Violence

Sexual violence, sexual abuse, sexual harassment

Australia

• Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine
  • Adult sexual assault

• Australian Family Physician
  • Disclosures of sexual abuse: what do you do next? [2015]

• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
  • National sexual violence responses [2022]
  • Sexual assault in Australia [2020]

• Australian Journal of General Practice
  • Clinical management of patients presenting following a sexual assault [2020]

• NSW Health
  • Responding to Sexual Assault (adult and child) Policy and Procedures

• Queensland Health
  • Sexual health and safety guidelines for mental health, alcohol and other drug servicesSexual health and safety guidelines for mental health, alcohol and other drug services
  • Guideline for the Management of care for people 14 years and over disclosing Sexual Assault

Australia, New Zealand

• Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
  • Performance of Sexual Assault Forensic Examinations by RANZCOG Trainees [2023]

Bangladesh

• Women's Health
  • Sexual violence against woman at quarantine center during coronavirus disease 2019 in Bangladesh: Risk factors and recommendations [2021]

Belgium

• BMC Geriatrics
  • Sexual violence in older adults: a Belgian prevalence study [2021]

• International Journal for Equity in Health
  • Towards a more integrated and gender-sensitive care delivery for victims of sexual assault: key findings and recommendations from the Belgian sexual assault care centre feasibility study [2018]

Brazil

• American Journal of Men's Health
  • Prevalence, Characteristics, and Factors Associated With Sexual Violence in Adulthood Among Brazilian MSM [2022]

• Cadernos de Saúde Pública
  • Frequency of self-reported sexual aggression and victimization in Brazil: a literature review [2016]

• Ciência & Saúde Coletiva
  • Temporal trend of sexual violence against adolescent women in Brazil, 2011-2018 [2022]
  • Women’s protection public policies: evaluation of health care for victims of sexual violence [2017]

• Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia
  • Trend of social iniquities in reports of sexual violence in Brazil between 2010 and 2014 [2020]

• Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia
  • Guidelines for care in sexual violence: the role of medical training [2021]

• Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
  • Brazilian Protocol for Sexually Transmitted Infections 2020: sexual violence [2021]

• Revista de Saúde Pública
  • Sexual violence against men in Brazil: underreporting, prevalence, and associated factors [2023]

Canada

• Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
  • Sex Offender Treatment Programs Delivered In-Person or Virtually for Adults Convicted of Sexual Offences in Various Settings: A Review of Clinical Effectiveness and Guidelines [2020]

• Canadian Family Physician
  • Pharmacologic management of inappropriate sexual behaviour in long-term care residents [2023]

• Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
  • Prevalence and Correlates of Military Sexual Trauma in Service Members and Veterans: Results From the 2018 Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans Mental Health Follow-up Survey [2023]

• Trauma, Violence, & Abuse
  • Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada: A Scoping Review of the Scholarly Literature [2023]

Democratic Republic of Congo

• American Journal of Public Health
  • Estimates and Determinants of Sexual Violence Against Women in the Democratic Republic of Congo [2011]

• BMC Public Health
  • A cross-sectional study of community perceptions of stigmatization amongst women affected by UN-peacekeeper perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse [2022]

• Violence Against Women
  • Development of an Index to Measure the Exposure Level of UN Peacekeeper-Perpetrated Sexual Exploitation/Abuse in Women/Girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo [2022]

Developing countries

• Forensic Science International: Synergy
  • Achieving more with less: A critical review of protocols for forensic investigation of sexual violence in low-resource environments [2020]

East Africa

• BMC Public Health
  • Sexual violence against ever-married reproductive-age women in East Africa: further analysis of recent demographic and health surveys [2024]

• Trauma, Violence, & Abuse
  • A Systematic Review of Criminal Justice Initiatives to Strengthen the Criminal Investigation and Prosecution of Sexual Violence in East Africa [2024]
  • A Scoping Review on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Medicolegal Service Provision in East Africa [2023]

Eastern and Southern Africa

• BMC Proceedings
  • Harmonizing national abortion and pregnancy prevention laws and policies for sexual violence survivors with the Maputo Protocol: proceedings of a 2016 regional technical meeting in sub-Saharan Africa [2018]

