TY - JOUR
T1 - A Recurring Nightmare
T2 - Risk and Protective Factors for Revictimization of Child Sexual Abuse in Chile
AU - Contreras Taibo, Lorena
AU - Huepe Artigas, David
AU - Navarrete García, Gorka
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Taylor & Francis.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Child and adolescent victims of sexual crimes are at high risk for further abuse, which translates in a relatively higher risk of revictimization for a child or adolescent who has already been a victim of sexual abuse, compared to one who has not. Although sexual revictimization has been extensively studied in young and adult populations, much less is known about occurrences in childhood and adolescence. In this vein, this article seeks to identify risk of, and protective factors against, revictimization in a census sample of victims under 18 years of age in Chile. Risk and protective factors were studied in a database of all complaints of sexual offenses against children and adolescents registered at two time-points over two years: first, during 2012, and again through January 2015. Using multiple logistic regression, we identified risk factors associated with the probability of sexual revictimization, such as sex of the perpetrator (OR = 3.6 for female perpetrators), previous sexual offenses attributed to perpetrators (OR = 1.8), age of victim at the time of abuse (6–12 OR = .77; 13–17 = OR = .69), and minimization of abuse (OR = 1.3). Finally, interaction tests identified an association between the sex of the original perpetrator and the sex of the victim, as well as an association between the sex of the original perpetrator and the age of the victim. The implications of these findings for victim protection and victimological public policy are discussed.
AB - Child and adolescent victims of sexual crimes are at high risk for further abuse, which translates in a relatively higher risk of revictimization for a child or adolescent who has already been a victim of sexual abuse, compared to one who has not. Although sexual revictimization has been extensively studied in young and adult populations, much less is known about occurrences in childhood and adolescence. In this vein, this article seeks to identify risk of, and protective factors against, revictimization in a census sample of victims under 18 years of age in Chile. Risk and protective factors were studied in a database of all complaints of sexual offenses against children and adolescents registered at two time-points over two years: first, during 2012, and again through January 2015. Using multiple logistic regression, we identified risk factors associated with the probability of sexual revictimization, such as sex of the perpetrator (OR = 3.6 for female perpetrators), previous sexual offenses attributed to perpetrators (OR = 1.8), age of victim at the time of abuse (6–12 OR = .77; 13–17 = OR = .69), and minimization of abuse (OR = 1.3). Finally, interaction tests identified an association between the sex of the original perpetrator and the sex of the victim, as well as an association between the sex of the original perpetrator and the age of the victim. The implications of these findings for victim protection and victimological public policy are discussed.
KW - Repeat victimization
KW - child
KW - prevention
KW - protective factors
KW - revictimization
KW - risk factors
KW - sexual abuse
KW - violence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85124885806&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10538712.2022.2037802
DO - 10.1080/10538712.2022.2037802
M3 - Article
C2 - 35130826
AN - SCOPUS:85124885806
SN - 1053-8712
VL - 31
SP - 196
EP - 215
JO - Journal of Child Sexual Abuse
JF - Journal of Child Sexual Abuse
IS - 2
ER -