There are many factors which put an individual at risk for sexual violence perpetration on individual and societal levels. Individual risk factors include exposure to violence and an overall unhealthy lifestyle--alcohol and drug use, risky sexual choices, aggressiveness, hostility toward women, and exposure to sexually explicit media. One glaring risk factor--prior sexual victimization--is clearly not a choice and can likely be the cause of one engaging in the other risk factors as well as the cause of emotional risk factors like a lack of empathy and suicidal behavior.
Many factors in the home contribute to the risk of sexual perpetration as well as lead to many or most of the individual risk factors. Relationship and familial risk factors include physical, emotional or sexual childhood abuse; violent, unsupportive or detached parent-child relationships; and poverty. Surroundings of a community which lacks employment opportunities, judicial support, and laws and sanctions against sexual violence also increases the risk. Overall, a society which supports or tolerates male superiority, sexual aggressiveness and violence is a risk factor.
There are fewer protective factors. Parental support and reasoning, a sense of empathy, academic achievement and emotional health are listed as protective factors; although I would think that an overall environment which is supportive and intolerant of violence and sexual aggressiveness, basically anything opposing the risk factors, would be protective.
In reading the risk factors, it appeared to me that the majority of the risk factors are really out of the hands of those exposed to them. Many of the risk factors would likely be the result of abuse, an abusive family, a lack of a support system, or living in surroundings of violence and tolerance to sexual violence. Considering this, building resiliency and providing support may be the best way to offset the risk factors to sexual perpetration.
When I first read the article, I was reminded a lot of cases that talk about perpetrators coming from "rough" backgrounds. Those backgrounds often involve abusive families and living with violence and tolerance to violence at a young age. I cam to a similar conclusion as you that building resiliency and providing support might be way to offset risk factors. I really enjoy your summaries, because it's clear that these topics are ones that you are passionate about.
There are various aspects to what surrounds an individual whom is at risk to sexual violence perpetration. Both individual and external factors are at play. Something to keep in mind as well is that not all of those “at risk” become perpetrators. On an individual level, factors or a choice such as unhealthy behaviors that lead to alcohol and drug use and delinquency. But many factors are taken from the individual such as empathetic deficits, suicidal behavior, coercive sexual fantasies are all linked to imbalances in the brain. Relationship factors can come into influence individual ones as well, family environment that is characterized by physical violence and conflict can lead to easy acceptance of violence, hostility towards women and adherence to traditional gender role norms. Other relationship factors are emotionally unsupportive family environment, poor parent-child relationships (especially with fathers), association with sexually aggressive, hyper masculine and delinquent peers and involvement in a violent or abusive intimate relationship. The most striking and discussed factor that is completely out of any individuals control is a childhood history of physical, sexual or emotional abuse. Other factors that are coming more to light for the general public as of late are social factors. Social norms that support sexual violence is a huge influence in seeing sexual violence as acceptable. Societal norms that support male superiority and sexual entitlement, norms that maintain women’s inferiority and sexual submissiveness tell society that it is alright to treat women poorly. Unfortunately week laws and policies related to sexual violence and gender equity is a factor that is also a roadblock in changing those social norms.
Risk factors are those that contribute to an outcome. In this case, that outcome is sexual violence. These factors do not directly fit someone to be involved with sexual violence, although they do raise the chances. Risk factors do not come from a single source. These factors are numerous and include one’s relational, community, and societal surroundings.
Comprehending each factor can help to prevent ways in which sexual assault can occur; these are separate components known as protective factors. Protective factors can be implemented wherever risk factors are and are implemented by one’s element. These include how parents resolve dilemmas, mental strength, academic achievement, and how one shows empathy for others.
What are the risk factors Sexual violence has been a ongoing situation for years and is gradually growing; learning about the factors of why this is increasing can send us to a solution to decrease sexual violence. Some factors that lead to the increase likelihood of sexual violence are Individual risk factors the emotions and Muensters one may take that can lead to sexual violence; Alcohol and drug use, Delinquency, Emphatic deficits, Preference for impersonal sex and sexual-risk taking, Exposure to sexually explicit media, Hostility towards women, Adherence to traditional gender role norms. Relationship Factors is one of the main factors that's hard to leave; the way your partner may act could be due to Family environment characterized by physical violence and conflict, , Involvement in a violent or abusive intimate relationship. Community Factors has to do with a lack of help from a individual that include Poverty, General tolerance of sexual violence within the community, Weak community sanctions against sexual violence perpetrators. Societal Factors is when the individual is effected by there peers, community or even family member that include 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 sexual violence and gender equity, High levels of crime and other forms of violence. Raising awareness about the issue and ways we can all prevent it, can help us stop sexual violence before it starts. Knowing the factors that lead to sexual violence whether they are related to individual behavior, family environments, community settings, or our society can help communities plan prevention strategies.
