Sexual violence, mental health, and suicidality—Results from a survey in cooperation with idea‐driven organizations and their social media platform followers

Abstract

Abstract Aims We specifically aimed to study if individuals who have been subjected to sexual violence more frequently report psychiatric diagnoses and suicide attempts. We also aimed to investigate if individuals who had been sexually violated reported more or less childhood experiences of family environment with alcohol problems, suicide attempts, and domestic violence than those without sexual violations. Methods In 2019, the nongovernment organization World of no sexual abuse (WONSA) collected data through a web‐based survey. The survey was shared via websites of idea‐driven organizations working with victims of sexual violence, on social media and through email lists. A total of 4831 individuals participated and 49% answered all questions. Results Of the participants exposed to penetrating sexual violence, 49% stated that they had or had been diagnosed with depression, compared with 16% in the group not exposed to sexual violence. Similar findings were found for anxiety: 45% versus 12%; fatigue syndrome 28% versus 9%; post traumatic stress disorder 30% versus <0.1% and suicide attempts, 29% versus 3%. More participants in the group exposed to sexual violence had grown up in families with alcohol problems, suicide attempts, or where they have witnessed violence. Conclusion Steps should be taken to adapt the national suicide prevention strategy to the association between sexual violence and suicide attempts, which has been so clearly demonstrated earlier in both international and national studies, and which is again shown in the present study.

Keywords

• adverse childhood experiences
• childhood trauma
• mental health
• self‐harm