Sexual assault: a descriptive study of 2500 female victims over a 10‐year period. (15th October 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Larsen, M‐L; Hilden, M; Lidegaard, Ø
• Is Part Of: BJOG. Volume 122:Number 4(2015:Apr.)
• Page Start: 577
• Page End: 584
• Publication Date: 2014-10-15
• Subjects: Obstetrics -- Periodicals; Gynecology -- Periodicals; 618
• DOI: 10.1111/1471-0528.13093
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1470-0328

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="bjo13093-abs-0001"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <sec id="bjo13093-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Objective</title> <p>To describe the victims of sexual assault and the circumstances in which the assaults occur.</p> </sec> <sec id="bjo13093-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Design</title> <p>Descriptive case study.</p> </sec> <sec id="bjo13093-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Setting</title> <p>Centre for Victims of Sexual Assault (CVSA), Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.</p> </sec> <sec id="bjo13093-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Population or sample</title> <p>A total of 2541 women attending CVSA from 2001 to 2010.</p> </sec> <sec id="bjo13093-sec-0005" sec-type="section"> <title>Methods</title> <p>All women attending CVSA underwent a standardised data collection procedure. Descriptive bivariate analysis and logistic regression analysis were performed.</p> </sec> <sec id="bjo13093-sec-0006" sec-type="section"> <title>Main outcome measures</title> <p>Associations between different assault characteristics and (1) the age of the victim and (2) the relationship between victim and perpetrator.</p> </sec> <sec id="bjo13093-sec-0007" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>Two‐thirds of the victims were aged 15–24 years. Seventy‐five percent had met the perpetrator before the sexual assault and 70% reported the assault to the police. A physical injury was found in 53, and 27% sustained an anogenital lesion. Alcohol was involved in 60% of the cases. One‐third of the victims had experienced a previous sexual assault(s). Women were more likely to report to the police when they were assaulted by a stranger (odds ratio [OR] 1.9, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.3–2.6) and sustained a physical injury (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.4–2.2) or anogenital lesion (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1–2.0). Women aged 45 years or older were more likely to sustain a physical injury (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.2–3.2) or an anogenital lesion (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.4–3.2).</p> </sec> <sec id="bjo13093-sec-0008" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusions</title> <p>Our results challenge the typical stereotype of a violent rape attack by a stranger, which is important in creating an environment where women are not reluctant to seek help after a sexual assault. Young age and drinking alcohol were risk factors for sexual assault, and we need to address this when considering preventive strategies.</p> </sec> </abstract>