what are the protective factors? The problem with sexually violence has to do with the use of alcohol excessively, having sec at a young age, acting without thinking and behaving in ways that are hostile, unfriendly, and don’t consider the feelings of others; but the main factor is being exposed to social norms, or shared beliefs, that sexual violence is acceptable. Sexual violence can be defined in many ways for example physical act, such as unwanted touching and unwanted sexual penetration. Violence may be afraid to say something to a police officer, friends, or even a family moment; being ashamed or embarrassed is one of the main problems today with sexual violence and it needs to be spoken about more and others need to be more area of what sexual violence is. Protective Factors to sexual violence include, healthier relationships, improved grades, decreases in bullying, increased school attendance, reduced school behavior problems, increased use of condoms, increased activism, increased number of students willing to volunteer their time to prevention efforts. Another way to go about it is Parental use of reasoning to resolve family conflict, Emotional health and contentedness, Academic achievement, Empathy and concern for how one’s actions affect others. Improving adolescent health worldwide requires improving young people’s daily life with families and peers and in schools, addressing risk and protective factors in the social environment at a population level, and focusing on factors that are protective across various health outcomes. The most effective interventions are probably structural changes to improve access to education and employment for young people and to reduce the risk of transport-related injury.
What are the risk factors Sexual violence has been a ongoing situation for years and is gradually growing; learning about the factors of why this is increasing can send us to a solution to decrease sexual violence. Some factors that lead to the increase likelihood of sexual violence are Individual risk factors the emotions and Muensters one may take that can lead to sexual violence; Alcohol and drug use, Delinquency, Emphatic deficits, Preference for impersonal sex and sexual-risk taking, Exposure to sexually explicit media, Hostility towards women, Adherence to traditional gender role norms. Relationship Factors is one of the main factors that's hard to leave; the way your partner may act could be due to Family environment characterized by physical violence and conflict, , Involvement in a violent or abusive intimate relationship. Community Factors has to do with a lack of help from a individual that include Poverty, General tolerance of sexual violence within the community, Weak community sanctions against sexual violence perpetrators. Societal Factors is when the individual is effected by there peers, community or even family member that include 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 sexual violence and gender equity, High levels of crime and other forms of violence. Raising awareness about the issue and ways we can all prevent it, can help us stop sexual violence before it starts. Knowing the factors that lead to sexual violence whether they are related to individual behavior, family environments, community settings, or our society can help communities plan prevention strategies.
what are the protective factors? The problem with sexually violence has to do with the use of alcohol excessively, having sec at a young age, acting without thinking and behaving in ways that are hostile, unfriendly, and don’t consider the feelings of others; but the main factor is being exposed to social norms, or shared beliefs, that sexual violence is acceptable. Sexual violence can be defined in many ways for example physical act, such as unwanted touching and unwanted sexual penetration. Violence may be afraid to say something to a police officer, friends, or even a family moment; being ashamed or embarrassed is one of the main problems today with sexual violence and it needs to be spoken about more and others need to be more area of what sexual violence is. Protective Factors to sexual violence include, healthier relationships, improved grades, decreases in bullying, increased school attendance, reduced school behavior problems, increased use of condoms, increased activism, increased number of students willing to volunteer their time to prevention efforts. Another way to go about it is Parental use of reasoning to resolve family conflict, Emotional health and contentedness, Academic achievement, Empathy and concern for how one’s actions affect others. Improving adolescent health worldwide requires improving young people’s daily life with families and peers and in schools, addressing risk and protective factors in the social environment at a population level, and focusing on factors that are protective across various health outcomes. The most effective interventions are probably structural changes to improve access to education and employment for young people and to reduce the risk of transport-related injury.
