Factors associated with an increased risk of committing sexual assault

An update of this section is due in 2025.

Risk factors for sexual assault are conditions, circumstances or characteristics associated with an individual or his or her environment that increase the likelihood of the individual becoming a perpetrator or a victim of sexual assault. The presence of one or more risk factors is not a cause of sexual assault, but it can increase the risk that sexual assault will occur.1

  • There are many factors that can lead a person to commit sexual assault.
  • Most cases of sexual assault are symptomatic, at the individual level, of various unfulfilled needs, traumatic situations or events, and general development problems.
  • The risk factors associated with sexual assault by men are better known than those associated with sexual assault by women. Unless indicated otherwise, the factors discussed here apply for the most part to male perpetrators of sexual assault against minors and adults. Certain risk factors are associated more specifically with sexual abusers of children.
  • Certain community and societal factors have been associated with an increased risk of committing sexual assault and thus show that sexual assault is a social phenomenon that concerns the population as a whole.
  • Identifying factors that are associated with an increased risk of committing sexual assault helps to better plan prevention of this type of assault by making it possible to identify individuals at greater risk of becoming perpetrators and act on the factors concerned.

* Risk factors more specifically associated with child sexual abuse 
§ Risk factors that also apply to sexual assault by women

Individual factors2,3,4,5,6

In childhood

  • Being a victim of physical abuse*§
  • Witnessing family violence
  • Poor family functioning§
  • Being sexually abused*§

In adulthood

  • Low self-esteem Sexual problems*§
  • Psychological problems (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress)§
  • Social skill deficits*
  • Antisocial personality*
  • Personality disorders*
  • Substance abuse*
  • Use of alcohol
  • Faulty thinking in regard to child sexual abuse (cognitive distortions)*
  • Viewing pornography whose content reflects sexual assault fantasies
  • Belief in myths about rape
  • Coercive sexual fantasies
  • Behaviour problems
  • Hostility towards women

Relationship/family factors2,3,4

  • Dependence on men§
  • Problems with intimate relationships*
  • Associating with sexually delinquent peers
  • Social isolation*
  • Violent family environment
  • Patriarchal family environment
  • Poor family support

Community factors2,3

  • Poor employment opportunities
  • General tolerance of sexual assault within a community
  • Weak community sanctions against perpetrators of sexual assault
  • Poor institutional support (from police and the judicial system) .

Societal factors2,3

  • High crime rate Social norms that support sexual assault
  • Social norms that perpetuate female inferiority and sexual submission
  • Social norms that support male superiority and sexual entitlement
  • High tolerance of crime and violence
  • Weak laws and policies in the area of gender equality

References

  1. Baril, K. and Tourigny, M. (2009). La violence sexuelle envers les enfants. In M.E. Clément and S. Dufour, eds., La violence à l’égard des enfants en milieu familial (pp.145-160). Anjou: Éditions CEC. (Available in French only)
  2. World Health Organization (WHO), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. (2010). Preventing intimate partner and sexual violence against women. Taking action and generating evidence. Geneva: World Health Organization.
  3. Jewkes, R., Sen, P. and Garcia-Moreno, C. (2002). Sexual violence. In E.G. Krug, L.L. Dahlberg, J.A. Mercy, A. Zwi and R. Lozano-Ascencio, eds., World report on violence and health (pp. 147-181). Geneva: World Health Organization.
  4. Whitaker, D.J., Le, B., Hanson, R.K., Baker, C. K., McMahon, P.M., Ryan, G., et al. (2008). Risk factors for the perpetration of child sexual abuse: A review and meta-analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect,32, 529-548.
  5. Johansson-Love, J., and Fremouw, W. (2006). A critique of the female sexual perpetrator research. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 11, 12-26.
  6. Seto, M.C., Maric, A., and Barbaree, H.E. (2001). The role of pornography in the etiology of sexual aggression. Aggression and Violent Behavior,6, 35-53.
  7. Söchting, I., Fairbrother, N. and Koch, W.J. (2004). Sexual assault of women: Prevention efforts and risk factors, Violence Against Women, 10(1): 73-93.