The Role of Social Determinants in Health Disparities Associated with Sexual Victimization Among Women

• In Event: Sexual Assault Victimization

Abstract

The long-term physical health consequences of sexual violence among women are well documented; however, the ways in which social factors such as race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES) influence the health and wellbeing of survivors is largely unknown. Additionally, the extent to which help-seeking and disclosure to police impacts health outcomes, particularly for racial and ethnic minority and economically disadvantaged women, is not clearly understood. Data for the current study come from a sub-sample of survivors of sexual violence (defined as rape, sexual coercion, unwanted sexual contact) in the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey. Using multi-group structural equation modeling, this study assesses the effects of race, ethnicity, and SES on the relationship between various characteristics of sexual victimization (e.g., age of victimization, relationship to perpetrator) and long-term physical health outcomes (e.g., chronic health conditions, health status, current functioning). This study also examines how disclosure of sexual victimization to police affects health outcomes particularly among survivors who are African American, Latina, and non-Hispanic White, as well as low and high SES. Policy and practice implications will be discussed, including the role of the criminal justice system in reducing health disparities associated with sexual violence.

Authors

• Lisa Fedina, MSW, University of Maryland, Baltimore

• Charlotte Bright, University of Maryland

• Noël Busch-Armendariz, University of Texas at Austin