The introductory article presents a history of primary prevention in the field of public health, and identifies some of the sociocultural factors that affect the incidence of sexual assault and abuse. The first section of article in the book focus on perpetrators, exploring some of the sociocultural causes and correlates of sexually assaultive behavior and their implications for prevention. In the second section, the authors explore some of the sociocultural conditions related to sexual victimization and project interventions to reduce vulnerability. Chapter references