Ethiopia

• PLoS ONE
  • Predictors of sexual violence among female students in higher education institutions in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis [2021]

• Reproductive Health
  • Prevalence of sexual violence in Ethiopian workplaces: systematic review and meta-analysis [2020]

France

• PLoS ONE
  • From sexual harassment to sexual assault: Prevalence and correlates of sexual trauma in the French military [2021]

Germany

• Deutsches Ärzteblatt International
  • The Prevalence of Sexual Violence [2016]

Guatemala

• UN Women
  • Documenting good practice on accountability for conflict-related sexual violence: The Sepur Zarco case [2022]

High-income countries

• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • Prevalence of Workplace Sexual Violence against Healthcare Workers Providing Home Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [2020]

• Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine
  • Lifetime sexual violence experienced by women asylum seekers and refugees hosted in high-income countries: Literature review and meta-analysis [2024]

• Trauma, Violence, & Abuse
  • Sextortion: A Scoping Review [2025]

Iceland

• Lancet Public Health
  • Sexual violence in the workplace and associated health outcomes: a nationwide, cross-sectional analysis of women in Iceland [2024]
  • Risk factors for workplace sexual harassment and violence among a national cohort of women in Iceland: a cross-sectional study [2022]

India

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Sexual violence as a predictor of unintended pregnancy among married women of India: evidence from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (2015-16) [2022]

• Indian Journal of Psychiatry
  • Rape: Legal issues in mental health perspective [2013]
  • Mental health assessment of rape offenders [2013]

International

• Archives of Sexual Behavior
  • Sexual and Dating Violence Prevention Programs for Male Youth: A Systematic Review of Program Characteristics, Intended Psychosexual Outcomes, and Effectiveness [2023]

• BMC Public Health
  • The prevalence rate of sexual violence worldwide: a trend analysis [2020]

• Bulletin of the World Health Organization
  • Sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment in humanitarian contexts [2024]
  • Global prevalence of non-partner sexual violence against women [2024]

• Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
  • Psychosocial interventions for survivors of rape and sexual assault experienced during adulthood [2023]
  • Survivor, family and professional experiences of psychosocial interventions for sexual abuse and violence: a qualitative evidence synthesis [2022]

• International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics
  • Women as weapons of war [2023]
  • The Red Line Initiative: a joint call to draw a red line to end conflict-related sexual violence [2023]

• International Journal for Equity in Health
  • Negative consequences of conflict-related sexual violence on survivors: a systematic review of qualitative evidence [2023]

• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • Prevalence of Sexual Abuse in Adults with Intellectual Disability: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [2021]

• International Planned Parenthood Federation
  • IMAP statement on Sexual and Gender-based violence [2020]

• Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine
  • Forensic medical examination after conflict-related sexual violence: A scoping review of the literature [2024]

• Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association
  • A Systematic Review of Evidence-Based Treatments for Adolescent and Adult Sexual Assault Victims [2023]

• Revista de Saúde Pública
  • Prevalence of sexual violence among refugees: a systematic review [2019]

• UN Women
  • Documenting reproductive violence: Unveiling opportunities, challenges, and legal pathways for UN investigative mechanisms [2024]
  • Enhancing cooperation: Peer-to-peer learning to prevent and eliminate sexual harassment in the UN system and beyond [2023]
  • Comments on the development of a revised policy on sexual and gender-based crimes: Submission from UN Women to the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court [2023]

• World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry
  • The World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry guidelines on the assessment and pharmacological treatment of compulsive sexual behaviour disorder [2022]
  • The World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for the treatment of adolescent sexual offenders with paraphilic disorders [2016]

Ireland

• Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine
  • Female adolescent sexual assault; a national review of 1014 consecutive cases [2024]

Ivory Coast

• BMC Public Health
  • Sexual violence affecting female sex workers in Côte d'Ivoire: prevalence, context, and associated mental health and substance use outcomes [2024]

Kenya

• Forensic Science International: Synergy
  • Forensic observations and recommendations on sexual and gender based violence in Kenya [2019]

