A “risk factor” is anything that increases a person’s susceptibility to harm. For instance, wearing a bike helmet reduces your risk of receiving a traumatic brain injury from a bicycle crash.
We have control over some risk factors—like choosing to wear a bike helmet. Other risk factors are beyond our control, such as age or genetics.
Risk factors are important to understand—even those we can’t control. When we understand our risk factors, we can take steps to keep ourselves and others safer.
How Do We Know Who’s at Risk?
To understand risk factors for sexual violence, researchers scour data for patterns.
EXAMPLE: Data has shown that children and young adults experience sexual abuse and assault more frequently than other age groups. This does NOT mean that being younger causes sexual violence or that being older prevents it. Instead, age is a risk factor, and younger people face a higher risk.
FACT: Risk factors don’t cause sexual violence or guarantee that someone will experience it.
Risk Factors for Sexual Violence
These risk factors increase the likelihood that someone may be targeted for sexual abuse or assault:
- Age: Being a child or adult under age 34
- Community: Being isolated or lacking social support
- Dependence: Financially or physically depending on others
- Economic insecurity: Being unemployed, unhoused, or unable to buy food
- Environment: Living or working in a high-crime area
- Health: Having a chronic illness, disability, or cognitive or intellectual impairment
- History: Having previously experienced abuse, assault, neglect, or violence
- Ideology: Participating in or being exposed to rigid social roles and permissive attitudes toward sexual aggression
- Institutional failures: Interacting with systems that mishandle allegations and incidents
- Mental health: Experiencing depression, anxiety, PTSD, or other mental health conditions
- Policy: Living under weak or poorly enforced laws
- Power: Experiencing imbalanced power dynamics
- Race: Being part of a racialized group
- Sex: Being a girl, woman, or socially nonconforming individual
- Sex education: Receiving inadequate sex education (or none at all)
- Sexual orientation: Preferring same-sex partners
- Substances: Consuming alcohol or using drugs (voluntarily or involuntarily)
Risk Factors for Child Sexual Abuse
These risk factors increase the likelihood that an under-18 child may be targeted for sexual abuse or assault: (1)
- Receiving inadequate parental supervision
- Having parents who misuse drugs or alcohol
- Having parents with mental illness or poor mental health
- Living with a stepfather
- Being subjected or exposed to hypersexualization at a young age
12 Ways To Reduce Risk & Cultivate Change
Because so many risk factors are beyond our control, we must commit to watching out for one another. Together, we can combat the attitudes and actions that put people at risk of sexual violence.
Here are 12 practical steps toward building stronger, more supportive, safer communities:
- Educate yourself and others. Learn the facts about sexual violence and share that knowledge with others.
- Believe and support survivors. Survivors of sexual violence frequently face doubt and stigma when they come forward. Listen without judgment, express belief in their experience, and offer resources like RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline for professional support. Compassion can make a world of difference.
- Support at-risk people. Research shows that sexual violence disproportionately affects certain groups of people. Advocate for resources and services tailored to these communities so everyone can access support.
- Recognize the scope of the problem. Anyone can be victimized by sexual violence, and all survivors deserve individualized recognition, support, and justice.
- Engage men as allies. Encourage men and boys to challenge harmful attitudes, denounce abusive actions, and model respectful behaviors. We can create healthier dynamics in all communities by addressing unhealthy social norms.
- Advocate for change. Push for stronger policies and protections at the local, state, and federal levels. This might include supporting consent education in schools, encouraging trauma-informed training for professionals, or rallying for better laws to address sexual violence.
- Foster open communication. Encourage open, honest conversations about boundaries, consent, and respect in all relationships. Cultivate environments (whether at home, work, or school) where people feel safe to share their experiences without fear of judgment or retaliation.
- Prioritize trauma-informed practices. In workplaces, schools, and community programs, advocate for trauma-informed approaches that acknowledge the impact of sexual violence and avoid re-traumatizing survivors.
- Refuse to protect perpetrators. Protecting someone who has committed sexual violence—by staying silent, downplaying their actions, or discouraging victims from seeking help—only perpetuates harm. Hold individuals accountable for their actions while ensuring due process.
- Speak out against harmful attitudes. Don’t stay silent around jokes, comments, or stereotypes that normalize sexual violence. Phrases like “boys will be boys,” “she was asking for it in that outfit,” “or men can’t be raped” reinforce dangerous attitudes. Challenge these ideas with empathy and facts to foster healthier perspectives.
- Challenge harmful behaviors. Bystander intervention can prevent or disrupt sexual violence and help bring perpetrators to justice. Intervene by stepping in, creating a distraction, or calling for help. If direct confrontation isn’t a safe option, report the incident to emergency responders or other authorities.
- Volunteer and donate. Get involved with local or national organizations like RAINN that work to prevent sexual violence and support survivors. Every contribution has a meaningful impact.
By taking these steps, we can all contribute to a world where sexual violence is no longer tolerated. Together, we can help everyone feel valued, respected, and safer.
CITATIONS
- INSPQ: Factors associated with an increased risk of being sexually abused during childhood (0-18 years of age)
- Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2019 (2020). Note: RAINN applies a 5-year rolling average to adjust for changes in the year-to-year NCVS survey data.
- National Institute of Justice & Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women Survey (1998).
- United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. Child Maltreatment Survey, 2012 (2013).
- Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sex Offenses and Offenders (1997).