Adolescent bullying continues to be a key focus of scholarly research across the globe. This webinar includes a discussion of the longitudinal studies of the bully-sexual violence pathway (Bully-SV pathway), where bullying is a precursor for sexual violence (e.g., sexual harassment, sexual coercion, sexual assault) and teen dating violence. Potential mechanisms underlying the bully-sexual violence pathway include social dominance orientation, exposure to sexual education, alcohol use, etc. The discussion includes several school-based intervention approaches that have shown marginal success in reducing rates of bullying and SV.

Dorothy L. Espelage, Ph.D., is the William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Espelage’s research focuses on translating empirical findings into prevention and intervention programming. She is the recipient of the APA Lifetime Achievement Award in Prevention Science & the 2016 APA Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy, and is a Fellow of APS, APA, and AERA. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Education. She has authored over 180 peer-reviewed articles, 70 book chapters on bullying, homophobic teasing, sexual harassment, dating violence, & gang violence.

Barri Rosenbluth, MSSW, has over 30 years of experience in the field of sexual violence prevention. She served as Senior Director for the Expect Respect Program at the SAFE Alliance in Austin, Texas, from 1990-2021 and has collaborated on numerous national prevention education initiatives. Barri specializes in building multi-level programs that support vulnerable youth, mobilize youth leaders and build capacity for response and prevention in K-12 schools. She was honored with the 2014 Phyllis Richards Austin Icon for Children Award from the Austin Child Guidance Center and the 2010 Professional Innovation in Victim Services Award from the U.S. Department of Justice.