Let's Talk About: Sexual Violence
Sexual violence is an all too common occurrence that affects Americans of all genders, races, ages, education levels, and socio-economic statuses. This week we’re going to talk about some of the types of sexual violence that Americans face, some of the statistics about it, and some of the programs and actions that are being taken to help reduce it.
A word of caution, this week I’m taking a very fact based, clinical even, approach to sexual violence. If you think this will be too difficult to read, or deeply upsetting to you please use a few minutes to exercise some self care instead. If you are a victim of or survivor of sexual violence know that you are valuable, worthy, and deserve good things. There is help out there. A good place to start is RAINN’s national sexual assault hotline. It’s 24/7, free, and confidential. 800-656-4673(HOPE). They also offer a live chat option through their website at RAINN.org if that is an easier option for you.
To get started let’s define sexual violence. I am using the definitions set forth by the CDC violence prevention website, which I’ve linked to at the end of this article.
“Sexual violence is defined as a sexual act committed against someone without that person’s freely given consent”. There are 7 types of sexual violence as defined by the CDC, they are:
1- Completed or attempted forced penetration of a victim. This is what people typically think of when they think of rape. The victim can be male or female and the penetration can be done to any orifice and can occur with genitals, hands, or some other object. Most often occurs through threats or use of a weapon, pinning of arms, use of body weight to prevent escape or assault of the target.
2- Completed or attempted alcohol/drug- facilitated penetration of a victim. Much like the first type, except that the target is either drunk, high, or some combination when the act or attempt occurs and is thus unable to consent. The alcohol or drug use can be voluntary or involuntary, either way it’s still sexual violence.
3- Completed or attempted forced acts in which a victim is made to penetrate a perpetrator or someone else. In these cases a male is most often the victim, in which a perpetrator forces the victim to penetrate someone either by physical force, use of a weapon, or threats of physical harm.
4- Completed or attempted alcohol or drug-facilitated acts in which a victim is made to penetrate a perpetrator or someone else. Much like #3, except that the victim is incapable of giving consent due to voluntary or involuntary ingestion of drugs or alcohol.
5- Non-physically forced penetration which occurs after a person is pressured verbally or through intimidation or misuse of authority to consent or acquiesce. This one can be tricky to understand at first. It’s basically when someone manages to get another person to consent to sexual contact but not freely. Basically by wearing them down by pressuring them, asking repeatedly, lying to them, making promises they don’t keep, or by misuse of authority. This is one of the reasons that many workplaces have rules against sexual relationships between superiors and those they immediately oversee.
6- Unwanted sexual contact. This is basically unwanted intentional touching. It can be directly or through clothes and includes the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks. The perpetrator may touch the victim or force the victim to touch the perpetrator or someone else. Often called “sexual harassment” in some contexts.
7- Non-contact unwanted sexual experiences. This is the most amorphous of sexual violence. It does not include physical contact but none the less has a perpetrator and a victim who is unable to refuse. Some can occur without the victim’s knowledge. This can be anything from harassing statements, surprise pornography viewing, or the sharing of nude photos or explicit texts. This is the most common form of sexual violence.
Before talking about how many people experience sexual violence it’s important to understand what we’re talking about, and what we’re trying to end.
Here are some numbers, the data I found simply breaks down gender by men and women, does not give data on trans or non-binary people, I’ll be using the terms that they use in the sources that I am citing for clarity’s sake. Remember that it can be hard to get reliable data on sexual violence as it is often under reported and even during anonymous questioning many victims do not want to let anyone know that it has happened to them:
Every 98 seconds an American is sexually assaulted, there are around 321,500 victims of sexual assault in the United States every year. (This only includes people 12 and older, adolescents and adults. Statistics for child sexual assault are separate).
The majority of victims of sexual assault are under age 30, with 54% of sexual assaults occurring when the victim is between the ages of 18 and 34.
About 1 out of every 5 women (19.3%) has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. 43.9% of women have experienced some form of sexual violence. That’s 2 out of 5.
The statistics vary based on ethnicity, with multiracial and Native women being the most likely to have experienced rape or attempted rape (32.3% and 27.5% respectively) and hispanic women being the least likely (13.6%).
46.1% of bisexual women have experienced rape or attempted rape in their lives. 74.9% have experienced some form of sexual violence.
