Sexual violence is a serious public health problem that affects thousands of Coloradans every year. The lifetime prevalence of sexual violence by any perpetrator for women in Colorado is 20.5 percent, compared to 19.1 percent nationally. Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS) results show that 6.3 percent of high school students reported being physically forced to have sexual intercourse.
Where we live, work, learn and play determines nearly 80 percent of our health. While individual choices are important, environmental, social and economic factors largely determine the choices available. There is an opportunity to use the Public Health Approach to address these factors that impact sexual violence and many other health outcomes.
Social Norms
Strict gender roles encourage the perpetration of sexual violence and other types of violent behavior. In addition, strict gender roles may create social and political structures that leave women vulnerable, socially, politically and economically. Modifying norms that tolerate violence is essential for sexual violence prevention.
Economic Stability and Supports
Research shows that economic stability — for individuals, families, and communities — reduces the risk of sexual violence.
At the community level, a key driver of economic instability is gender inequality in education, employment, and income. Employer and community supports such as affordable child care or paid family leave enable women who are parents or caregivers to continue participating in the workforce, supporting themselves and their families.
Strategies aligned with this include working with employers across communities to establish or strengthen family-friendly policies (such as paid family and medical leave and flexible scheduling); building public support and ensuring the availability of affordable and quality childcare and elder care, and coordinating systems to increase WIC/SNAP enrollment in the community.
Connectedness
Poor neighborhood support/ cohesion and inadequate coordination of resources and services among community agencies have been linked to multiple forms of violence. Additionally, the lack of youth connection/commitment to school or caring adults has been linked to a higher risk of sexual violence.
Communities can take an active role in building connectedness and protective environments by instituionalizing skill-based curricula such as social emotional learning and comprehensive sex education across schools and districts; working in partnership with young people and community members to identify safe and unsafe spaces within a community and implementing policy changes or modifying the physical environment; and building public support to enact and enforce inclusive and supportive policies such as anti-harrassment policies that enumerate protections for LGBT young people and gender neutral bathrooms.
Sexual violence is also interconnected with several other health outcomes that our communities experience. Understanding these connections helps identify shared factors influencing mutliple forms of violence and opportunities to leverage strategies for increased reach and impact.
Students who report being bullied at school are 4 times more likely to also report being raped in their lifetime.
Students who report considering suicide are almost 6 times more likely to also report being raped in their lifetime.
Students who report missing school due to feeling unsafe are more than 5 times more likely to also report being raped in their lifetime.
Students who report using unprescribed prescription drugs are more than 4 times more likely to also report being raped in their lifetime.
It is critical we work with diverse communities to increase health and safety by addressing the root causes of sexual violence through primary prevention strategies that impact our communities.