Section 3: Supporting Survivors Training Guide
Evaluation
When delivering training on sexual violence, you will want to consider different mechanisms for evaluating both short- and long-term outcomes. We encourage you to collaborate with community frontline workers and organizations and researchers within your institution to develop a comprehensive evaluation strategy to determine the overall effectiveness of various forms of training on preventing and responding to sexual violence at your institution as well as other indicators such as awareness of your institution’s sexual violence and misconduct policy, changes in attitudes and values related to sexual violence, and the effectiveness of institutional response to sexual violence (including investigations, accommodations, and collaboration with different stakeholders and on- and off-campus organizations).
A consistent approach to measuring similar workshops will allow you to compare them over time and show improvement or the need for adapting the workshop to be more successful for the intended audience. The pre/post test is a common form of evaluating training programs. Identical tests are used at the beginning and end of the training and the results are compared to examine changes in knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Pre-tests can be given at the time of registration for a workshop or at the beginning of a session. Post-test can be given at the end of the sesion or shortly after the date of the last session. Additional tests can be given at set time after the workshop to assess long-term impact, e.g., 3 months, 6 months, 1 year. Post-tests can also be used throughout longer trainings, e.g., at the end of a morning session and again at the end of an afternoon session.
Frequently, pre/post-test questions will be a mix of quantitative and qualitative questions. Quantitative questions are usually answered by many respondents and have definitive answers. They often use Likert scales, where respondents indicate how much they agree or disagree with a statement by choosing from a set of fixed choices on a linear scale (e.g., strongly agree, agree, neither agree or disagree, disagree, strongly disagree). Qualitative questions can be used to understand these statements and to gather information not captured by the quantitative questions. All the questions should link to the learning objectives and outcomes for the training.
This training includes an example of how to incorporate pre/post-test assessment to determine learners’ comprehension and success in reaching the learning outcomes. Slides 11-15 include four “What would you do if….?” scenarios. You can choose to share 1-2 scenarios with students and ask them “What do you already know about responding to disclosures of sexual violence?” Slide 45 at the end of the workshop provides an opportunity to review the original scenario(s). You can facilitate discussion on the knowledge and skills the learners now have, e.g., awareness of the impacts of sexual violence, practised responding skills, and knowledge of local resources. (These areas of discussion parallel the learning outcomes for this training).
Below are examples of pre/post-test questions that can be used as part of your evaluation for this training.
Pre-Test
- How well do you understand the term “sexual violence”?
1
No understanding2 3
Somewhat understand4 5
Clearly understand - How well do you understand the factors that contribute to sexual violence happening?
1
No understanding2 3
Somewhat understand4 5
Clearly understand - How knowledgeable do you feel about what to do if you receive a disclosure of sexual violence?
1
Not at all knowledgeable2 3
Somewhat knowledgeable4 5
Very knowledgeable - Can you think of different ways that trauma may impact someone?
1
Cannot think of any2 3
Can think of a few4 5
Can think of many - Can you think of reasons why people may not disclose that they have experienced sexual violence?
1
Cannot think of any2 3
Can think of a few4 5
Can think of many - Can you think of different ways to respond if you receive a disclosure of sexual violence?
1
Cannot think of any2 3
Can think of a few4 5
Can think of many - Can you think of support services for survivors of sexual violence?
1
Cannot think of any2 3
Can think of a few4 5
Can think of many
Post-Test
- How well do you understand the term “sexual violence”?
1
No understanding2 3
Somewhat understand4 5
Clearly understand - Has your understanding of the term “sexual violence” changed? YES or NO
- If YES, how?
- How well do you understand the factors that contribute to sexual violence happening?
1
No understanding2 3
Somewhat understand4 5
Clearly understand - Has your understanding of the factors that contribute to sexual violence changed? YES or NO
- If YES, how?
- How knowledgeable do you feel about what to do if you receive a disclosure of sexual violence?
1
Not at all knowledgeable2 3
Somewhat knowledgeable4 5
Very knowledgeable- If you learned something new about this, what was it?
- Can you think of different ways that trauma may impact someone?
1
Cannot think of any2 3
Can think of a few4 5
Can think of many- If you learned something new about this, what was it?
- Can you think of reasons why people may not disclose that they have experienced sexual violence?
1
Cannot think of any2 3
Can think of a few4 5
Can think of many- If you learned something new about this, what was it?
- Can you think of different ways to respond if you receive a disclosure of sexual violence?
1
Cannot think of any2 3
Can think of a few4 5
Can think of many- If you learned something new about this, what was it?
- Can you think of support services for survivors of sexual violence?
1
Cannot think of any2 3
Can think of a few4 5
Can think of many- If you learned something new about this, what was it?
- What are one or two main pieces of knowledge or skills you’re taking away?
- Was there anything missing from the training?
- Is there anything you are still wondering about?
Collecting data about rates of sexual violence and reporting
There are a number of challenges to collecting data about rates of sexual violence and reporting. However, collecting data about rates of reporting on campus can be an important indicator of how well an institution is doing to address sexual violence.
There are a number of reasons why people choose to not report experiences of sexual violence including: they did not feel that authorities could do anything about it or that authorities would help them; fear of not being believed; previous poor experiences with reporting or accessing support and services; fear of revenge by the perpetrator; fears about privacy and confidentiality. Many of these barriers can be addressed by continuing to develop safer and more effective approaches to supporting survivors. If initiatives are successful in addressing these barriers, an institution can expect rates of reporting to increase. Making links between rates of reporting and initiatives like training on responding to disclosures and other changes to procedures and protocols can help to build the evidence-base for ongoing training in this area.