There are multiple factors that can contribute to the likelihood of someone becoming or continuing to be a perpetrator of sexual violence. These risk factors are broken down into categories, which include: Individual, Relationship, Community, and societal factors. The individual risk factors look at the personality and behaviors, of the individual to determine if they are showing any sighs of risk. The individual factors include:
• Alcohol and drug use • Delinquency • Empathic deficits • General aggressiveness and acceptance of violence • Early sexual initiation • Coercive sexual fantasies • Preference for impersonal sex and sexual-risk taking • Exposure to sexually explicit media • Hostility towards women • Adherence to traditional gender role norms • Hyper-masculinity • Suicidal behavior • Prior sexual victimization or perpetration
The next category is relationship factors. Here the individual’s family/social life is looked at to see what type of relationships they have. The relationship factors include:
• Family environment characterized by physical violence and conflict • Childhood history of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse • Emotionally unsupportive family environment • Poor parent-child relationships, particularly with fathers • Association with sexually aggressive, hypermasculine, and delinquent peers • Involvement in a violent or abusive intimate relationship
Third, community factors are looked at to understand what in the community could be contributing to sexual violence perpetration. The community factors include:
• Poverty • 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
Last, societal factors are examined to determine what throughout society could be contributing to sexual violence perpetration. Societal factors include: • 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 sexual violence and gender equity • High levels of crime and other forms of violence Protective Factors For Sexual Violence Perpetration:
There is limited information regarding protective factors for sexual violence perpetration but research in this area is continuing to progress. Researchers have determined, thus far, that there are four factors associated with protecting against sexual violence perpetration. These protective factors include:
• Parental use of reasoning to resolve family conflict • Emotional health and connectedness • Academic achievement • Empathy and concern for how one’s actions affect others
The risk factors for sexual violence perpetration were broken up into four different categories: individual, relational, community, and societal factors. It was mentioned that these specific factors could easily contribute to SV perpetration but could not be the direct cause.
Under the individual risk factors I was able to notice a trend. It seemed like many of the factors were relating to the type of exposure the individual received. For example, drug and alcohol abuse, exposure to sexually explicit media, prior sexual victimization or perpetration, and delinquency. Among those individual factors there was also: empathic deficits, aggressiveness and acceptance of violence, coercive sexual fantasies, hyper-masculinity and suicidal behavior.
Under the relational risk factors, many were basically relating to the type of abuse the individual might have fallen victim to. The individual might have been in a family environment that was known for their physical violence, or the family was unsupportive emotionally. Also, if the relationship between individual and father was poor than that could also cause problems. Most importantly, it the individual was once a victim of sexual violence then that could easily contribute to SV perpetration.
Community factors focused more on the type of environment an individual grew up in; it was not just within the family but in the community surrounding them. The individual could have grown in an area known for their poverty or lack of employment opportunities. Also, in an area where sexual violence was seen as “ok”.
Lastly, societal factors are those that can be contributed to how society might have influenced an individual to engage in sexual violence. The societal norms that support sexual violence, male superiority and sexual entitlement are two that target the overall idea of “social norms”.
Protective Factors:
Protective factors are the factors that can minimize the probability of becoming a victim of SV. These factors are also broken up into the same categories as risk factors, which include: individual, relational, community, and societal.
Not many factors were provided by the CDC but with just the few that were given, it’s easy to see what areas are important to focus on. As an example, the protective factor that involves parental reasoning and resolving of family conflict, we can see how it centers in the importance of the overall health within a family home. Emotional health and connectedness, academic achievement, and empathy and concern of how one’s actions affect others are also mentioned as part of protective factors.
The risk factors for sexual violence seemed to me like they could easily be combated with some small changes in societal attitude, and education about how to protect our children, and ourselves.
Many, if not all of the factors in the individual and relational sections seemed to me like they stem from the home that a person grow up in. Alcohol an drug use, delinquency, adherence to traditional gender roles, and hyper-masculinity, are very likely to be learned in the home. Same with the relational factors: family environment characterized by violence and conflict, emotionally unsupportive family environment, poor parent-child relationships. How many people are exposed to these risk factors before they even step outside their front door each morning?
The societal and community risk factors scared me the most, because they are near impossible to get away from if the culture you live in has them, and I can identify many of them where I am living now. Poverty, for example, is always growing, and not many people are finding a way out. How many people are being sucked into another risk factor for sexual violence everyday? Poverty goes hand in hand with lack of employment opportunities. I have to wonder if that correlates at all with lack of job satisfaction, If a person hates the job they're working, are they more likely to become a perpetrator?
