title: Non-partner sexual violence against women in Spain: lifetime prevalence, perpetrators and consequences on mental health.
abstract: Research on sexual violence by non-partners based on representative samples is scarce. The objectives of the study were (i) to analyse the prevalence of different forms of non-partner sexual violence in Spain and their perpetrators, (ii) to analyse the consequences of non-partner sexual violence on mental health and (iii) to estimate the percentage of rapes that are reported to the police.
  
  
  
  Data from the 2015 Spanish Survey on Violence against Women, a nationally representative sample of 10 171 women, were used. Three mutually exclusive categories of non-partner sexual violence were created to measure the effects of violence on health. Logistic regression models were fitted.
  
  
  
  The lifetime prevalence of non-partner sexual violence was 7.2%. All the categories of non-partner sexual violence were strongly associated with the different health outcomes. Rape increased the likelihood of reporting anxiety [odds ratio, OR: 3.77 (2.65-5.37)], sadness because of feelings of worthlessness [OR: 3.31 (2.32-4.73)] and the desire to cry without reason [OR: 3.46 (2.45-4.89)] more than 3-fold. The relationship of the victim with the perpetrator varied by the type of sexual victimization. Less than 6% of rapes were reported to the police in 2014.
  
  
  
  All forms of non-partner sexual violence, from unwanted sexual touching to rape, can lead to a multitude of mental health consequences. A public health approach to addressing this violence is needed.
authors.affiliation: Government Office against Gender based Violence, Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, 28071Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Domenech Del Rio
authors.affiliation: Government Office against Gender based Violence, Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, 28071Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sirvent Garcia Del Valle
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011902:Rape / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: health; perpetrators; sexual violence