Risk Factors For Sexual Abuse Research Articles

Developing An Online Course To Increase Staff Awareness And Responses To Unwanted And Illegal Sexual Behaviour Perpetrated Against Older People

Abstract Background The idea that older people can be victims of unwanted sexual behaviour or sexual assault in health and social care settings is relatively recent. In the Irish context, 165 reports of sexual abuse of older people were made to the HSE National Safeguarding and Protection teams in 2022. The prevalence of sexual abuse against older people in health and social care settings is poorly understood and there is an acknowledgement that hospital staff require additional training to understand and manage incidents. Methods In response to the need for training and support for staff, an online awareness-raising course based on a pre-developed course from Australia ‘Preventing unwanted sexual behaviour against older people in health and social care settings’ will be adapted, trialled and tested in a large acute teaching hospital. This course sets out to support acute care staff to identify and manage incidents of sexualised behaviour, to seek expert help and to ensure that older people are protected from unwanted and at times, what may constitute illegal sexual behaviour. Results The adapted course ‘Understanding and Responding to Unwanted or Illegal Sexual Behaviour Perpetrated against Older People in Health and Social Care Settings’ utilises a trauma-informed lens and key themes covered include defining unwanted sexual behaviours, understanding older people and sexual behaviour, risk factors for sexual abuse, barriers to recognising and reporting abuse and managing incidents. Conclusion The ‘trial and test’ will involve a feedback survey (N=50 respondents) and focus groups with participating healthcare professionals from the hospital site informing further refinement of the course content in preparation for wider rollout and implementation across Ireland's health and social care settings.

Training bar staff to serve as active bystanders in the prevention of substance-involved sexual assault: a quasi-experimental field evaluation of behavioural effects of the Raise the Bar programme

ABSTRACT This study is a quasi-experimental field evaluation of Raise the Bar (RTB), a prevention programme that trains bar staff to intervene when witnessing risk factors for sexual assault. Previous studies have demonstrated effects of similar programmes on attitudes/knowledge among bar staff. Yet, no studies have examined the effects of such programmes on intervention behaviour. Using a waitlist control design, we conducted thirty observations at four trained and four waitlist control bars in a rural U.S. college town, enacting scripts that matched the prompts for intervention that were included in the RTB curriculum implemented at the trained bars. Findings indicated staff at trained bars were significantly more likely to intervene than staff at the waitlisted bars, but this effect attenuated when control variables were included in the model. RTB appears promising, but further research is needed to fully establish its effects on intervention behaviour before recommending wide-spread rollout. Practice Impact Statement Findings from this study suggest that training bar staff to act as prosocial bystanders has the potential to prevent alcohol-involved sexual assault among college students. Yet, it is important to note that, although staff at trained bars were more likely to intervene than staff at waitlist control bars, intervention was relatively rare and the effect of training attenuated when controlling for contextual factors. Stronger evidence of the effects of such training needs to accumulate before community agencies widely implement these programmes.

Prevalence Rate and Risk Factors of Sexual Assault Among University Students in the Netherlands.

This research documents the prevalence rate and demographic risk factors for sexual assault among undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at a Dutch university. The present study used a sample of N = 2,887 students who filled in responses to a campus climate survey about students' experiences with sexual assault and diverse demographic variables. Results showed that approximately one in four students (25.3%) experience non-consensual sexual touching, and almost one in ten are raped (9.2%). Next, to examine the effects of demographic factors and their interactions on sexual assault, the dataset was divided randomly into two subsamples. Exploratory multiple regression analyses were conducted on the first subsample and confirmatory multiple regression analyses on the second. Variables that increased odds for unwanted sexual touching, rape, and any type of sexual assault were gender; being a member of a student or a study association; having a disability; and being in a relationship (in this context, "any type of sexual assault" refers to any incident that included unwanted touching, attempted rape, or rape). LGBQ+ sexual orientation was significant for any kind of sexual assault and for rape; and being a member of a sport association was significant for any kind of sexual assault and for sexual touching.

Factors Associated With Knowledge on Risk Factors of Sexual Abuse among House Girls and House Boys in Singida Municipality, Central Zone-Tanzania: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Sexual abuse is a situation whereby any people or individual entered in any sexual malpractice or sexual contact without his/her will. Sexual abuse among house girls and house boys is among of general medical issue in our nation particularly in the urban areas and towns. The aim of the study was to examine predicators associated with knowledge on risk factors of sexual abuse among house girls and house boys in Singida Municipality. Methods: The cross section study involved a total of 252 participants from the selected house hold in Singida Municipality. A multistage sampling technique was used to obtain sample and data was collected by using self-administered structured questionnaire. Chi-square and logistic regression were used to determine the association between knowledge on risk factors and sexual abuse among house girls and house boys. Results: The large numbers of respondents with mean age of 22years old were single. Only 53.1% of house girls were knowledgeable on risk factors associated with sexual abuse compared to house boys. After control of the confounders the predictors of knowledge about risk factors on sexual abuse were educational level (AOR = 0.332, p = 0.002, 95%CI:0.167; 0.659), how did you find a job(AOR=2.412, p=0.001, 95%CI:1.433; 2.523), and type of family he/ she living(AOR=4.672, p=0.002, 95%CI:0.0709; 0.719, nuclear family (AOR=4.023, p=0.023, 95%CI:0.101;0902). Conclusion: The findings depicted that the study participants have inadequate knowledge on risk factors associated with sexual abuse and it discovered that the influencing factors were education level, means of getting a job and type of family.

Analysis of Sexually Assault Patients Presenting at a Secondary Hospital, South Africa

Sexual assault and rape remain a huge problem in South Africa. However, only a few studies have investigated the association of demographic features and characteristics of sexual assault on the victims. The prevalence of rape in women globally is 7.2%, and in Sub-Saharan Africa 3 (21%). The objective was to determine the sexual assault characteristics and the relationship between the sexual assault characteristics and the socio-demographics of patients who presented for counselling. A retrospective, cross-sectional study was undertaken by reviewing 501 patient files who presented to a secondary-level hospital. A data capture sheet was used to collect information. The analysis included descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. The mean age was 21.5 ± 12.3 years. The women that presented to the hospital were black (92.4%), single (95.4%), unemployed (83.8%), and had a school education (27.6%). Only 4% of the participants were males. Fifty-eight percent of the participants reported that sexual assault had taken place between a Friday and a Sunday, between 18.00 to 05.59 hours. Women older than 20 years were three times more susceptible to sexual assault at night (p = 0.00). Young women were sexually assaulted more frequently at the perpetrator’s place (p = 0.01), and at party venues or in cars (p = 0.01). Health workers play a big role through preventive, educative, and curative measures. Health talks in educational institutes and public areas should be enforced. Safety and security officials should consider the identified risk factors for sexual assault and targeted interventions. Keywords: Crisis centre, Level two hospital, Sexual assault, Secondary hospital.

Occasions of Alcohol and Cannabis Use and Associated Risk for Sexual Assault Among College Women With Higher Sexual Risk Alcohol Expectancies

College women report high rates of sexual assault. Research focused on women's risk factors for sexual assault remains necessary to assist women in reducing their risk. Previous work has shown alcohol use and cannabis use to be associated with sexual assault. The current study examined whether individual difference variables moderated women's risk for sexual assault during occasions of alcohol use and cannabis use using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Participants were 18- to 24-year-old first-year undergraduate women (N = 101) who were unmarried and interested in dating men, consumed three or more alcoholic drinks on one occasion in the month before baseline, and engaged in sexual intercourse at least once. Baseline individual difference variables included sex-related alcohol expectancies, alcohol problems, decision skills, and sexual attitudes. EMA reports, collected three times per day over 42 days, included items regarding alcohol and cannabis use and sexual assault experiences. Among women who experienced sexual assault during the EMA period (n = 40), those with higher sexual risk expectancies had a higher probability of sexual assault during occasions when they were using alcohol or cannabis. Several modifiable risk factors for sexual assault and individual differences factors may exacerbate risk. Ecological momentary interventions may be useful to reduce sexual assault risk for women with high sexual risk expectancies who use alcohol or cannabis.

Sorority Women's Perceptions of Survivors' Services and Justice on an Urban Campus

While researchers have attempted to estimate the prevalence of and identify risk factors for sexual assault, less is understood about the relationship among populations at high risk for sexual assault and their perceptions of survivors’ services organizations and justice. The purpose of this investigation is to contribute to existing research through exploratory qualitative analyses of 43 undergraduate sorority women’s perceptions of survivors’ services and justice on a large, urban campus in the Pacific Northwest in the United States. Results of these exploratory analyses revealed that the sorority women had preferences for informal confidants and services whom they could trust concerning matters of sexual violence. The women also discussed that they would prefer confidential and mental health competent services for fear that disclosing sexual violence might draw public attention to them. On the same note, the women expressed a preference for justice that would prioritize their reputation and minimize stigmatization and highlighted how disclosure of sexual violence could impact their social, educational, and employment opportunities. Moreover, they described a fear of being blamed or not believed about sexual violence. Lastly, participants supported relatively punitive sanctions for perpetrators. Overall, participants cited many barriers to accessing formal support services, exposing the persistent justice gap that remains for this population. Findings suggest a need for outreach regarding campus services designed to address sexual violence.

Care of women and girls after sexual assault in Geneva: A descriptive study between 2005 and 2014

Background and purposeWe aimed to examine epidemiological data and identify risk factors for sexual assault. This study included women seeking care at the Geneva University Hospitals emergency obstetrics and gynaecological unit. MethodRetrospective, sociodemographic, and clinical data were collected from the medical reports. ResultsWe reviewed 836 medical charts and registered 92.8 women and girls per year who consulted the emergency department after sexual assault. The average age was 26 (±12) years, with a median of 23 years. Body lesions were reported in 525 patients (63%) and genital traumatic lesions were reported in 230 (28%) patients. Sexual assault by a stranger was reported in 436 cases (52%). Thirty percent of patients knew their aggressor. Aggressions were predominantly committed on the weekend, accounting for 367 cases (46%), with nearly two-thirds (65%, n = 474) occurring between 10 pm and 6 am. In total, 399 (48%) patients who were sexually assaulted reported having consumed alcohol and 102 (12%) reported having taken drugs prior to the aggression; 80 (10%) patients had consumed both and 286 (34%) had amnesia. Half of the sample sought and received medical care within 24 h from the time the aggression took place. ConclusionSexual assault risk factors in our study population in Geneva included use of drugs and alcohol, with amnesia. Future prevention and education interventions should target these areas.

Syndrome-Related Risk Factors for Sexual Abuse: The Example of Prader-Willi Syndrome.

Many genetic disorders associated with intellectual disability are characterized by unique behavioral phenotypes which may have serious psychological consequences such as increasing the risk for sexual abuse (SA). Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), a severe neurogenetic syndrome with uncontrollable hyperphagia and high threshold for pain, is an excellent example of this issue. The absence of reports on SA in PWS highlights the lack of awareness to the topic. Our aim was to report on SA in individuals with PWS, describe its unique characteristics, and offer recommendations for its prevention. Caregivers of all individuals with genetically confirmed PWS living in the only two residential facilities designated for PWS in Israel were interviewed for a history of sexual behavior and abuse, and medical data were collected from their files. SA was reported in a quarter of the sample. In most of the cases (78%), food reward was used by the perpetrators to attract their victims. Age at SA ranged from 11 to 29years. Most of the individuals did not disclose the event and some continued to initiate inappropriate sexual activity to obtain food. Characteristics unique to PWS, such as food-seeking behaviors and high threshold for pain, likely contribute to the risk for SA. These findings suggest that syndrome-specific programs for SA prevention should be considered for individuals with any genetic syndrome with behavioral problems that may increase SA risk.

