Charlene Y Senn

About Charlene Y. Senn

I am on sabbatical July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.

I hold a Canada Research Chair in Sexual Violence and am a Professor in the Applied Social Psychology Graduate Program within the Department of Psychology. I am cross-appointed in Women’s and Gender Studies. My research centres on male violence against women with a focus on sexual violence and campus interventions.

Over more than 10 years, I developed and evaluated a sexual assault resistance education program (EAAA) for first year University women.  The efficacy of this intervention was demonstrated in a CIHR-funded randomized controlled trial (2011-2015) in which the one-year incidence of completed rape was reduced by almost 50% in women who took the intervention compared to those in the control group. In another CIHR-funded study (2016-2021), we recently confirmed the effectiveness of the EAAA program (now known as Flip the Script with EAAA^TM) when it is implemented by universities. Research and development continue with adaptations for younger girls, for trans students, and in French.

Flip the Script with EAAA^TM is available for use by universities and colleges through a Train-the-Trainer model and the SARE Centre non-profit on a cost-recovery basis. See SARECentre.org for more detail.

I am also the co-founder of (and researcher for) the UWindsor Bystander Initiative which embeds bystander-focused sexual assault prevention and training into the academic curriculum.

In 2005, I founded the Health Research Centre for the Study of Violence against Women which brings together researchers across campus for interdisciplinary research collaborations and events.

I teach courses in the psychology of women, male violence against women, and applied social psychology.

Awards and Recognition for Teaching and Research