Title: Risk Factors | Sexual Assault | INSPQ
Headings: Risk Factors
Risk Factors
A word of caution on the interpretation of risk factors
Factors associated with an increased risk of being sexually abused during childhood (0-18 years of age)
References

Content: being female, being between the ages of 6 and 11 (for intrafamilial sexual abuse alone), being between the ages of 12 and 17 (for extrafamilial sexual abuse alone), having experienced physical or sexual abuse in the past, and having special needs (handicap, intellectual disability, chronic illness, mental health problems). Relationship/family factors 4,5,6,7,8
Certain relationship factors have been associated with an increased risk of being sexually abused as a child. The most consistently reported factors include: limited supervision by parents, use of drugs and alcohol by parents, having parents with mental health problems, and being in a family where the mother’s spouse is not the child’s biological father (i.e. a stepfather family). Community factors 9,10
Community factors associated with an increased likelihood of being sexually abused as a child have been studied to only a limited extent thus far. However, some studies suggest that tolerance of sexual abuse and weak sanctions against sexual abuse within a community play a role in raising the risk. Societal factors 9,10
Various societal factors have been associated with an increased risk of being sexually abused as a child, in particular: hypersexualization of young people in a society, a history of denial in a society that child sexual abuse occurs, traditional norms regarding gender roles, the presence of an ideology of male sexual entitlement, weak legal sanctions against child sexual abuse, and social norms that support sexual abuse. Factors associated with an increased risk of being sexually assaulted during adulthood
Anyone can be sexually assaulted during his or her lifetime. However, adults with certain characteristics account for a larger share of sexual assault victims.