Indigenous women in the United States are among the most vulnerable to intimate partner violence (IPV), which has reached endemic levels. The purpose of this study was to understand contextual factors and barriers to these women leaving violence. Questions about women remaining in abusive relationships, though pervasive, place focus on women rather than the socio-structural context of historical oppression that gives rise to pandemic rates of intersecting structural violence against women (Pedersen et al., 2013; Smye et al., 2020; Weaver, 2009).

College student victimization is currently a major public health problem, with 20%–25% of female students and 7% of male students experiencing at least one sexual assault (Flack et al., 2015). Nearly 57% of adults who report experiencing abusive and violent dating behaviors said it occurred in college (National Domestic Violence Hotline), and 12% of college students experience stalking (McNamara & Marsil, 2012). Victimization is associated with lower academic efficacy, higher stress, and lower institutional commitment (Banyard et al., 2020; Jordan, Combs, & Smith, 2014).

Researchers estimate that 12 million people are affected by domestic violence (DV) every year in the United States, with 1 in 4 adult women and 1 in 7 adult men experiencing severe physical violence (e.g., kicked, strangled, burned on purpose, beaten, having a weapon used against them) in their lifetime (Smith, Zhang, Basile et al., 2018).

Certain violent offenders—especially sexual homicide offenders (SHOs)—have been reported to engage in specific acts at the crime scene that are unnecessary to successfully commit the crime but may serve a psychological need for the offender (e.g., sexual gratification). In studies of sadistic sex offenders—many of whom had killed their victims—the rate of cases where the offender involuntarily inserted an object into any orifice of the victim (foreign object insertion, FOI), reported to be as high as 40% to 65% (Dietz et al., 1990; Warren et al., 1996).

Gender-based violence (GBV) refers to any physical, sexual, psychological, cultural, spiritual, social, mental, or economic violence perpetrated by an intimate partner, family member, or any other person (non-partner violence) as a result of gender identity or gender expression. 

One in four women will experience sexual assault in their lifetime. Despite the high prevalence of sexual assault, it remains one of the most underreported crimes to law enforcement.  Women cite numerous reasons for lack of reporting to police, including shame, not wanting to get in trouble, fear of disbelief from law enforcement, and the use of substances at the time of the assault (Spencer et al., 2017). Among women who do report their sexual assaults, a high percentage are deemed by police to be false or baseless and therefore coded as “unfounded” (Johnson, 2017).

Current reported prevalence rates indicate that females commit approximately 4%–5% of all sexual offences worldwide. There is growing recognition that females engage in harmful sexual behavior that is similar in severity and type to males. Specifically, current prevalence rates indicate that females commit approximately 4%–5% of all sexual offences worldwide. Despite evidence that sexual offences committed by females have similar physical psychological impacts on victims (Kaufman, 2010), sexual offending by women is often perceived as less harmful (Denov, 2001).

While intimate partner violence (IPV) is a problem for individuals from all sociodemographic backgrounds, research suggests that some groups are disproportionately affected. The most comprehensive national prevalence study conducted to date found that four in ten Black women in the United States experience IPV throughout their lifetime (Black et al., 2011).

Sexual assault (SA) is associated with a variety of negative consequences for survivors’ physical and mental wellbeing (Pemberton & Loeb, 2020). The trauma and impact of SA may be exacerbated when survivors are met with negative reactions upon disclosure (e.g., Martin, 2005). 

This study was conducted to determine the effect of domestic violence during pregnancy on the cortisol hormone release, preterm birth, low birth weight, and breastfeeding status. The cross-sectional study was conducted with 255 pregnant women in a Family Health Centre in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey between October 2017 and August 2018. The questionnaire, DVWDS (Domestic Violence to Women Determination Scale) and Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale were used to collect the data.