Sexual Violence Prevention
Scientific Information:
Risk and Protective Factors
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Risk Factors for Sexual Violence Perpetration
Risk factors are associated with a greater likelihood of sexual violence (SV) perpetration. They are contributing factors and may or may not be direct causes. Not everyone who is identified as "at risk" becomes a perpetrator of violence.
A combination of individual, relational, community, and societal factors contribute to the risk of becoming a perpetrator of SV. Understanding these multilevel factors can help identify various opportunities for prevention.
NOTE: CDC focuses its efforts on preventing the first-time perpetration of sexual violence. For information on risk and protective factors related to victimization, see the
World Report on Violence and Health.
Risk Factors for Perpetration
Individual Factors
- Alcohol and drug use
- Coercive sexual fantasies
- Impulsive and antisocial tendencies
- Preference for impersonal sex
- Hostility towards women
- Hypermasculinity
- Childhood history of sexual and physical abuse
- Witnessed family violence as a child
Relationship Factors
- Association with sexually aggressive and delinquent peers
- Family environment characterized by physical violence and few resources
- Strong patriarchal relationship or familial environment
- Emotionally unsupportive familial environment
Community Factors
- Lack of employment opportunities
- Lack of institutional support from police and judicial system
- General tolerance of sexual violence within the community
- Weak community sanctions against sexual violence perpetrators
Societal Factors
- Poverty
- Societal norms that support sexual violence
- Societal norms that support male superiority and sexual entitlement
- Societal norms that maintain women's inferiority and sexual submissiveness
- Weak laws and policies related to gender equity
- High tolerance levels of crime and other forms of violence
Protective Factors
Protective factors may lessen the likelihood of sexual violence victimization or perpetration by buffering against risk. These factors can exist at individual, relational, community, and societal levels.
Additional Resources
Literature Reviews
- Acierno R, Resnick H, Kilpatrick DG, Saunders B, Best CL. Risk factors for rape, physical assault, and post-traumatic stress disorder in women: examination of differential multivariate relationships. Journal of Anxiety Disorders. 1999;13:541-63.
- Borowsky IW, Hogan M and Ireland M. Adolescent sexual aggression: risk and protective factors. Pediatrics. 1997;100;7-DOI:10.1542/peds.100.6.e7
- Champion HL, Foley KL, DuRant RH, Hensberry R, Altman D, Wolfson M. Adolescent sexual victimization, use of alcohol and other substances, and other health risk behaviors. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2004;35(4):321-8.
- Crowell NA, Burgess AW, editors. Understanding violence against women. Washington: National Academy Press;1996.
- Howard DE, Wang MQ. Risk profiles of adolescent girls who were victims of dating violence. Adolescence. 2003;38(149):1-14.
- Jewkes R, Sen P, Garcia-Moreno C. Sexual violence. In: Krug E, Dahlberg LL, Mercy JA, et al., editors. World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva (Switzerland): World Health Organization; 2002. p. 213-239.
- Malamuth NM. The confluence model as an organizing framework for research on sexually aggressive men: risk moderators, imagined aggression, and pornography consumption. In: Geen RG, Donnerstein E, editors. Human aggression: theories, research, and implications for social policy. San Diego: Academic Press; 1998. p. 229-45.
- Rickert VI, Wiemann CM, Vaughan RD, White JW. Rates and risk factors for sexual violence among an ethnically diverse sample of adolescents. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. 2004;158(12):1132-9.
- Wenzel SL, Tucker JS, Elliott MN, Marshall GN, Williamson SL. Physical violence against impoverished women: a longitudinal analysis of risk and protective factors. Women's Health Issues. 2004;14(5):144-54.
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Content Source:
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence
Prevention
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