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: 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. The risk factors associated with being sexually assaulted during adulthood have been studied primarily for female victims and are related to a wide range of sexual assault situations, including intimate partner sexual assault in a conjugal context. The community and societal factors identified as being associated with an increased risk of being sexually assaulted as an adult show that sexual assault is a social phenomenon that concerns the population as a whole. Identifying factors that are associated with an increased risk of being sexually assaulted as an adult helps to better plan preventive interventions in the area of sexual assault by making it possible to target higher-risk groups and act on the risk factors concerned. Individual factors 9,10,11
Certain individual factors have been associated with an increased likelihood of being sexually assaulted as an adult. The most consistently reported factors include: