Sexual Violence in the Lives of Black Women: #SAAM2026

by Courtney McCrimmon, TSS Group Member

During Sexual Assault Awareness Month, it’s important to recognize the impact of sexual violence in Black women’s lives. Consider that:

• Over two-thirds (68.5%) of Black women report contact sexual violence, such as unwanted sexual contact, penetration, sexual coercion, and/or rape in their lifetime (Chen et al., 2023). 

• More than a quarter (28.7%) of Black women are raped in their lifetime (Chen et al., 2023). 

• More than half (53.1%) of Black women are victims of sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime (Chen et al., 2023). 

After intimate violence, barriers to disclosing can disproportionately impact Black women, hindering access to support. These barriers are often shaped by intersecting factors. For instance:

• Black women may be less likely to disclose when people communicate stereotypical beliefs and sexuality stigma at them or in the face of cultural mandates to protect Black men (Tillman et al., 2010). 
• Black women are less likely to seek help from mental health services and rape crisis centers than White women (e.g., sexual assault hotlines; Weist et al., 2014). 

For Black women who have been sex trafficked, challenges accessing services continue long after the sexual violence. Unfortunately, research has yet to focus on Black women’s relationship health and healing after trafficking.  

This #SAAM, help me take a step to fill this research gap: Please share the flyer below to get the word out about my new research study, focused on understanding Black women survivors’ relational experiences after sex trafficking. Read more about this new study here.

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Check back each Monday in April for a new post from the TSS Group team on sexual assault research that you can use to translate awareness into action.

References

Chen, J., Khatiwada, S., Chen, M. S., Smith, S. G., Leemis, R. W., Friar, N. W., Basile, K. C., & Kresnow, M.  J. (2023). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2016/2017 Report on  Victimization by Sexual Identity. 

Tillman, S., Bryant-Davis, T., Smith, K., & Marks, A. (2010). Shattering Silence: Exploring Barriers to  Disclosure for African American Sexual Assault Survivors. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 11(2),  59-70. 

Weist, M. D., Kinney, L., Taylor, L. K., Pollitt-Hill, J., Bryant, Y., Anthony, L., & Wilkerson, J. (2014). African  American and White women’s experience of sexual assault and services for sexual  assault. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 23(9), 901-916.