The societal risk disappoint me the most because they come from archaic ideas and social norms, that shouldn't be prevalent anymore, but it is impossible to deny they are. Societal norms that support sexual violence, to norms that maintain women's inferiority and sexual submissiveness. I would like to say that I live in a culture that does not promote these, and thus, reduces the chances of a person becoming a sexual violence perpetrator, but that would be a lie.
The protective factors broke my heart more than anything. How are there so few? How has there been so much research to point out who is going to commit the act with out more research going into how to protect them. This feels negligent to me. It also feels as if these are things you are typically going to find in middle class, affluent homes. Maybe it is stereotypical of me but when I read this list:
Parental use of reasoning to resolve family conflict Emotional health and connectedness Academic achievement Empathy and concern for how one’s actions affect others
I see a mid-forties man, about to leave for his good paying job, telling his kids to stand up for the little guy as he straightens his tie and walks out the door. I'm not saying you won't find these factors in various homes across various socio-economic casts, but it doesn't seem fair that we know so few protective factors.
There are a variety of factors that are associated with a greater likelihood of sexual violence. Contributing factors include, individual, societal, relational, and community alike. Individual factors include: alcohol and drug use, early exposure to sexual acts and sexual media, and many more. Societal contributing factors include: societal norms that are accepting of male inferiority and sense of entitlement, weak laws that support gender equality, and societal norms that support sexual violence, to name a few. A childhood history of sexual or emotional abuse, poor parent relationships, and family environment with physical violence fall within the relational factors. Community factors that contribute are: poverty, general tolerance of sexual violence within the community, lack of employment opportunities, etc..
Protective factors fall into the same categories, however, I was surprised to find that there were so few. Parental use of reasoning to resolve conflict, emotional health and connectedness, academic achievement, and empathy and concern for how one’s actions affect others were the only protective factors listed.
There are many factors which put an individual at risk for sexual violence perpetration on individual and societal levels. Individual risk factors include exposure to violence and an overall unhealthy lifestyle--alcohol and drug use, risky sexual choices, aggressiveness, hostility toward women, and exposure to sexually explicit media. One glaring risk factor--prior sexual victimization--is clearly not a choice and can likely be the cause of one engaging in the other risk factors as well as the cause of emotional risk factors like a lack of empathy and suicidal behavior.
ReplyDeleteMany factors in the home contribute to the risk of sexual perpetration as well as lead to many or most of the individual risk factors. Relationship and familial risk factors include physical, emotional or sexual childhood abuse; violent, unsupportive or detached parent-child relationships; and poverty. Surroundings of a community which lacks employment opportunities, judicial support, and laws and sanctions against sexual violence also increases the risk. Overall, a society which supports or tolerates male superiority, sexual aggressiveness and violence is a risk factor.
There are fewer protective factors. Parental support and reasoning, a sense of empathy, academic achievement and emotional health are listed as protective factors; although I would think that an overall environment which is supportive and intolerant of violence and sexual aggressiveness, basically anything opposing the risk factors, would be protective.
In reading the risk factors, it appeared to me that the majority of the risk factors are really out of the hands of those exposed to them. Many of the risk factors would likely be the result of abuse, an abusive family, a lack of a support system, or living in surroundings of violence and tolerance to sexual violence. Considering this, building resiliency and providing support may be the best way to offset the risk factors to sexual perpetration.
When I first read the article, I was reminded a lot of cases that talk about perpetrators coming from "rough" backgrounds. Those backgrounds often involve abusive families and living with violence and tolerance to violence at a young age. I cam to a similar conclusion as you that building resiliency and providing support might be way to offset risk factors. I really enjoy your summaries, because it's clear that these topics are ones that you are passionate about.
DeleteThere are various aspects to what surrounds an individual whom is at risk to sexual violence perpetration. Both individual and external factors are at play. Something to keep in mind as well is that not all of those “at risk” become perpetrators. On an individual level, factors or a choice such as unhealthy behaviors that lead to alcohol and drug use and delinquency. But many factors are taken from the individual such as empathetic deficits, suicidal behavior, coercive sexual fantasies are all linked to imbalances in the brain. Relationship factors can come into influence individual ones as well, family environment that is characterized by physical violence and conflict can lead to easy acceptance of violence, hostility towards women and adherence to traditional gender role norms. Other relationship factors are emotionally unsupportive family environment, poor parent-child relationships (especially with fathers), association with sexually aggressive, hyper masculine and delinquent peers and involvement in a violent or abusive intimate relationship. The most striking and discussed factor that is completely out of any individuals control is a childhood history of physical, sexual or emotional abuse. Other factors that are coming more to light for the general public as of late are social factors. Social norms that support sexual violence is a huge influence in seeing sexual violence as acceptable. Societal norms that support male superiority and sexual entitlement, norms that maintain women’s inferiority and sexual submissiveness tell society that it is alright to treat women poorly. Unfortunately week laws and policies related to sexual violence and gender equity is a factor that is also a roadblock in changing those social norms.
ReplyDeleteRisk factors are those that contribute to an outcome. In this case, that outcome is sexual violence. These factors do not directly fit someone to be involved with sexual violence, although they do raise the chances. Risk factors do not come from a single source. These factors are numerous and include one’s relational, community, and societal surroundings.
ReplyDeleteComprehending each factor can help to prevent ways in which sexual assault can occur; these are separate components known as protective factors. Protective factors can be implemented wherever risk factors are and are implemented by one’s element. These include how parents resolve dilemmas, mental strength, academic achievement, and how one shows empathy for others.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the risk factors
ReplyDeleteSexual violence has been a ongoing situation for years and is gradually growing; learning about the factors of why this is increasing can send us to a solution to decrease sexual violence. Some factors that lead to the increase likelihood of sexual violence are Individual risk factors the emotions and Muensters one may take that can lead to sexual violence; Alcohol and drug use, Delinquency, Emphatic deficits, Preference for impersonal sex and sexual-risk taking, Exposure to sexually explicit media, Hostility towards women, Adherence to traditional gender role norms. Relationship Factors is one of the main factors that's hard to leave; the way your partner may act could be due to Family environment characterized by physical violence and conflict, , Involvement in a violent or abusive intimate relationship. Community Factors has to do with a lack of help from a individual that include Poverty, General tolerance of sexual violence within the community, Weak community sanctions against sexual violence perpetrators. Societal Factors is when the individual is effected by there peers, community or even family member that include 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 sexual violence and gender equity, High levels of crime and other forms of violence. Raising awareness about the issue and ways we can all prevent it, can help us stop sexual violence before it starts. Knowing the factors that lead to sexual violence whether they are related to individual behavior, family environments, community settings, or our society can help communities plan prevention strategies.
what are the protective factors?
The problem with sexually violence has to do with the use of alcohol excessively, having sec at a young age, acting without thinking and behaving in ways that are hostile, unfriendly, and don’t consider the feelings of others; but the main factor is being exposed to social norms, or shared beliefs, that sexual violence is acceptable. Sexual violence can be defined in many ways for example physical act, such as unwanted touching and unwanted sexual penetration. Violence may be afraid to say something to a police officer, friends, or even a family moment; being ashamed or embarrassed is one of the main problems today with sexual violence and it needs to be spoken about more and others need to be more area of what sexual violence is. Protective Factors to sexual violence include, healthier relationships, improved grades, decreases in bullying, increased school attendance, reduced school behavior problems, increased use of condoms, increased activism, increased number of students willing to volunteer their time to prevention efforts. Another way to go about it is Parental use of reasoning to resolve family conflict, Emotional health and contentedness, Academic achievement, Empathy and concern for how one’s actions affect others. Improving adolescent health worldwide requires improving young people’s daily life with families and peers and in schools, addressing risk and protective factors in the social environment at a population level, and focusing on factors that are protective across various health outcomes. The most effective interventions are probably structural changes to improve access to education and employment for young people and to reduce the risk of transport-related injury.
