Sexual assault and rape in context: an event-based analysis of relationship type, temporal and spatial settings in a large sample of French higher education students

The present research provides an extensive description of relational, spatial and temporal aspects of sexual violence. Participants responding to a national survey in France (N = 66,767, including 64% females) completed an online questionnaire targeting incidents they had experienced of attempted unwanted sexual touching, unwanted sexual touching, attempted rape and completed rape since entering higher education. We observed that 9% of males, 24% of females and 33% of transgender/non-binary/queer people had suffered at least one form of violence since starting higher education. With higher levels of sexual violence, the proximity of the perpetrator and the victim was also more likely to be close. In more than half of the cases of attempted or completed rapes, the perpetrator was a close friend, an ex-partner or a current partner, which was consistent with the physical location of the rapes, which 80% of the time occurred at the perpetrator's or the victim's place. In a quarter of rapes, the first contact with the perpetrator had taken place online. In conclusion, sexual victimisation takes place in specific relationship contexts and spatial and temporal settings.PRACTICAL IMPACT STATEMENTIn most of attempted rapes or completed rapes respectively, the perpetrator was a close friend, an ex-partner, or a current partner, and in a third of cases of completed rapes or attempted rapes, the victims reported that the offender used physical constraint. This observation may justify the inclusion of verbal and physical self-defense training within preventive programs.