Low and middle income countries

• BMJ Open
  • Measurement and prevalence of sexual harassment in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2021]

• Trauma, Violence, & Abuse
  • Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence and Abuse in Low and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review [2024]
  • Sexual Harassment in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Qualitative Systematic Review [2023]

Nepal

• World Health Organization
  • Perspectives on sexual violence during early years of marriage in Nepal: findings from a qualitative study [2009]

Netherlands

• Journal of Interpersonal Violence
  • Prevalence Rate and Risk Factors of Sexual Assault Among University Students in the Netherlands [2023]

New Zealand

• American Journal of Preventive Medicine
  • Prevalence of Nonpartner Physical and Sexual Violence Against People With Disabilities [2021]

Nigeria

• Journal of Interpersonal Violence
  • Sexual Violence Experience Among Nigerian Girls and Young Women: What Are the Roles of Early Sexual Debut, Multiple Sex Partnerships, and Traditional Gender Role Beliefs? [2022]

Poland

• Ginekologia Polska
  • Recommendations of the Group of Experts of the Polish Society of Gynecologists and Obstetricians regarding proceeding with victims of crimes against sexual freedom (01.01.2021) [2021]

South Africa

• Curationis
  • Accessing care services after sexual violence: A systematic review exploring experiences of women in South Africa [2023]

• Médecins Sans Frontières
  • Untreated violence: Critical gaps in medical and clinical forensic care for survivors of sexual violence in South Africa [2017]

• Sexual Violence Research Initiative
  • Sexual Violence Research Initiative

Southern Africa

• BMC Public Health
  • Making the invisible visible: a systematic review of sexual minority women’s health in Southern Africa [2016]

Spain

• BMC Public Health
  • Prevalence of sexual harassment among young Spaniards before, during, and after the COVID-19 lockdown period in Spain [2022]

• BMJ Open
  • Prevalence and associated factors with sexual violence victimisation youth before, during and after the COVID-19 lockdown: a cross-sectional study in Spain [2021]

• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • Relationship between Sexual Violence and the Health of Spanish Women-A National Population-Based Study [2023]

Sub-Saharan Africa

• BMJ Global Health
  • The association between sexual violence and mental disorders among women victim-survivors in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2025]

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Forced Sexual Initiation and Early Sexual Debut and Associated Risk Factors and Health Problems Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women — Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys, Nine PEPFAR Countries, 2007–2018 [2021]

Sweden

• Frontiers in Public Health
  • Sexual violence and rape among young migrants in Sweden: a cross-sectional study on prevalence, determinants, perpetrators, and reporting patterns [2024]

United Kingdom

• Archives of Sexual Behavior
  • Male Sexual Victimization by Women: Incidence Rates, Mental Health, and Conformity to Gender Norms in a Sample of British Men [2024]

• British Association for Sexual Health and HIV
  • Sexual Violence 2022 [2022]

• Care Quality Commission
  • Sexual safety on mental health wards [2018]

• Journal of Public Health
  • Sexual consent norms in a cross-sectional national sample of the UK [2023]

• NHS England
  • Sexual safety in the NHS: survey results and update on charter implementation [2024]
  • Sexual safety charter assurance framework [2024]
  • National people sexual misconduct policy framework [2024]
  • NHS England sexual misconduct policy [2024]
  • Supporting male victims/survivors accessing a sexual assault referral centre: good practice guide [2022]
  • Strategic direction for sexual assault and abuse services [2018]
  • Public health functions to be exercised by NHS England – Service Specification: Sexual Assault Referral Centres [2018]

• Psychological Medicine
  • Sexual abuse and psychotic phenomena: a directed acyclic graph analysis of affective symptoms using English national psychiatric survey data [2023]

• Right Decisions
  • Sexual Assault Guideline

• Science & Justice
  • From crime scene to courtroom: A review of the current bioanalytical evidence workflows used in rape and sexual assault investigations in the United Kingdom [2023]

• Scottish Government
  • Sexual Assault Response Coordination Service: guidance for healthcare professionals [2023]
  • Rape, sexual abuse or child sexual abuse medical services: guide for service providers [2019]

