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. 2015 Dec;105(12):2430-7.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302860. Epub 2015 Oct 15.

Sexual Violence in America: Public Funding and Social Priority

Randall Waechter  1 , Van Ma  1
Affiliations

Sexual Violence in America: Public Funding and Social Priority

Randall Waechter et al. Am J Public Health. 2015 Dec.

Abstract

We compared lifetime risk, annual incidence, and annual economic burden of sexual violence with other major public health issues in the United States: cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS. With public funding data from 2013, we examined how much public funding is allocated to these public health issues as a proxy of the social priority of addressing each of them. Although sexual violence is as prevalent as and more costly than are these other major public health issues, it receives a fraction of the public funds that they receive.

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Lifetime percentage risk of experiencing sexual violence, cardiovascular disease (myocardial infarction, coronary insufficiency, angina, stroke, claudication), cancer diagnosis, diabetes diagnosis, and contraction of HIV/AIDS: United States, 2013.
FIGURE 2—
FIGURE 2—
Annual incidence of sexual violence (women only), cardiovascular disease (heart attack and stroke), cancer diagnosis, diabetes diagnosis, and contraction of HIV/AIDS (men and women combined) in millions of people: United States, 2013.
FIGURE 3—
FIGURE 3—
Annual public funding for addressing, researching, or preventing sexual violence, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS: United States, 2013. Note. Left vertical axis (black bars): annual economic burden of sexual violence (rape or attempted rape only), cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS. Right vertical axis (white bars): public research and program funding for all violence (i.e., sexual violence, youth violence, violence prevention, child abuse or neglect), cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke), cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS. Percentage of annual public spending to annual economic burden for violence, cardiovascular disease (including heart disease and strokes), cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS is included above each set of bars.
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References

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