Parental Migration and Risk of Sexual Assault Against Children in Rural China

This study investigates the difference in rates of sexual assault between left-behind children and those living with both parents in rural China and attempts to identify potential social mechanisms explaining this variation. Using data from a probability sample of middle school students in Guizhou Province, China, our study reveals that parental migration, particularly maternal and both-parent migration, significantly increases children’s risk of sexual victimization. This relationship is mediated by three intervening pathways: weakened caretaker monitoring and supervision, children’s increased engagement in risky lifestyles, and elevated exposure to general victimization. These findings highlight the urgency to develop prevention and treatment programs based on a holistic understanding of protective and risk factors for sexual abuse against left-behind children in rural China.

Sexuality Education in Early Childhood Through Animation

Many animations are used as learning media. They have interesting colors, moving and alive objects, instilled sounds, and meaningful stories. They make animations that are easy to be understood by early childhood children. Sexuality is a rare developmental aspect to be concerned about, especially in terms of child development. Then, it eventually becomes a risk factor for sexual abuse against children. Therefore, sexuality education for early childhood children is needed to allow children to have appropriate knowledge, positive personal attitudes and sexuality developments, and personal protective skills. The use of animation media for early childhood children needs teachers and parents involvement. Children have cognitive limitations and limited consideration in comprehending information that conforms with the family's developing values. This research describes the conformities between information in an educational animation material about early childhood sexuality education and what children understand. The respondents of the limited group test consisted of 28 learners of B grade Kindergarten in Semarang. The data were taken by utilizing Google Form. The respond submitted by correspondents were analyzed qualitatively. The parents did it with six-time frequencies after the learners watched the video. The data analysis applied data reduction, display, and conclusion. The findings showed that children caught the appropriate information to the purpose of the message in the animation about early childhood sexuality education.

Psychological Impact and Risk Factors of Sexual Abuse on Sudanese Children in Khartoum Stat

Psychological Impact and Risk Factors of Sexual Abuse on Sudanese Children in Khartoum Stat

Estructura familiar y actitudes parentales hacia la crianza asociados como factores de riesgo de abuso sexual en niños de 3 a 5 años de Sincelejo, Sucre.

El objetivo principal del presente estudio fue establecer la relación de la estructura familiar y las actitudes parentales hacia la crianza asociados a factores de riesgo de abuso sexual en niños de 3 a 5 años de Sincelejo, Sucre. Se realizó bajo un enfoque cuantitativo, tipo descriptivocorrelacional, de corte transversal, con una muestra de 116 padres de familia o tutores con un rango de edad de 19 a 58 años y 116 niños seleccionados de manera intencionada, a quienes se les aplicó el Cuestionario de Identificación de Factores de Riesgo del Maltrato Infantil y el Cuestionario de Crianza Parental PCRI-M. En los resultados se obtuvo la no existencia de correlaciones/diferencias significativas entre las variables.

Risk Factors for Sexual Assault of Heterosexual and Sexual Minority College Women.

Though college women report high rates of sexual assault, less is known about how protective and risk factors are uniquely associated with assault among heterosexual and sexual minority women. As such, the current study examined protective factors (i.e., maternal relationship quality and religiosity) and risk factors (i.e., child sexual abuse, parent substance misuse, and risky behaviors) for coercive sexual assault and total sexual assault and whether they vary by sexual orientation among college women. Data were gathered in the 2013-2014 academic year at two large public universities in the United States, one in the Midwest and one in the Southeast. Data for the current study included 755 college women, 72 (9.5%) of whom identified as sexual minority. Bivariate results showed that heterosexual women reported greater maternal relationship quality and greater religiosity compared to sexual minority women, while sexual minority women reported more risky sexual behaviors and having experienced more coercive sexual assault than heterosexual women. Multivariate results revealed that child sexual abuse, parent drinking problems, maternal relationship quality, heavy drinking, hooking up, and risky sexual behaviors were significantly associated with total sexual assault. Significant correlates of coercive sexual assault included child sexual abuse, maternal relationship quality, hooking up, and risky sexual behaviors. The relationship between maternal relationship quality and total sexual assault varied by sexual orientation as did the relationship between hooking up and coercive sexual assault. These findings have implications for targeted interventions to improve prevention of sexual assault among heterosexual and sexual minority college women.

