In an interesting effort to teach college students about sexual assault prevention, the Department of Justice has decided to spend over half a million dollars to develop a video game about it.
The National Institute of Justice awarded a $579,301 grant to the University of New Hampshire last year to create a game to expand on the university’s sexual assault prevention programs.
The game, aimed at male college students, will depict scenes from parties and allow students to practice “bystander skills.”
According to a UNH news release, researchers are hoping that the game, which will be accessible online and on mobile devices, will help capture the attention of young males.
“The video game is another way to engage students through something that is very common to them,” said Prevention Innovations co-director Jane Stapleton. “Our students’ lives are so much online.” Stapleton said the video game format will allow them to reach more male college students, who research shows spend significantly more time engaged with video games than females.
The university’s existing programs include, Bringing in the Bystander, an in-person training program that can be brought to other campuses, and Know Your Power, a social marketing campaign that sells posters depicting conversations between male students about sexual assault, and provides suggestions on how bystanders should react.
The video game is still in the early stages of development. The Prevention Innovations team at the University of New Hampshire expects to have a prototype by early 2016, and input from college students will heavily influence the development process.
