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S e x u a l V i o l e n c e
The following is an
excerpt from the World Health Organization Web Site Sexual violence is defined in the World Report on Violence and Health (http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/en/) as "any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic a person’s sexuality, using coercion, threats of harm or physical force, by any person regardless of relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work". Sexual violence encompasses physically forced or otherwise coerced sex, attempts at coerced sex, assault with a sexual organ, sexual harassment including sexual humiliation, forced marriage or cohabitation including marriage of children, forced prostitution and trafficking in women, forced abortion, denial of the right to use contraception or protect self from disease, and acts of violence against women’s sexuality such as female genital mutilation and social virginity inspections. Sexual violence can occur between family members and intimates, and between acquaintances and strangers. Sexual violence can occur throughout the life cycle, from infancy to old age , and involves women and men, both as victims and as perpetrators. Although it affects both sexes, it is most frequently perpetrated by boys and men towards girls and women. The true extent of sexual violence is unknown, though available data reviewed for the World Report on Violence and Health suggests that one in five women may experience sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. In national studies on sexual violence conducted in Canada, Finland, Switzerland, Great Britain, and the United States of America, between 2% and 13% of women report being the victim of either an attempted or completed rape by a partner in their lifetime. In smaller population-based studies, for example in London, England, Guadalajara, Mexico, and the Midland Province in Zimbabwe, the reported rate is higher at about 25%. For many women, sexual violence begins in childhood and adolescence and can take place in a variety of contexts including the home, school, and the community. Studies conducted in diverse places such as Cameroon, Caribbean, Peru, New Zealand, South Africa, and Tanzania find high rates of reported forced sexual initiation. Different studies have found a range from 7.4% to 46% of adolescent women, and 3.6% to 20% of adolescent men who have reported sexual coercion at the hands of family members, teachers, boyfriends, or strangers. Sexual violence has significant health consequences, including suicide, PTSD, other mental illnesses, unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, self-inflicted injuries, and, in the case of child sexual abuse, adoption of high risk behaviors such as multiple sexual partners and drug use. ( for more detailed information go to Health Effects of IPV
There are
many factors increasing the risk of someone being coerced into sex or forcing
sex on another person. Some of these factors are related to the attitudes,
beliefs and behaviors of the individuals involved, while others are deeply
rooted in the social environment – including peer, family, community and
societal environments. Such factors not only influence the likelihood of sexual
violence, but also the reaction to it. The
World Report on Violence
and Health presents the following sets of risk factors for sexual
violence:
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