Prevalence and Associated Factors of Sexual Victimization: Findings from a National Representative Sample of Belgian Adults Aged 16–69

Evelyn Schapansky, Joke Depraetere, Ines Keygnaert and Christophe Vandeviver
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Evelyn Schapansky: Department of Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Joke Depraetere: Department of Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Ines Keygnaert: Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Christophe Vandeviver: Department of Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-22

Abstract: Sexual victimization is a major public health, judicial, and societal concern worldwide. Nationally representative and comparable studies are still lacking. We applied a broad definition of sexual violence, including hands-off and hands-on victimization, and behaviorally specific questions to assess sexual victimization. Lifetime and 12-month prevalence estimates were obtained that are representative of the Belgian general population aged 16 to 69 with regard to sex and age. These estimates indicate that 64% experienced some form of sexual victimization in their lives, and 44% experienced some form of sexual victimization in the past 12 months. Logistic regression analysis revealed significant associations for sex, age, sexual orientation, the number of sexual partners, and the financial situation with sexual victimization. Furthermore, our data show that mental health is significantly worse in persons with a history of prior sexual victimization. Prevalence estimates for all forms of sexual victimization are presented and compared to other national and international studies on sexual victimization. This comparison suggests that prevalence rates may have been underestimated in extant research. The prevalence estimates obtained in this study demonstrate that all sexes and ages are affected by sexual victimization.

Keywords: sexual violence; sexually transgressive behavior; sexual aggression; sexual assault; individual-level correlates; risk factors; mental health; coercive strategies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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