Evaluating the Effectiveness of Interventions to Prevent and Address Sexual Harassment: Proceedings of a Workshop

In September 2021, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) published proceedings featuring Soteria Solutions’ President Jane Stapleton, among other contributors. These proceedings are from Evaluating the Effectiveness of Interventions to Prevent and Address Sexual Harassment – based on a two-day workshop held in April 2021.

In the proceedings, Stapleton shares insights from Soteria Solutions’ Workplace Violence Prevention and Response Program Collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), designed to identify sexual assault and sexual harassment (SASH) protective and risk factors for different NOAA workplace environments.

Stapleton discussed how Soteria Solutions and NOAA are determining social norms, recognition, bystander behaviors, and prevalence of SASH and other inappropriate behaviors at NOAA. They’re also supporting NOAA-specific strategies that are knowledge- and skills-based and tailored to NOAA’s unique workplace environments.

Stapleton noted that their assessment reinforced the need for consistent messaging throughout the organization and core training, as well as the importance of leveraging social norms to change behaviors.

In terms of outcome evaluation, Soteria’s and NOAA’s focus involves assessing the:

  • Increase in recognition of SASH and other inappropriate behaviors

  • Increase in bystander, de-escalation and strategic resistance behaviors

  • Increase in positive social norms that support safe and respectful workplace environments

  • Increase in reporting of SASH and other inappropriate behaviors

  • Decrease in SASH and other inappropriate behaviors at NOAA

  • Qualitative issues, including power dynamics and other issues that are difficult to capture with surveys

Additionally, during other parts of the NASEM workshop, Stapleton emphasized, “Evaluation has to start at the very beginning of the project,” and noted, “It is also critical to think outside the box about what evaluation can look like at the outset, including to the target audience.”

The NASEM workshop also addressed the importance of conducting surveys, and Stapleton indicated that there is also a need for larger discussion at the institutional level about what we are asking of those we are surveying. She added that there are other ways to collect data besides surveys.

Transparency and trust were other key themes discussed. As Stapleton said, providing participants with data throughout the evaluation process, including after the work is completed, can help build trust and transparency, which are particularly important in issues related to sexual harassment.

The complete published proceedings are publicly available and free for download at https://www.nap.edu/26279.

Jennifer Scrafford