Prevalence and Associated Factors of Sexual Victimization: Findings from a National Representative Sample of Belgian Adults Aged 16–69

SamaelET · 2022-08-12T23:00:47+00:00

This leaves a total final sample of n = 2115 and an overall response rate of 10.2%. This final sample allows calculating prevalence estimates with a margin of error of 2%. The margin of error in the six sex-by-age groups ranges from 3 to 6%.

To assess respondents’ lifetime sexual victimization, 17 questions were asked. In order to assess overall lifetime victimization, we created a dichotomous variable out of all 17 items that indicated whether the respondent had experienced any of the 17 items or not. These items are based on the Sexual Experience Survey (SES)—Long Form Victimization, the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey , and the Sexual Aggression and Victimization Scale . The items were rephrased to avoid gender-binary questions. The lack of consent was rephrased according to the definition of sexual violence made by the WHO, (‘against my will’ instead of ‘without my consent’) and question-wording was modified to fit within the Belgian social and legal context. Overall, the 17 items can be grouped into hands-off (eight items, e.g., sexual comments, voyeurism, exhibitionism, distribution of sexual images) and hands-on sexual victimization (nine items). The latter being further grouped into sexual abuse (four items: unwanted kissing, fondling/rubbing, undressing, and touching during care) and attempted or completed rape (five items: (attempted) oral penetration, (attempted) vaginal/anal penetration, being forced to penetrate someone else).

The lifetime prevalence of sexual victimization for women was 81% which is 1.7 times higher than the estimate for men. About four in five women (78%) and two in five
men (41%) reported some form of hands-off sexual victimization. Hands-on victimization was reported by two in five women (42%) and one in five men (19%). The difference in victimization rates between women and men in the past 12 months was smaller compared to lifetime prevalence rates but still significant. More than half of women (55%) and a third of men (31%) experienced some form of hands-off sexual victimization in the past 12 months. Prevalence rates of hands-on victimization in the past 12 months were 10% and 6% for women and men, respectively.

The definitions :

Hands on :

Staring: Someone stared at me in a sexual way or looked at my intimate body parts (e.g., breasts, vagina, penis, anus) when I didn’t want it to happen.
Comments: Someone made teasing comments of a sexual nature about my body or appearance even though I didn’t want it to happen.
Showing sexual images: Someone showed me sexual or obscene materials such as pictures, videos, (directly or over the internet (including email, social networks and chat platforms) even though I didn’t want to look at them. (This does not include mass mailings or spam.)
Calls or texts: Someone made unwelcome sexual or obscene phone calls or texts to me. Voyeurism: I caught someone watching me, taking photos or filming me when I didn’t want it to happen while I was undressing, nude or having sex.
Distribution of images: Someone distributed naked pictures or videos of me directly or over the internet (including email, social networks and chat platforms) when I didn’t want it to happen.
Exhibitionism: Someone showed their intimate body parts (e.g., breasts, vagina, penis, anus) to me in a sexual way and/or masturbated in front of me when I didn’t want to see it.
Forcing to show intimate body parts: Someone made me show my intimate body parts (e.g., breasts, vagina, penis, anus) (online or face-to-face) when I didn’t want to do it.

Hands-on sexual victimization

Sexual abuse (physical contact but no penetration)

Kissing: Someone kissed me against my will.
Touching in care: Someone touched my intimate body parts (e.g., breasts, vagina, penis, anus) during care against my will.
Fondling/rubbing: Someone fondled or rubbed up against my intimate body parts (e.g., breasts, vagina, penis, anus) against my will.
Undressing: Someone removed (some of) my clothes against my will.

Rape or attempted rape

Oral penetration: Someone had oral sex with me or made me give oral sex against my will. *Attempt of oral penetration: Someone tried, but did not succeed, to have oral sex with me or tried to make me give oral sex against my will.
Vaginal or anal penetration: Someone put their penis, finger(s) or object(s) into my vagina or anus against my will.
Attempt of vaginal or anal penetration: Someone tried, but did not succeed to put their penis, finger(s) or object(s) into my vagina or anus against my will.
Forcing to penetrate: Someone made me put my penis, finger(s) or object(s) into their (or someone’s) vagina or anus against my will.

As we see, being forced to penetrate an object is not considered rape. Moreover "forced to penetrate" is not included as rape attempt.

Title	Prevalence and Associated Factors of Sexual Victimization: Findings from a National Representative Sample of Belgian Adults Aged 16–69
Author	SamaelET
Upvotes	6
Comments	4
Date	August 12, 2022 10:40 PM UTC (3 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/Male_Studies
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/Male_Studies/comments/wmy6e3/prevalence_and_associated_factors_of_sexual/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/Male_Studies/prevalence-and-associated-factors-of-sexual.1215777 https://theredarchive.com/post/1215777

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