Sexual violence and mental health

The scale of sexual violence is staggering. It includes, but is not limited to, rape within marriage or dating relationships; rape by strangers or acquaintances; unwanted sexual advances or sexual harassment, including at work and at school; systematic rape, sexual slavery and other forms of violence, which are particularly common in armed conflicts; the sexual abuse of people with physical and mental disabilities; the sexual abuse of children; and 'customary' forms of sexual violence such as forced marriage or cohabitation and wife inheritance (World Health Organisation, 2012). In the USA, the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey reported that 19.3% of women participantsequating to 23 million women nationallyhad been raped in their lifetime In Europe, the European Union's Fundamental Rights Survey found that 5% (9 million) women had been raped since the age of 15 (with prevalence varying from 4 to 17% between participating states) and that 0.8% (1.5 million) had been raped in the last 12 months (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2014).