What are the risk factors
ReplyDeleteSexual violence has been a ongoing situation for years and is gradually growing; learning about the factors of why this is increasing can send us to a solution to decrease sexual violence. Some factors that lead to the increase likelihood of sexual violence are Individual risk factors the emotions and Muensters one may take that can lead to sexual violence; Alcohol and drug use, Delinquency, Emphatic deficits, Preference for impersonal sex and sexual-risk taking, Exposure to sexually explicit media, Hostility towards women, Adherence to traditional gender role norms. Relationship Factors is one of the main factors that's hard to leave; the way your partner may act could be due to Family environment characterized by physical violence and conflict, , Involvement in a violent or abusive intimate relationship. Community Factors has to do with a lack of help from a individual that include Poverty, General tolerance of sexual violence within the community, Weak community sanctions against sexual violence perpetrators. Societal Factors is when the individual is effected by there peers, community or even family member that include 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 sexual violence and gender equity, High levels of crime and other forms of violence. Raising awareness about the issue and ways we can all prevent it, can help us stop sexual violence before it starts. Knowing the factors that lead to sexual violence whether they are related to individual behavior, family environments, community settings, or our society can help communities plan prevention strategies.
what are the protective factors?
The problem with sexually violence has to do with the use of alcohol excessively, having sec at a young age, acting without thinking and behaving in ways that are hostile, unfriendly, and don’t consider the feelings of others; but the main factor is being exposed to social norms, or shared beliefs, that sexual violence is acceptable. Sexual violence can be defined in many ways for example physical act, such as unwanted touching and unwanted sexual penetration. Violence may be afraid to say something to a police officer, friends, or even a family moment; being ashamed or embarrassed is one of the main problems today with sexual violence and it needs to be spoken about more and others need to be more area of what sexual violence is. Protective Factors to sexual violence include, healthier relationships, improved grades, decreases in bullying, increased school attendance, reduced school behavior problems, increased use of condoms, increased activism, increased number of students willing to volunteer their time to prevention efforts. Another way to go about it is Parental use of reasoning to resolve family conflict, Emotional health and contentedness, Academic achievement, Empathy and concern for how one’s actions affect others. Improving adolescent health worldwide requires improving young people’s daily life with families and peers and in schools, addressing risk and protective factors in the social environment at a population level, and focusing on factors that are protective across various health outcomes. The most effective interventions are probably structural changes to improve access to education and employment for young people and to reduce the risk of transport-related injury.
Risk Factors For Sexual Violence Perpetration:
ReplyDeleteThere are multiple factors that can contribute to the likelihood of someone becoming or continuing to be a perpetrator of sexual violence. These risk factors are broken down into categories, which include: Individual, Relationship, Community, and societal factors. The individual risk factors look at the personality and behaviors, of the individual to determine if they are showing any sighs of risk. The individual factors include:
• Alcohol and drug use
• Delinquency
• Empathic deficits
• General aggressiveness and acceptance of violence
• Early sexual initiation
• Coercive sexual fantasies
• Preference for impersonal sex and sexual-risk taking
• Exposure to sexually explicit media
• Hostility towards women
• Adherence to traditional gender role norms
• Hyper-masculinity
• Suicidal behavior
• Prior sexual victimization or perpetration
The next category is relationship factors. Here the individual’s family/social life is looked at to see what type of relationships they have. The relationship factors include:
• Family environment characterized by physical violence and conflict
• Childhood history of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse
• Emotionally unsupportive family environment
• Poor parent-child relationships, particularly with fathers
• Association with sexually aggressive, hypermasculine, and delinquent peers
• Involvement in a violent or abusive intimate relationship
Third, community factors are looked at to understand what in the community could be contributing to sexual violence perpetration. The community factors include:
• Poverty
• 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
Last, societal factors are examined to determine what throughout society could be contributing to sexual violence perpetration. Societal factors include:
• 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 sexual violence and gender equity
• High levels of crime and other forms of violence
Protective Factors For Sexual Violence Perpetration:
There is limited information regarding protective factors for sexual violence perpetration but research in this area is continuing to progress. Researchers have determined, thus far, that there are four factors associated with protecting against sexual violence perpetration. These protective factors include:
• Parental use of reasoning to resolve family conflict
• Emotional health and connectedness
• Academic achievement
• Empathy and concern for how one’s actions affect others
Risk Factors:
ReplyDeleteThe risk factors for sexual violence perpetration were broken up into four different categories: individual, relational, community, and societal factors. It was mentioned that these specific factors could easily contribute to SV perpetration but could not be the direct cause.
Under the individual risk factors I was able to notice a trend. It seemed like many of the factors were relating to the type of exposure the individual received. For example, drug and alcohol abuse, exposure to sexually explicit media, prior sexual victimization or perpetration, and delinquency. Among those individual factors there was also: empathic deficits, aggressiveness and acceptance of violence, coercive sexual fantasies, hyper-masculinity and suicidal behavior.