• Sexual Abuse
  • Understanding Sexual Aggression in UK Male University Students: An Empirical Assessment of Prevalence and Psychological Risk Factors [2022]

United States

• American Academy of Pediatrics
  • Creating Work and Learning Environments Free of Gender-Based Harassment in Pediatric Health Care [2022]
  • Prevention of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace and Educational Settings [2006]

• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  • Sexual Assault [2019]
  • Reproductive and Sexual Coercion [2013]

• American Journal of Community Psychology
  • Diffusion effects of a sexual violence prevention program leveraging youth-adult partnerships [2023]
  • Race and the Criminal Justice System Response to Sexual Assault: A Systematic Review [2019]

• American Journal of Preventive Medicine
  • National Prevalence of Sexual Violence by a Workplace-Related Perpetrator [2020]

• American Journal of Public Health
  • Monitoring Sexual Violence Trends in Emergency Department Visits Using Syndromic Data From the National Syndromic Surveillance Program—United States, January 2017–December 2019 [2021]

• American Medical Society for Sports Medicine
  • Sexual Violence in Sport: American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Position Statement [2020]

• American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors
  • ASCLD statement on volume of untested sexual assault evidence kits [2020]

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Nonvoluntary or Forced Sex Among Women, by Sexual Identity, Attraction, and Behavior — National Survey of Family Growth, United States, 2011–2017 [2021]
  • Sexual Violence in the Media: An Exploration of Traditional Print Media Reporting in the United States, 2014–2017 [2020]
  • Sexual Violence

• JAMA Network Open
  • Trends in US Emergency Department Use After Sexual Assault, 2006-2019 [2022]

• Journal of Interpersonal Violence
  • Prevalence and Correlates of Non-Dating Sexual Violence, Sexual Dating Violence, and Physical Dating Violence Victimization among U.S. High School Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, United States, 2021 [2023]

• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
  • Evaluating the Effectiveness of Interventions to Prevent and Address Sexual Harassment: Proceedings of a Workshop [2021]
  • Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine [2018]

• Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Responding to Prenatal Disclosure of Past Sexual Abuse [2014]

• StatPearls
  • Sexual Assault Infectious Disease Prophylaxis
  • Sexual Assault History and Physical
  • Sexual Assault Evidence Collection
  • Sexual Assault Clothing Collection and Documentation

• Trauma, Violence, & Abuse
  • A Systematic Review of Specialty Courts in the United States for Adolescents Impacted by Commercial Sexual Exploitation [2023]
  • Risk and Protective Factors for Men's Sexual Violence Against Women at Higher Education Institutions: A Systematic and Meta-Analytic Review of the Longitudinal Evidence [2022]

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office on Women's Health
  • Sexual assault and rape

• Western Journal of Emergency Medicine
  • Emergency Department Preparedness to Care for Sexual Assault Survivors: A Nationwide Study [2023]

Western countries

• Trauma, Violence, & Abuse
  • Silenced Survivors: A Systematic Review of the Barriers to Reporting, Investigating, Prosecuting, and Sentencing of Adult Female Rape and Sexual Assault [2024]

WHO

• World Health Organization
  • WHO technical consultation on evidence-informed decision-making for prevention of and response to sexual misconduct: meeting report [2024]
  • Prevention and response to sexual misconduct: WHO stakeholder review conference 2023 [2024]
  • Preventing and responding to sexual misconduct: WHO’s three-year strategy 2023-2025 [2023]
  • Strengthening the medico-legal response to sexual violence [2015]
  • Worldwide prevalence of non-partner sexual violence: a systematic review [2014]
  • WHO ethical and safety recommendations for researching, documenting and monitoring sexual violence in emergencies [2007]
  • Guidelines for medico-legal care of victims of sexual violence [2003]
  • Violence Info – Sexual violence
  • Non-partner sexual violence prevalence (%)
  • Extent of implementation of medico-legal services for victims of sexual violence

WHO Western Pacific Region

• WHO Western Pacific Region
  • Sexual violence [2016]

{Related topics}

• Topic
  • Violence against women, gender-based violence
  • Violence