.1177/1077801208327482

Potter, S. J., Moynihan, M. M., & Stapleton, J. G. (2011). Using social self-identification in social marketing materials aimed at reducing violence against women on campus. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26, 971-900. doi:10.1177/0886260510365870

Schwartz, M. D., & DeKeseredy, W. (1997). Sexual assault on the college campus: The role of male peer support. Sage Publications. doi:10.4135/9781452232065

Schwartz, M. D., & DeKeseredy, W. S. (2000). Aggregation bias and woman abuse. J Interpers Violence, 15, 555-65. doi:10.1177/088626000015006001

Contact details

https://www.soteriasolutions.org/college/

9 Madbury Road, Suite 404, Durham, NH, 03824, United States

(603) 862-7020

info@soteriasolutions.org; https://www.soteriasolutions.org/contact for the contact form

INFORMATION CORRECT AT FEBRUARY 2020

RATING: Pioneering