[Sexual violence in young men and women in Chile: results from a 2005 survey of university students].
BACKGROUND
Experiences of sexual violence in adolescence and young adulthood have received little attention in Chilean public health research and practice.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the prevalence and contexts of sexual violence victimization in a sample of university students in Chile.


METHODS
A self-administered, quantitative survey including items on sexual violence was completed by 484 female and 466 male students at a public university in Chile in 2005.


RESULTS
Thirty-one percent of women and 21 % of men reported having experienced at least one incident of sexual violence since age 14; the corresponding percentages for the past 12 months were 17% and 12%, respectively. The perpetrators were identified predominantly as an acquaintance; another important fraction corresponded to a partner or a date. Alcohol or other substances were involved in most cases. Among students who indicated having been assaulted, the incident was reported to the police by none of the men and 2% of women. Twenty one percent of women and 9% of men reported having experienced sexual violence before age 14.


CONCLUSIONS
The high prevalence of sexual violence found in this study indicates that this issue merits further public health attention in Chile.
Lehrer
Jocelyn A
JA
Centro de Estudios de la Prevención del SIDA, Universidad de California, San Francisco, USA. jlehrer1@gmail.com
Lehrer
Evelyn L
EL
Oyarzún
Pamela B
PB
D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult