Sexual Harm, Public Education and Risk Management

Abstract

This chapter will highlight research and practice internationally on ways to educate the public regarding sex abuse and how successful they have been. The chapter will cover issues including the relationship between experts and the public, public criminology, media narratives as well as engagement and political positions, and debates, on this topic. It will highlight the ways in which society has tried to engage with the topic of sexual harm (including bystander intervention, government programmes and grassroots drives, such as Reclaim the Night) and assess how successful they have been academically, socially and politically. The chapter will end with a discussion of the current state of research and evaluation on this topic and where we might go next.