Correlates of sexual violence among adolescent females in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Objectives: To determine the frequency, experiences and correlates of sexual violence among female adolescents in Riyadh city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2 schools in Riyadh city for adolescent females starting from January 2008 for 3 months. Five classes with 25 students in each were randomly selected from intermediate and secondary grade of each school. Four hundred and nineteen students were included. A self-answering questionnaire was distributed and collected after 15 minutes by 3 research assistants. Results: Forty-two adolescent students (10%) were exposed to sexual violence. Only 31% of the students were taught how to react to sexual violence. Students whose order was .5th among siblings and who had unsupportive parents in discussing sexual issues were more exposed to sexual violence (x^2=4.02, p=0.044, x^2=4.24, p=0.039). Conclusion: Being .5th in order among siblings and having unsupportive parents in discussing sexual issues were correlates for exposure to sexual violence.