Using rapist risk factors to set an agenda for rape prevention

Abstract: 

Rape is costly to survivors and to society. It is essential that we develop optimal prevention and early intervention programs and policies to reduce its occurrence. The first step toward this goal is to identify the behaviors, traits, developmental experiences, and biological antecedents that have been found to be associated with an increased probability that a male will become sexually aggressive. This article briefly reviews this literature and attempts to identify the gaps in our knowledge that must be addressed to develop effective prevention programs. We speculate about the general parameters of interventions that the existing evidence suggests are likely to be successful in decreasing the probability that a male will become sexually aggressive. We also argue that current rape prevention programs might be suboptimal because they fail to encompass the complex of traits that cause sexual aggression, and primary prevention efforts must focus on the latter. A more extensive exposition of these issues can be found in Knight and Sims-Knight (in press).