SIROW Receives New Funding

SIROW was recently awarded funding through the UA Consortium on Gender-Based Violence to develop and implement the Sex University (Sex U) Pilot Study. Bridging two social justice issues, the Sex U uses sexuality education as an innovative strategy for preventing sexual violence. Aimed at first year students who are involved in Greek organizations, the project adapts a comprehensive sexuality education program using sexual ethics and rights-based approaches. Sex U is packaged into an institute where participants learn, build skills, discuss, reflect, and have fun. The efficacy of Sex U for preventing sexual violence will be tested using an experimental design. Participants who engage in the program are expected to demonstrate increased knowledge of relationship “red flags”; increased confidence negotiating consent and asserting personal boundaries; improved sexual communication skills; and the ability to articulate human rights as a motive for consent. Given positive outcomes, the pilot study’s final objective involves exploring options for scaling up Sex U to broader adoption by the Greek community and other University entities. For more information, please contact Courtney Waters (cwaters2@arizona.edu).