NCJ Number
208027
Date Published
September 2004
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Based on the results of victim surveys in Germany and Slovenia, this paper compares sexual victimization in the two countries.
Abstract
The sample consisted of 311 German and 1,500 Slovenian female students. Questionnaires were distributed at various universities in Freiburg, Germany, and at the two major universities in Slovenia. The questionnaires encompassed 21 items on severe (rape) and milder forms (stalking) of sexual assaults. In addition, there were four categories of victim-offender relationships: boyfriend/husband, friend/colleague, acquaintance, or stranger. The category "other relatives" than husband was included and separately analyzed. The questionnaire asked if the various sexual assaults occurred at least once in the respondent's life. Since an identical methodological approach was used in both countries, a direct comparison of the results is possible. One of the most important findings was that in both countries some form of sexual harassment was a daily experience for the women; 79 percent of the German women and 74 percent of the Slovenian women had been victims of milder forms of sexual harassment and assaults. Thirteen percent of the German students and 17 percent of the Slovenian students had been victims of severe sexual assault. Overall, 53 percent of the German women and 61 percent of the Slovenian women had been victims of criminal sexual offenses. Most of the severe sexual offenses had been committed by intimate partners. 2 tables and 13 references