The media portray violence through films, depictions of rape, and other forms of sexualized violence against women. These depictions are widely available to increasingly younger viewers through cable television and video rentals. Research with adults demonstrates that exposure to both sexually explicit and nonexplicit violent materials in the mass media results in less sensitivity toward victims of sexual violence and a heightened tendency to endorse myths about rape. Potential solutions to sexual violence in the mass media include the legal prosecution of producers of sexually violent materials, efforts to promote media literacy and critical viewing skills, expansion of the film rating system, and using the mass media to educate viewers about sexual violence. Traditional obscenity laws, other legal restrictions, and the film rating system are ineffective solutions. Instead, stronger reliance is needed on education that is based on our increasing knowledge of media effects, attitude formation and change, child development, and human behavior. Social psychology can be an important potential contributor toward solving the problem of sexual violence. 65 references