Sexual violence in a Colombian municipality: Victims’ and offenders’ characteristics, 2011-2020.

Introduction

Sexual violence is a public health problem included in political and social agendas worldwide. It is a medical emergency seen in health services, which are the main source of record-keeping by means of public health surveillance systems.

Objective

To analyze the sociodemographic characteristics of victims of sex offenses and their offenders in the municipality of Envigado, Antioquia, between 2011 and 2020. Materials and methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that analyzed all the sexual violence records reported in the Envigado Public Health Surveillance System for gender and intrafamilial violence (file code INS-875) during the 2011-2020 period.

Results

A total of 807 cases of sexual violence were recorded between 2011 and 2020; 62.0% were cases of sexual abuse against persons under 18 years of age, and 82.3% of the victims were adolescent women suffering sexual violence exerted by relatives. The main aggressors were men (99.1%) with a median age of 26 years.

Conclusion

Sexual violence has increased over time and in 2020, the year of population confinement due to COVID-19, the rates in women and in the life courses of early childhood, adolescence, and youth were the highest during the study period.