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Intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) deals withsexual violence within the context ofdomestic violence. Intimate partner sexual violence is defined by any unwanted sexual contact or activity by an intimate partner in order to control an individual through fear, threats, or violence.[1][2] Women are the primary victims of this type of violence.[3]
Domesticsexual violence, such as forced sex or maritalrape, may follow or be part of physical abuse, but is not always the case. InMexico and theUnited States, studies estimate that 40–52% of women experiencing physical violence by an intimate partner have also been sexually coerced by that partner.[4][5]
Sexual violence may occur without physical violence.[6] In the Indian state ofUttar Pradesh, in a representative sample of over 6000 men, 7% reported having sexually and physically abused their wives, 22% reported using sexual violence without physical violence and 17% reported that they had used physical violence alone.[7]
The percentage of women who are victims of physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner is around thirty.[8]
Aggressors can use different techniques to sexually abuse their partner.[9]
Emotional coercion can be seen through the use of threats, manipulation, harassment, and neglect. A study shows that the harm done through this type of coercion is comparable to that done by rape.[9]
Threats to a third party involve threatening the victim to do what the abuser wants or else they will inflict pain on people the victim cherishes.[9]
Threats of harm to the victim imply threatening to inflict pain on the victim, whether by the intimate partner or by outsiders.[9]
Physical force is the use of objects, substances, and/or one's own body to obtain sex. Homicide committed by an intimate partner is often preceded by sexual acts obtained through physical force.[9]
Intimate partner sexual violence is linked to sexual, physical, psychological, and reproductive damage.[9][3][10] The effects can vary in duration.[3]
Women who are victims of intimate partner sexual violence are at high risk of gettingHIV andSTIs.[9][11][10] One reason for this is that men who are violent in this manner usually have dangerous habits like engaging in sexual acts with many individuals.[11]
Victims of intimate partner sexual violence are also at risk of having undesirablepregnancies,abortions,miscarriages, andstillbirths.Infertility is another possible consequence of this violence on women.[9]
Young victims of intimate partner sexual violence can come to adopt unhealthy behaviors such as the use of alcohol and drugs.[10]
Children who have seen intimate partner sexual violence are profoundly affected psychologically. They can experiencepost-traumatic stress disorder,depression, andanxiety. Children are likely to incorporate what they see into their belief systems because they are accustomed to it.[9]
Studies indicate that sexual assault by an intimate partner is neither rare nor unique to any particular region of the world. For instance, 23% of women in NorthLondon,England, reported having been the victim of either an attempted or completed rape by a partner in their lifetime. Similar figures have been reported forGuadalajara,Mexico (23.0%),León, Nicaragua, (21.7%),Lima,Peru (22.5%), and for theMidlands Province inZimbabwe (25.0%). The prevalence of women sexually assaulted by an intimate partner in their lifetime (including attempted assaults) has also been estimated in a few national surveys (for example,Canada 8.0%,England,Wales andScotland (combined) 14.2%,Finland 5.9%,Switzerland 11.6% and theUnited States 7.7%, Nigeria 22.3).[12] inFrance According to estimates, 220,000 women are victims of violence, 94,000 are raped each year and at least 100 were killed by their partners in 2021. Around 30% of sexual violence offenders were found to have committed violence before, 29% of complaints cases failed to move from police to the judiciary and 80% are closed without getting justice.[13]
The table below summarizes some available data on the prevalence of sexual coercion by intimate partners.
| Percentage of adult women reporting sexual assaults by an intimate partner selected population-based surveys 1989 - 2000 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Study population | Year | Sample size | Assaulted in the past 12 monthsattempted or completed sex | Ever assaultedattempted or completed forced sex | Ever assaultedcompleted forced sex |
| Brazil | São Paulo | 2000 | 941 | 2.8% | 10.1% | |
| Pernambuco | 2000 | 1188 | 5.6% | 14.3% | ||
| Canada[14][15] | national | 1993 | 12300 | 8.0% | ||
| Toronto | 1991 to 1992 | 420 | 15.3% | |||
| Chile[16] | Santiago | 1997 | 310 | 9.1% | ||
| Finland[17] | national | 1997 to 1998 | 7051 | 2.5% | 5.9% | |
| Japan | Yokohama | 2000 | 1287 | 1.3% | 6.2% | |
| Indonesia[18] | Central Java | 1999 to 2000 | 765 | 13.0% | 22.0% | |
| Mexico[19] | Durango | 1996 | 384 | 42.0% | ||
| Guadalajara | 1996 | 650 | 15.0% | 23.0% | ||
| Nicaragua[20][21] | León | 1993 | 360 | 21.7% | ||
| Managua | 1997 | 378 | 17.7% | |||
| Peru | Lima | 2000 | 1086 | 7.1% | 22.5% | |
| Cusco | 2000 | 1534 | 22.9% | 46.7% | ||
| Puerto Rico[22] | national | 1993 to 1996 | 7079 | 5.7% | ||
| Sweden[23] | Umeå | 1991 | 251 | 7.5% | ||
| Switzerland | national | 1994 to 1995 | 1500 | 11.6% | ||
| Thailand | Bangkok | 2000 | 1 051 | 17.1% | 29.9% | |
| Nakhon Sawan | 2000 | 1027 | 15.6% | 28.9% | ||
| Turkey[24] | East and south-eastAnatolia | 1998 | 599 | 51.9% | ||
| United Kingdom[25][26] | England,Scotland andWales | 1989 | 1007 | 14.2% | ||
| North London | 1993 | 430 | 6.0% | 23.0% | ||
| United States[27] | national | 1995 to 1996 | 8000 | 0.2% | 7.7% | |
| West Bank andGaza Strip[28] | Palestinians | 1995 | 2410 | 27.0% | ||
| Zimbabwe[29] | Midlands Province | 1996 | 966 | 25.0% | ||
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