PIRC in the News

UNH’s innovative research fieldwork safety program was honored recently with the inaugural Safety and Accountability for Researchers award from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). The competitive award recognizes programs that exemplify APLU’s values of creating a research environment free from harm. “We hope that this fieldwork safety initiative is going to really...

UNH tops national rankings for campus safety year after year, but like any college, it’s not immune to instances of sexual violence. UNH is also home to Prevention Innovations Research Center (PIRC), a national leader in creating evidence-based strategies to improve bystander intervention and prevent sexual and relationship violence. PIRC’s executive director of research Sharyn Potter, who is...

Fourteen research teams representing 79 UNH faculty and staff from across the university, as well as 19 external partners, have received Collaborative Research Excellence (CoRE) funding for FY2022. The CoRE initiative supports interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts driven by UNH researchers that address local, regional, and world issues. “Interdisciplinary research and scholarship play a...

A new National Science Foundation grant will help UNH researchers launch a violence prevention solution for high school students that addresses relationship violence, bullying, harassment and more. With the $548,000 grant, UNH’s Prevention Innovations Research Center (PIRC) will launch and pilot uSafeHS™, a comprehensive, commercially viable high school violence prevention and safety app. The app...

UNH sexual assault prevention researcher Sharyn Potter took her expertise to Washington, D.C., last month when she testified before a House of Representatives veteran affairs subcommittee. Her testimony supported House Bill 1092, which would make it easier for veterans to prove they suffered sexual trauma while serving, facilitating their access to disability benefits and economic assistance....

Prevention Innovations Research Center faculty fellow Nicole Fox of California State University-Sacramento recently commented on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes in Ghana. ADR is an alternative to the traditional model of litigation used in the U.S. ADR emphasizes conflict resolution and allows parties to solve disputes through mediation and arbitration.  Fox notes that Ghana's ADR...

With one of the largest samples to date, Prevention Innovations Research Center faculty fellow Nicole Fox of California State University-Sacramento conducted 35 in-depth interviews and analyzed surveys from 273 individuals who participated in rescue efforts during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide in order to identify what factors made people intervene in dangerous political and war time events. Fox and...

Sharyn Potter and Jane Stapleton were invited to speak at the UNH Innovation Wildcatalyst Seminar Series on Feb. 21. Potter and Stapleton spoke about their new nonprofit Soteria Solutions , UNH's first women-run spinout. Soteria Solutions provides new approaches to prevent sexual and interpersonal violence and harassment, working to activate bystanders at all levels in order to create lasting...

Prevention Innovations Research Center's (PIRC) executive director of research and UNH sociology professor Sharyn Potter and PIRC faculty fellow Vicki Banyard of Rutgers are quoted in a Longreads article about bystander intervention in the era of #MeToo. The article highlights the success of bystander intervention training in helping communities within schools, the military and workplaces develop...

More than half of women and nearly 25 percent of men in the Granite State have been victims of sexual harassment in the workplace, according to new research released by the Carsey School of Public Policy and the Prevention Innovations Research Center at UNH. Women are more likely to suffer work-related consequences, including financial loss, being fired or demoted and experiencing a work...

As recent news headlines have shown, bystanders can play a pivotal role in preventing sexual assault and relationship violence. But experts will tell you that the most challenging part is spreading awareness about bystander intervention, especially among teens and college students. A new study from UNH researchers has found that video games show promise as a tool to share information and...

Sharyn Potter explains the costs of campus sexual violence for individuals and society in this TEDxPortsmouth talk: Why Society Can’t Afford Campus Sexual Violence. Potter is a professor of sociology at UNH and co-founder and executive director of research at the Prevention Innovations Research Center, which seeks to end sexual and relationship violence and stalking. She was one of 15 people, and...

Researchers at UNH will undertake the largest study ever conducted on intimate partner violence among lesbian, gay, bisexual and other sexual minority college students thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation. Fifteen colleges and universities across the country have agreed to participate and the researchers expect to survey more than 20,000 students and 10,000 faculty and staff....

A mystery shopper approach uncovered a need for more education about Title IX regulations and sexual assault on college campuses, according to new research from the University of New Hampshire. In particular, there is confusion about which individuals on campus are and are not confidential resources. “There have been a lot of policy changes to enhance the response to campus sexual assault, but we...

PIRC researchers, Sharyn Potter, Rebecca Howard, Sharon Murphy, and Mary Moynihan, have published a new study in the Journal of American College Health focusing on the long-term educational and economic impacts for victims of campus sexual assault. If you would like to read this article, please email Rebecca.Howard@unh.edu to request a copy.

Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) has implemented Bringing in the Bystander to prevent campus sexual assault and dating violence.