Intimate Partner Sexual Violence Victimization Among Heterosexual Female University Students in Spain: Prevalence and Polyvictimization

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Sexual violence victimization in the context of intimate partner among young women has been less addressed than other types of dating violence. Methods The aim was to describe the prevalence of intimate partner sexual violence victimization among heterosexual female university students in Spain and to explore the presence of polyvictimization. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving female university students (n = 1064) from 10 degrees at a public university in northern Spain in 2018. Five types of intimate partner violence victimization were analyzed (coercion, detachment, humiliation, sexual violence, and physical violence). Results Of the female university students, 20.8% experienced intimate partner sexual violence victimization. Among victims of intimate partner sexual violence, sexual debut before the age of 16, having had three or more partners, having interrupted that violent relationship, and having a family history of intimate partner violence were more frequent. Victimization of intimate partner sexual violence was significantly associated with other forms of intimate partner violence, especially coercion and detachment. Conclusions Intimate partner sexual violence victimization is frequent among female university students and usually does not appear on its own. Rather, it occurs in the context of other types of intimate partner violence, especially psychological violence. Policy Implications At the beginning of adulthood, many young women attend university and many of them are suffering IPSV, making this an appropriate environment to address this important problem through various actions such as: information campaigns to improve the recognition of abusive behavior or the creation of care offices as a nearby resource for university women who are victims of violence.