Under the relational risk factors, many were basically relating to the type of abuse the individual might have fallen victim to. The individual might have been in a family environment that was known for their physical violence, or the family was unsupportive emotionally. Also, if the relationship between individual and father was poor than that could also cause problems. Most importantly, it the individual was once a victim of sexual violence then that could easily contribute to SV perpetration.
Community factors focused more on the type of environment an individual grew up in; it was not just within the family but in the community surrounding them. The individual could have grown in an area known for their poverty or lack of employment opportunities. Also, in an area where sexual violence was seen as “ok”.
Lastly, societal factors are those that can be contributed to how society might have influenced an individual to engage in sexual violence. The societal norms that support sexual violence, male superiority and sexual entitlement are two that target the overall idea of “social norms”.
Protective Factors:
Protective factors are the factors that can minimize the probability of becoming a victim of SV. These factors are also broken up into the same categories as risk factors, which include: individual, relational, community, and societal.
Not many factors were provided by the CDC but with just the few that were given, it’s easy to see what areas are important to focus on. As an example, the protective factor that involves parental reasoning and resolving of family conflict, we can see how it centers in the importance of the overall health within a family home. Emotional health and connectedness, academic achievement, and empathy and concern of how one’s actions affect others are also mentioned as part of protective factors.
The risk factors for sexual violence seemed to me like they could easily be combated with some small changes in societal attitude, and education about how to protect our children, and ourselves.
ReplyDeleteMany, if not all of the factors in the individual and relational sections seemed to me like they stem from the home that a person grow up in. Alcohol an drug use, delinquency, adherence to traditional gender roles, and hyper-masculinity, are very likely to be learned in the home. Same with the relational factors: family environment characterized by violence and conflict, emotionally unsupportive family environment, poor parent-child relationships. How many people are exposed to these risk factors before they even step outside their front door each morning?
The societal and community risk factors scared me the most, because they are near impossible to get away from if the culture you live in has them, and I can identify many of them where I am living now. Poverty, for example, is always growing, and not many people are finding a way out. How many people are being sucked into another risk factor for sexual violence everyday? Poverty goes hand in hand with lack of employment opportunities. I have to wonder if that correlates at all with lack of job satisfaction, If a person hates the job they're working, are they more likely to become a perpetrator?
The societal risk disappoint me the most because they come from archaic ideas and social norms, that shouldn't be prevalent anymore, but it is impossible to deny they are. Societal norms that support sexual violence, to norms that maintain women's inferiority and sexual submissiveness. I would like to say that I live in a culture that does not promote these, and thus, reduces the chances of a person becoming a sexual violence perpetrator, but that would be a lie.
The protective factors broke my heart more than anything. How are there so few? How has there been so much research to point out who is going to commit the act with out more research going into how to protect them. This feels negligent to me. It also feels as if these are things you are typically going to find in middle class, affluent homes. Maybe it is stereotypical of me but when I read this list:
Parental use of reasoning to resolve family conflict
Emotional health and connectedness
Academic achievement
Empathy and concern for how one’s actions affect others
I see a mid-forties man, about to leave for his good paying job, telling his kids to stand up for the little guy as he straightens his tie and walks out the door. I'm not saying you won't find these factors in various homes across various socio-economic casts, but it doesn't seem fair that we know so few protective factors.
There are a variety of factors that are associated with a greater likelihood of sexual violence. Contributing factors include, individual, societal, relational, and community alike. Individual factors include: alcohol and drug use, early exposure to sexual acts and sexual media, and many more. Societal contributing factors include: societal norms that are accepting of male inferiority and sense of entitlement, weak laws that support gender equality, and societal norms that support sexual violence, to name a few. A childhood history of sexual or emotional abuse, poor parent relationships, and family environment with physical violence fall within the relational factors. Community factors that contribute are: poverty, general tolerance of sexual violence within the community, lack of employment opportunities, etc..
ReplyDeleteProtective factors fall into the same categories, however, I was surprised to find that there were so few. Parental use of reasoning to resolve conflict, emotional health and connectedness, academic achievement, and empathy and concern for how one’s actions affect others were the only protective factors listed.