Sexual violence and harassment are widely recognised as globally significant and widespread human rights problems. According to estimates by the World Health Organization, 35% of women worldwide report having experienced either physical or sexual violence by a partner or sexual violence by a friend, family member, acquaintance, or stranger. Studies around the world estimate that between 14 and 25% of adult women have been raped during their lifetime (Levinson, 1989; Koss, Heise, Russo, 1994; McCloskey, Williams, Larsen, 2005). Sexual violence is an umbrella term covering a range of unwanted and unwelcome sexual behaviours that violate a person’s basic safety and dignity, values, and autonomy. The consequences of sexual violence range from individual and interpersonal to societal factors. Sexual violence is a problem deeply rooted in social, cultural, and religious norms. It should also be regarded as a public health problem, it means that it is the responsibility of the community of educational institutions to prevent it. In addition, furthermore, sources of knowledge concerning such a vast topic as sexuality should be reliable and correct because a person’s sexual identity is built on these foundations.

This Ph.D. project will examinate women's knowledge and attitudes toward the broader issue of sexual violence. The study will assess the relationship between knowledge and attitudes and socio-demographic characteristics (age, place of residence, marital status, level of education, and professed faith). In the designed research, I would like to explore women’s beliefs, attitudes and behaviours related to the acceptance of modern myths about sexual aggression, norms and beliefs about the use of violence. Introduced into the scientific discourse, the concept of the ‘rape myths’, was intended to identify, clarify, and explore false beliefs about rape and the victim’s reactions to rape. These beliefs were intended to emphasise sexual aggression and sexual violence committed against women. Rape myths – which contain elements of blaming the victim, absolving the perpetrator, and minimizing or rationalising sexual violence - perpetrate sexual violence against women (Payne et al. 1994). 

 In addition, with the help of expert interviews, the study will also explore the possibilities of effective preventive, educational, and support interventions in the area in question. Investigating the knowledge and attitudes of the women's community and the possibilities for preventive, educational, and support interventions in the area of sexual violence is of the utmost importance for the implementation of appropriate measures to prevent sexual violence, which is helpful in many undertakings ( e.g., development of specialist training, preparation of training programs on sexual and anti-violence education addressed to a wide and diverse group of recipients, promotion of educational, prophylactic and assistance actions, establishing rules of conduct towards victims-survivors of sexual violence, creation of appropriate intervention classes for perpetrators of sexual crimes). 

In the conceptualization of the research project, three main research problems were identified.

The quantitative research posed two main problems:

1. What is the level of women's knowledge and their attitude concerning sexual violence?
2. What are the possible preventive, educational, and assistance interventions related to sexual violence?

Substituted one main question for the qualitative research:

1. What are women's views on sexual violence and the possibilities of preventive, educational, and supportive interventions? 

The research will be divided into two stages. The first stage will use a diagnostic survey method, one of the most frequently used research methods in the social sciences. Within the discussed method, the leading way of data collection will be the questionnaire technique and measurement with the scaling (estimation) technique. I will focus only on adult women because women experience greater fear of sexual violence than men and engage in more ‘safety management’ behaviours. Moreover, research shows that girls and women are more likely to experience sexual violence. Young women aged 16-24 are widely recognized as the group at greatest risk of experiencing sexual assault. That is why I want to examine the level of knowledge (among others: preventive, educational, and support interventions aspects) and attitude (among others: belief in rape culture and rape myths) of Polish women on sexual violence. In the following part of the research, a technique will be applied, thanks to which correct preventive educational and assistance activities addressed to a diverse group of recipients will be identified and characterized. The possibilities that should implement in Poland will be examined and will present alternative activities related to the discussed subject. To obtain detailed information in this area, in my research, I will use expert interviews with specialists (among others: therapists, psychotherapists, psychologists, sexologists, researchers, educators, social workers, and activists). In the second stage, I will conduct focus surveys. It is a method of collecting qualitative data to dig deeper into a topic, to get to the unaware and unobvious. In focus group research, in a group discussion, the internalized influences of cultural factors and the value system of the social groups to which participants belong and based on which they modify their behaviour are strongly reinforced and easily manifested. By identifying a community of traits, beliefs, and motivations, the qualitative approach gives access to the thought processes and emotions of the subjects. Supporting quantitative research with the material obtained in focus makes the overall area comprehensible. In my study, the diagnostic survey method will be the main method, but the focus research will be a parallel method - one that helps interpret the results of the survey.

The scientific literature shows that women’s educational level exerts a protective effect concerning sexual violence (Jewkes, Levin, Penn-Kekana, 2002; Karamagi, Tumwine, Tylleskar, Heggenhougen, 2006). However, some studies show little association between educational level and exposure to violence (Michael, Tom, Feng, Fred, et al., 2003). Age, level of education, income, and religion may be significant predictors of attitude toward victims (Nagel, Matsuo, McIntyre, Morrison, 2005). Furthermore, some research suggested that individuals with more fundamentalist religious convictions hold a more negative attitude toward victims of sexual violence (Sheldon, Parent, 2002). Poland is an appropriate selection of a country for the analysis, as it has a unique set of religious, socio-cultural, and demographic characteristics, which make the problem of sexual violence more complex and possibly harder to combat compared to other countries. Furthermore, various meanings of sexual violence are represented and reproduced in public spaces. As such, there is a particular kind of ‘public knowledge’ about sexual violence, which often conveys false information that trivializes the sexual violence experience, excuses the perpetrators, and besmirches the survivors. This ‘public knowledge' can influence women’s attitudes toward sexual violence and harassment (Powell, Henry, 2017). In terms of possibilities for prevention, education, and support about sexual violence, studies show that effective sex education is of great importance for avoiding gender-based violence (Michielsen, Ivanova, 2022). Other activities concern issues of social and family policy.

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