Is sexual victimization gender specific? - The prevalence of forced sexual activity among men and women in Denmark, and self-reported well-being among survivors

Vanita Sundaram, Bjarne Laursen, Karin Helweg-Larsen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The present study investigates the prevalence of sexual victimization and correlations between sexual victimization and indicators of poor health in two representative samples of men and women in Denmark. Specifically, the authors explore the prevalence of self-reported victimization among adolescents (N = 5,829) and adults (N = 3,932) and analyze differences in selfreported health outcomes between male and female victims and corresponding controls. Gender differences are found in the reported prevalence of sexual victimization. Significantly more females than males reported forced sexual experiences in both samples. Associations between sexual victimization and poor health outcomes are found for both genders. Comparable patterns of association for men and women are found on a number of variables, particularly those pertaining to risk behavior.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1414-1440
Number of pages27
JournalJournal of interpersonal violence
Volume23
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2008

Keywords

  • sexual victimization
  • gender
  • health
  • risk behavior
  • Denmark
  • ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES
  • INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE
  • GENERAL-POPULATION
  • SUBSTANCE USE
  • ABUSE HISTORY
  • RISK-FACTORS
  • DRUG-USE
  • HEALTH
  • ADOLESCENTS
  • ASSAULT

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