NCJ Number
197431
Date Published
2002
Length
35 pages
Annotation
After defining sexual violence, this chapter considers the extent of this problem, the risk factors for sexual violence, the consequences of sexual violence, what can be done to prevent sexual violence, and recommendations.
Abstract
The definition of sexual violence used in this chapter is as follows: "any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person's sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work." The section on the definition of sexual violence considers the forms and contexts of sexual violence. A section on the extent of the problem first considers the sources of data, followed by estimates of sexual violence throughout the world. The data considered encompass sexual violence by intimate partners, forced sexual initiation, gang rape, sexual trafficking, and sexual violence against sex workers. Also examined in the chapter are sexual violence in schools, health care settings, armed conflicts, and refugee settings. Another section of the chapter considers "customary" forms of sexual violence, such as child marriage. A section on the risk factors for sexual violence addresses factors that increase women's vulnerability (age, alcohol and drug consumption, having previously been raped or sexually abused, having many sexual partners, educational level, and poverty); factors that increase men's risk of committing rape (alcohol and drug consumption and psychological factors); peer and family factors (gang rape, early childhood environments, and family honor and sexual purity); community factors (poverty and physical and social environment); and societal factors (laws and policies, social norms, and global trends and economic factors). A section on the consequences of sexual violence focuses on pregnancy and gynecological complications, sexually transmitted diseases, mental health, suicidal behavior, and social ostracization. Suggestions for what can be done to prevent sexual violence encompass individual approaches, which can include psychological care and support, programs for perpetrators, life-skills and other educational programs, developmental approaches, and health care responses; community-based efforts, which may include prevention campaigns, community activism by men, and school-based programs; legal and policy responses; and actions to prevent other forms of sexual violence, such as sexual trafficking, female genital mutilation, child marriage, and rape during armed conflicts. Recommendations pertain to more research, determining effective responses, greater attention to primary prevention, and addressing sexual abuse within the health sector. "Boxes" within the chapter briefly discuss sexual violence against men and boys, sexual violence and HIV/AIDS, integrated services for rape victims in Malaysian hospitals, and putting an end to female genital mutilation in Egypt. 4 tables and 212 references