Evaluation of a Sexual Violence and Intimate Partner Violence Primary Prevention Program Implemented in Drinking Establishments

The overarching goal of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of Safe Night Out (SNO), a community-level primary prevention program offered in drinking establishments in the Sacramento region of California. Developed and implemented in 2019 by WEAVE, Inc., Sacramento County's primary domestic violence (DV) provider, SNO aims to train nightlife staff on how to recognize warning signs of sexual violence (SV) and intimate partner violence (IPV), and how to respond through active bystander skills to keep patrons safe. SNO has been tailored for drinking establishments in neighborhoods with high rates of SV and IPV. SNO, a single session education and bystander skills training, is to our knowledge, the only program implemented in drinking establishments in these neighborhoods. Guided by Social Cognitive Theory, Social Norms Theory, and the Bystander Education Model, and in collaboration with our Research Advisory Board, our community-academic team will conduct a quasi-experimental mixed methods evaluation study using a comparative time-interrupted series design. This study is a nonrandomized, quasi-experimental evaluation of an existing community-based violence prevention program. The research team will not prospectively assign individuals or establishments to intervention conditions; rather, outcomes are evaluated in relation to the naturalistic rollout of the Safe Night Out program implemented by a community partner. The aim of the study is to determine the effectiveness of SNO on increasing bystander intervention and reducing SV and IPV at the individual-level (e.g., patrons, staff) and population-level (e.g., census block). Individual-level primary outcomes among patrons include past 6-month SV and past 6-month IPV victimization and perpetration; secondary outcomes among staff include past 6-month increase in bystander intervention and safety checks in drinking establishments. We will also determine the effectiveness of SNO on 2-year average rates of rape, domestic violence assault and domestic violence police calls. We will enroll 25 drinking establishments in the queue at WEAVE to receive SNO training and identify 25 drinking establishments who will not receive the SNO training during the study period. This will allow for comparison between the two groups based on individual-level and staff-level outcomes, before (3 months prior) and after SNO program training (6, 12, and 18-month follow-up) using quantitative survey data (n=500 patrons, 10 per establishment and n=150 staff, 3 per establishment).

Inclusion criteria

• Aged 21 years or older (as required per California law for alcohol servers)
• Employed and working as a bar owner, manager, or staff member of the drinking establishment that has been recruited for the study (for staff participants)
• A customer or patron in the past month at the drinking establishment that has been recruited for the study (for patron participants)
• Ability to speak and understand English

Exclusion criteria

• Aged 20 years and under
• Inability to speak and understand English
• No current employment at a drinking establishment recruited for the study (for staff participants)
• No history of visiting the drinking establishment in the past month (for patron participants)