Comparison of influence on psychosocial factors of single and recurrent sexual abuse in childhood

Aim: Sexual abuse in childhood, which is an important problem in the society, leads to many problems among the victims. This study aims to present the rate of being subject to recurrent sexual abuse and to find out the psychosocial characteristics of victims of recurrent sexual abuse. Materials and Methods: A total of 466 children were referred to the Ankara Child Follow-up Center during the first year. 35 children who had recurrent sexual abuse were compared with 36 first-time sexual abuse victims sociodemographic features, characteristics of sexual abuse and risk factors of sexual abuse. Results: 35 children who were victims of sexual abuse had been revictimized in the past. Children who had recurrent sexual abuse had statistically significantly higher rates of history of running away, school abstinence, broken family, problems in child-parent and parent-parent interrelations, alcohol use of family members, domestic violence and physical abuse than first-time sexual abuse victims. Conclusion: These findings support the need of immediate treatment both to the victims and their families to prevent recurrent sexual abuse to the child victims of sexual abuse. To achieve this, specialists working with children in various disciplines may collaborate with their colleagues in a multidisciplinary approach and they may provide proper treatments to the victims and their families to alleviate the risk factors. In hospital and school environments, victims of sexual abuse may be provided with the necessary skills of self-defense via psycho-education sessions, they may receive psychological support and their risky behaviors might be minimized while their social support mechanisms are being strengthened.

Prevalence and risk factors for sexual assault among class 6 female students in unplanned settlements of Nairobi, Kenya: Baseline analysis from the IMPower & Sources of Strength cluster randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundGender-based violence (GBV) is a crucial global health problem among all age groups, including adolescents. This study describes incidences of GBV, as well as factors associated with sexual assault, among female adolescents in class six living in urban informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya.MethodsStudy participants were interviewed using a structured survey instrument focusing on experiences of GBV, including emotional, physical, and sexual violence, and corresponding perpetrators, as well as gender attitudes, alcohol use, self-efficacy, and previous sexual experiences. Summary statistics and clustered bootstrap confidence intervals were calculated for social behaviors and violence rates. Stepwise logistic regression identified variables associated with an adolescent’s experience of sexual assault.FindingsIn this population 7·2% of adolescent girls reported being raped in the prior twelve months, with 11·1% of these rape victims reporting over five experiences. Among the 21·3% who report having had a boyfriend, 38·1% reported emotional, physical, and/or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV). Boyfriends were identified most often as perpetrators, accounting for 46·3% of reported lifetime rapes. Previous experience of physical (p = <0·001) or emotional (p<0·001) IPV and home violence (p<0·001) were risk factors for being raped, while high self-efficacy (p<0·001) was a protective factor.InterpretationSexual assault and GBV are major challenges in this highly-disadvantaged population. Novel prevention efforts are needed for this age group, as prevention is often targeted at older adolescents. Prevention efforts should focus on assaults by perpetrators known to adolescents, especially boyfriends, and may need to account for the adolescents’ previous experience of, and exposure to, violence.

The Effects of Gender and Family Wealth on Sexual Abuse of Adolescents.

Background: Sexual abuse and sexual assaults against adolescents are among the most significant threats to their health and well-being. Some studies have found poverty to be a risk factor for sexual abuse. The present study investigates the effects of gender and family affluence on the prevalence of sexual abuse of 15-year-old Icelanders in the 10th grade. Methods: The study is based on data collected for the Icelandic part of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study in 2014. Standardized questionnaires were sent to all students in the 10th grade in Iceland, of which 3618 participated (85% of all registered students in this grade). Results: Girls were more than twice as likely to be sexually abused as boys (20.2% versus 9.1%). Adolescents perceiving their families to be less well off than others were twice as likely to report sexual abuse as those of ample or medium family affluence. However, family affluence had more effect on the prevalence of abuse in girls than in boys. Conclusion: Female gender and low socioeconomic status may independently contribute to the risk of sexual abuse.

