The public health approach to preventing sexual violence

Sexual violence remains a significant global public health problem. Experiences with sexual violence confer greater risk for physical, mental, and behavioral health problems, and this trauma can impact individuals, families, and communities in a variety of ways. Despite the recognition of sexual violence as a public health problem, the dominant response rests within a criminal justice framework, one that typically focuses on the incapacitation and management of known offenders. This, in our view, is a limited approach. Indeed, research has not demonstrated that criminal justice sex crime policies are effective in reducing sexual violence, and this literature also suggests that these policies may in fact contribute to harm to both victims and perpetrators. In contrast to this criminal justice focus, this chapter argues for advancing a public health perspective for the primary prevention of sexual violence. To that end, this chapter will discuss how a public health approach to violence prevention can inform our understanding of sexual violence and the ways to reduce sexual victimization. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding the social ecological model that frames sexual violence as a phenomenon affected not only by individual factors, but also by relationship factors, community norms, and social values. This chapter closes with recommendations for future work in the prevention of sexual violence.