Is Sexual Victimization Gender Specific?: The Prevalence of Forced Sexual Activity Among Men and Women in Denmark, and Self-Reported Well-Being Among Survivors

• NCJ Number: 237135
• Journal: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 23 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2008 Pages: 1414-1440
• Author(s): Vanita Sundaram; Bjarne Laursen; Karin Helweg-Larsen
• Date Published: October 2008
• Length: 27 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study explored gender differences in sexual victimizatin, specifically in terms of exposure and self-perceived health status among survivors in Denmark.

Abstract

The present study investigates the prevalence of sexual victimization and correlations between sexual victimization and indicators of poor health in two representative samples of men and women in Denmark. Specifically, the authors explore the prevalence of self-reported victimization among adolescents (N = 5,829) and adults (N = 3,932) and analyze differences in self-reported health outcomes between male and female victims and corresponding controls. Gender differences are found in the reported prevalence of sexual victimization. Significantly more females than males reported forced sexual experiences in both samples. Associations between sexual victimization and poor health outcomes are found for both genders. Comparable patterns of association for men and women are found on a number of variables, particularly those pertaining to risk behavior. (Published Abstract)