Sexual Assault Among College Students Attending a Historically Black College/University.

Sexual assault constitutes a significant public health problem on college campuses including historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU). Recent research suggests that sexual assault is increasing on college campuses. However, there are few studies examining the prevalence and risk factors for sexual assault at HBCUs. To address this gap, the current study examined the prevalence, correlates, and outcomes of sexual assault at an HBCU. Participants in the study were 264 undergraduate students from an HBCU in the mid-Atlantic region. The majority of participants were female (71%), African American (91%), and seniors (41%). After providing informed consent, participants completed a Climate Assessment survey administered by the university's Office of Diversity. Findings revealed that since starting college about 20% of students experienced sexual contact without consent. Of those sexually assaulted, 20% reported they were incapacitated or under the influence of alcohol (15%) at the time of the assault. About 17% of those assaulted experienced a physical injury and/or poor mental health outcomes (e.g., anxiety, depression, flashbacks). Participants reported not disclosing information of their assault due to embarrassment, afraid of retaliation from the perpetrator, believing it was a private matter. Close friends were more likely to be told about sexual assault. The study supports the need to address sexual assault on HBCU campuses through strong prevention and intervention programs and to address barriers to reporting.

Assessment of cyber abuse in sexually abused children and adolescents

Objectives: Child sexual abuse is associated with adverse outcomes, including increased vulnerability, that may explain the risk of revictimization via cyber media and cyber abuse may be a risk factor for sexual abuse. The aims of the study were to explore cyber abuse prevalence in sexual abuse cases, the direct and indirect links between child sexual abuse and cyber abuse and to study the differences in internet use between children and adolescents who were sexually abused and the control group. Methods: We assessed 75 children and adolescents aged 7-18 who had experienced sexual abuse and were referred to us between 01.01.2014-01.01.2015. Additionally, 45 typical developing subjects who did not have any abuse history were recruited from pediatrics clinic of or hospital as the control group. We used our semi-structured questionnaire to assess cyber abuse. Results: The rates of internet use were high in the control group (97.8%) compared to those of sexually abused teens (82.7%). However, the rates of cyber abuse were similar between the groups. The most used web site/application was different between the groups. Facebook was the most used web site/application in the sexually abused group (69.4%). This ratio was only 20.5% in the control group. Conclusions: We assessed cyber abuse in a population exposed to sexual abuse. As several authors have previously emphasized, the implementation of preventative steps is essential. There is a great need to develop and evaluate interventions with those children and young people, particularly in sexually abused children and adolescents who are thought to be more vulnerable to cyber abuse.

Problematic alcohol use and sexting as risk factors for sexual assault among college women

ABSTRACTSexual assault is a major public health concern and college women are four times more likely to experience sexual assault than any other group. We investigated whether sexting is a mechanism by which alcohol use increases risk for college women to be targeted for sexual assault. We hypothesized that sexting would mediate the relationship between problem drinking and sexual assault, such that drinking (T1 = beginning fall semester) would contribute to increased sexting (T2 = end fall semester), and in turn increase the risk of being targeted for sexual assault (T3 = end spring semester). Results: Among 332 undergraduate women (M(SD)age = 19.15(1.69), 76.9% Caucasian), sexting (T2) predicted sexual assault (T3; b = 3.98, p = .05), controlling for baseline sexual assault (b = 0.82, p < .01). Further, sexting (T2) mediated the relationship between problem drinking (T1) and sexual assault (T3) (b = 0.04, CI[.004,.12]). Conclusion: Findings suggest that sexting is one mechanism through which drinking increases the risk of college women being targeted for sexual assault.