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The Basics
Sexual violence is a significant public health problem in the United States. Each year, millions of women, men, and children report completed or attempted sexual acts against their will. These reports are likely underestimates because victims fear being blamed, attacked again, or not being believed. The good news is that sexual violence can be prevented.
Risk Factors
A person’s experiences and relationships can contribute to the risk for perpetrating sexual violence. Key risk factors for perpetration include general aggressiveness and acceptance of violence, exposure to family violence, weak community sanctions against sexual violence, and social norms supportive of sexual violence and male sexual entitlement.
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Protective Factors
Research is helping identify factors that help decrease the likelihood of sexual violence perpetration. Parental use of reasoning to resolve family conflict, emotional health and connectedness, and empathy and concern for how one’s actions affect others serve as protective factors.
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Outcomes
Victims, families, and communities all feel the effects of this devastating issue. Repeated or single incidents of sexual violence can negatively impact health, causing life-long problems, such as chronic pain, sexually transmitted infections, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Learn More- Sexual Violence Prevention Resource for Action: A Compilation of the Best Available Evidence
The strategies in this resource include those with a focus on preventing SV from happening in the first place.
- Media Guide
Journalist or media professional? Review this guide to understand the causes and impact of sexual violence in the US.
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Prevention Resource for Action: A Compilation of the Best Available Evidence
This is a resource to help states and communities leverage the best available evidence to prevent ACEs from happening in the first place as well as lessen harms when ACEs do occur. It features six strategies drawn from the CDC Resources for Action to Prevent Violence.
- Sexual Violence on Campuses: Strategies for Prevention Resource
This technical assistance document is intended to be a starting place for practitioners and their campus partners to begin planning and implementing sexual violence prevention strategies in a college or university setting.
Visit PreventConnect for podcast and e-learning opportunities.
Visit the National Sexual Violence Resource Center for up to date news from the field and a library of additional resources.
This brief, developed by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and Berkeley Media Studies Group, provides guidance on how to frame sexual violence and construct messages about prevention.
* The titles of these documents changed in July 2023 to align with other Prevention Resources being developed by CDC's Injury Center. The original titles are noted in each document's suggested citation section.
- National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey
The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey is an ongoing survey that collects the most current and comprehensive national- and state-level data on intimate partner violence, sexual violence and stalking victimization in the United States.