Sexual Violence

Refuge House, Inc.

Ghia Kelly, MSW Community Education Director

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Sexual Violence is ANY unwanted sexual contact.

“Rape” is only one of many forms of sexual violence.

POWER & CONTROL

◦ Sexual Touching/ Fondling ◦ Forcing or pressuring a partner to consent to sexual activity ◦ Rape/ Attempted Rape (stranger, marital, date/ acquaintance) ◦ Attempting to have intercourse with a person who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs ◦ Sexual coercion and manipulation ◦ Sexual harassment/ Threats

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Like homelessness, sexual violence can affect ANYONE. Victims and perpetrators come from all social backgrounds, faith communities, and racial/ethnic groups.

Violence occurs in same-sex relationships.

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Every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted.

In 2007, there were 248,300 victims of sexual assault.

17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape.

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1 out of every 6 women will be the victim of sexual assault during her lifetime.

1 in 33 men will be victimized in their lifetime.

College age women are 4 times more likely to be sexually assaulted.

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72% of teens think watching TV with a lot of sexual content influences their peers' behavior somewhat or a lot.

Programs with sexual content average 4.4 scenes per hour.

On average, music videos contain 93 sexual situations per hour, including 11 hard-core scenes depicting behavior like intercourse and oral sex.

Watching a lot of sexual content on TV and listening to sexually explicit music lyrics increase the chances that a teen will have sex at an earlier age.

60% of female video game characters are presented in a sexualized fashion.

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Regrettably there is a lack of research on the prevalence of rape in the LGBT community.

◦ One study reported that 52% of the LGBT people had been raped by an individual of the same gender. ◦ It is estimated that approximately 10% of hate crimes against members of the LGBT communities involve sexual assault. ◦ Due to the heightened homophobia in the United States, LGBT individuals are at a greater risk for sexual assaults by strangers.

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Not being taken seriously or having their experience minimized; not being understood.

Not having their experience labeled as sexual assault or rape.

Being treated in a homophobic manner by the police, hospital, rape crisis center and others.

Being blamed for the assault.

Being “outed�.

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Victims of Sexual Assault are:

◦ 3 times more likely to suffer from depression ◦ 6 times more likely to suffer from PTSD ◦ 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol ◦ 26 times more likely to abuse drugs ◦ 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide

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Examine your views on rape Remember everyone’s reaction to sexual violence is different Believe the victim Refrain from judging or blaming Listen & Ask gentle questions Do not push for details Help process options without telling them what to do.