82% of all juvenile (12-18 year old) sexual violence victims are female. 90% of adult rape victims are female.
For men it is less common. About 1 in 15 men (6.7%) have been made to penetrate someone during their lives. 5.8% experience sexual coercion and 24.1% have experienced unwanted sexual contact or non-contact unwanted sexual experiences.
Broken down by race 39.5% of multi racial men have experienced some form of sexual violence in their lifetimes, 26.6% of hispanic men, 24.5% of Native men, 24.4% of Black men and 22.2% of White non-hispanic men.
For sexual minorities, men do not fare much better than women. 74.9% of gay men and 46.4% of bisexual men experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetimes.
There’s no one way to determine who will become a sexual violence perpetrator, and most often there are a variety of factors all interacting, however there are some that are found to be key risk factors for a person becoming a sexual violence perpetrator:
History of child physical abuse
Exposure to parental violence
Acceptance of violence
Hyper-masculinity
Belief in and adherence to strict gender norms
Sexual risk-taking behaviors (such as sex without protection)
Association with sexually aggressive peer groups
Poverty or low socioeconomic status
Gender inequality
Social norms supportive of sexual violence (victim blaming)
Belief in or reinforcement of male sexual entitlement
Weak or non existent policies and consequences for sexual violence
Victims of sexual violence face a world of stigma, from questions about their behavior and attire at the time of the assault, to disbelief, to accusations of fraud. Many victims find themselves dealing with depression, anxiety and PTSD.. Some will need treatment for STIs or unwanted pregnancies. Often victims will miss work, or have a loss or productivity. The CDCs packet STOP SV cites that one state estimated the total cost of sexual violence in 2009 to be $4.7 Billion, or around $1580 per resident of that state.
Sexual violence is widespread, devastating, and preventable. The STOP SV technical package by the CDC is designed to help organizations find ways to implement programs that can help prevent sexual violence in their own communities. It is a 5 pronged approach laid out as follows:
S- Promote SOCIAL NORMS that protect against violence
Bystander approaches
Mobilizing men and boys as allies
T- TEACH skills to prevent sexual violence
Social-emotional learning
Teaching health, safe dating and intimate relationship skills to adolescents
Promote healthy sexualty
Empowerment based training
O- Provide OPPORTUNITIES to empower and support girls and women
Strengthening economic supports for women and families
Strengthening leadership and opportunities for girls
P- Create PROTECTIVE environments
Improving safety and monitoring in schools
Establishing and consistently applying workplace policies
Addressing community level risks through environmental approaches
SV- SUPPORT VICTIMS / Survivors to lessen harms
Victim-centered services
Treatment for victims of Sexual Violence
Treatment for at risk children and families to prevent problem behavior including sex offending
Education, both from a sexual health education standpoint and from the educational environment of schools etc, plays a huge role in the prevention of sexual violence. High schools and Colleges are often first responders to victims of sexual violence and need to be trained in ways of dealing with victims specifically. I believe that the CDC’s recommendations are the best plan out there for dealing with sexual violence in our schools, communities, and workplaces.
But what can you do? As a single person out there in the world, you can be a part of the solution too. Make sure that your work place has a sexual harassment policy in place. The time to create one is not after it becomes a problem but before there is a problem at hand. If you know someone who has been the victim of sexual violence let them know that you are there for them, but don’t pressure them into coming to you with details. Some people want to talk about their experiences, and some really don’t. It’s a personal matter. If you have the opportunity to, encourage them to seek out help, there are tons of resources available to them. (I suggest the hotline and website available through RAINN that I mentioned at the beginning of this article as a great place to start). If you find yourself talking about sexual violence, be aware of the language you use. Don’t give into the societal temptation to describe what the victim was wearing or how the victim was acting. That is not actually relevant to the conversation. There are a million little ways that you can help be a part of ending a culture of sexual violence.
Next week we’re going to discuss the male body and puberty.
Until then, stay safe. You are worth protecting
-Erin
P.s. If you find value in the work that I do please consider supporting me on Patreon.com/TheMagicCondomFairy or buying me a couple cups of coffee on Ko-Fi.com/CondomFairy Your support means a lot to be and helps me get one step closer to reaching my goal of some day being a full time sex educator!
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Sources:
Rainn
Statistics on the prevalence of adolescent and adult sexual violence
CDC
Types of sexual Violence
Prevention Strategies and the STOP SV package