RESEARCH
The evidence base for No Means No programming continues to grow.
“School-based self-defense interventions for sexual violence prevention, particularly within comprehensive prevention efforts, have been found to be effective at significantly reducing childhood sexual violence victimization in both humanitarian and stable settings. ”
In 2024, the Safe Futures Hub published “Building Safe Futures”, a comprehensive evidence review highlighting what works to prevent and respond to childhood sexual violence in low- and middle-income countries. It found that school-based self defense interventions, broad-based prevention modules integrated in school curricula, when delivered using transformative approaches by trained facilitators, and curriculum design and educator training for delivering childhood sexual violence prevention modules were all considered effective in preventing childhood sexual violence.
Studies in multiple countries have shown the No Means No program to be highly effective in preventing sexual assault. For a full digest of all research on the program, you can read and download a summary below:
