Is there an association between level of attained education and help-seeking behaviour after sexual victimisation?

Abstract

Aim Possessing low health literacy is associated with poorer overall health and is considered a contributing factor to health inequalities. Previous research showed a linear regression between educational attainment and possessing adequate health literacy. This study investigates whether there is an association between the help-seeking behaviour of a victim of sexual violence and their education level. Subject and methods The study design is twofold. First, to research whether the prevalence of sexual violence differs significantly between respondents based on their level of attained education. Second, to survey whether the help-seeking behaviour of victims differs significantly between respondents based on their education level. The datasets of two research projects that took place in Belgium between 2019 and 2021 (the UN-MENAMAIS study and the RSA study) were used. The analysis of both datasets was performed using SPSS Statistics 27. Results The results describe a significantly higher prevalence of sexual violence in the group of respondents with a secondary degree in the UN-MENAMAIS study. Furthermore, both for the UN-MENAMAIS survey and the RSA survey, the group with a higher education degree and the group with a technical degree revealed their experienced victimisation significantly less to their informal and formal network compared to the groups who obtained a lower or secondary degree. Conclusion This study demonstrates that there is an associating between the help-seeking behaviour of a victim of sexual violence and their education level, which should be considered when organising sensitisation of the general population and specialised training of caregivers.