Revictimisation of Women in Non-Urban Areas: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Literature widely acknowledges that women who experience Child Sex Abuse (CSA) have a higher risk of experiencing sexual revictimisation later in life, yet less is known about experiences of revictimisation in non-urban areas. The aim of this review is to examine what is known internationally regarding revictimisation of non-urban women, and to provide future research, practice and policy recommendations. A total of 2414 articles were identified through a comprehensive search across five broad health sciences and humanities databases; 11 articles met inclusion criteria and were included in this review. This review found a general lack of qualitative revictimisation studies, and limited research focusing on non-urban women. While existing studies included non-urban research samples, few articles (n = 3) explored how non-urban location contextualises revictimisation experiences. Most peer-reviewed articles identified within this paper (n = 7) examined intimate partner violence (IPV) revictimisation, highlighting a significant lack of research on sexual revictimisation within non-urban settings. Findings from the review indicate that experiences of violence in childhood and adulthood are frequent among non-urban women, and that experiencing child abuse is associated with a heightened likelihood of poor mental health and IPV in adulthood. The review also found that non-urban women faced significant structural disadvantage including low levels of employment and income, limited-service sector resources, unsafe family environments and exposure to community violence. Additional qualitative research is needed to better understand the experiences and needs of non-urban revictimised women, particularly within an Australian context.

Keywords: child abuse; domestic violence; revictimization; sexual assault.