Risk of intimate partner violence: Role of childhood sexual abuse and sexual initiation in women in Japan

Abstract

Objectives This population-based study examined the prevalence and nature of childhood sexual abuse and intimate partner violence (IPV) and the relationship between the two types of victimization. Methods As part of a World Health Organization multi-national study, data were collected through face-to-face interviews with a stratified, multistage sample of 1371 women aged 18–49 in the city of Yokohama. Methods of survival analyses were used to assess relationships among women's experiences in childhood (e.g., sexual abuse or exposure to IPV against the mother), timing and nature of sexual initiation, and IPV. Results Three percent of the women reported having been sexually abused during childhood by someone they knew, and 7% reported childhood sexual abuse by strangers. Estimated prevalence of physical IPV was 17.70% and 8.49% for sexual IPV. Childhood sexual abuse by known perpetrators, exposure to IPV against the mother, and early sexual initiation, independently contributed to an elevated probability of experiencing IPV in adulthood. Conclusions The high estimated probability of childhood sexual abuse and IPV, and the significant association between the two forms of victimization indicate a need for increased prevention efforts beginning in childhood and adolescence and prior to initiating intimate relationships.