(Press-News.org) WASHINGTON (September 6, 2023) – An annual survey of physical and sexual violence suffered by Californians documents for the first time the higher incidence of violence among non-binary and transgender people. One in 20 California adults has experienced physical violence (5%) in the past year, a decrease from 8% in 2022, according to The California Violence Experiences Study (CalVEX); but the reported rates for non-binary and transgender individuals were notably higher, 14% and 27%, respectively.
“The new data we have in this year’s report show that rates of violence have declined since levels seen during the pandemic, but these experiences remain too common, especially for our gender diverse and sexually diverse communities,” said Anita Raj, PhD, MS, Affiliate Professor at University of California San Diego and executive director of the Newcomb Institute at Tulane University. “These data have historically lacked information on non-binary and transgender individuals, so we have not had a clear picture of their experiences with violence until now.”
The fourth annual CalVEX survey, covering more than 3,500 adults, also found that one in 11 adults (9%) said that they have been a victim of sexual harassment or assault in the past year, a decrease from 11% in 2022. Past year sexual harassment and assault reported by non-binary and transgender adults was egregiously higher, at 56% and 40%, respectively.
Overall, more than half of all adults in California reported physical or sexual partner violence (54%) against them in their lifetime. Women (54%), non-binary individuals (76%), and transgender individuals (83%) are more likely than men (38%) to have experienced this.
The CalVEX survey also collected data on the rates and occurrences of violence and mental health and found significant effects associations.
Those who experienced physical violence in the past year were:
More than twice as likely to report severe depression and/or anxiety symptoms (14% vs 6%)
Four times more likely to report serious consideration of suicide (25% vs 6%)
More than twice as likely to report recent substance misuse (67% vs 28%)
Those who experienced sexual harassment or assault in the past year were:
More than twice as likely to report severe depression and/or anxiety symptoms (14% vs 6%)
Four times more likely to report serious consideration of suicide (22% vs 5%)
Nearly twice as likely to report recent substance misuse (51% vs 28%)
The study also examined racial/ethnic disparities and economic disparities among those affected by violence and found higher rates of violence among minority and economically distressed people.
“Experiences of violence are affected by gender, and we need to consider the unique vulnerabilities to violence that people face due to their gender as we build our violence prevention efforts,” said Raj. “Our goal with these data is to guide violence-prevention programming and policy development, recognizing the gendered risk attached to it and the socio-economic and health disparities.”
Overwhelmingly, most people who experienced violence did not report it to authorities: 80% of those who experienced physical violence and 95% of those experiencing sexual violence. This suggests that people may feel that there is no benefit to seeking support or recourse. Some may even be concerned that help-seeking could yield further problems for them.
The survey asked Californians about their most recent experience of being approached or stopped by the police. One in eight (12%) said they were treated somewhat or very badly, as reported by 11% of women and 13% of men. The survey also found that one factor discouraging the reporting of violence to the police was that 1 in 25 respondents (4%) said they were victims of police violence.
“This suggests that criminal justice responses may not be useful in addressing violence,” said Raj.
“Health and social welfare services such as conflict-resolution training and support services for families and youth may be a better means of serving victims and preventing perpetration, given the vulnerabilities faced by victims and that most perpetrators are victims as well.”
The survey was conducted online by NORC at the University of Chicago on behalf of University of California San Diego’s Center on Gender Equity and Health (GEH) from March to May 2023. More information about the study is available at https://geh.ucsd.edu/cal-vex/.
###
About the California Violence Experiences Study (CalVEX)
The California Violence Experiences Study (CalVEX) provides insight into the current state of violence and discrimination for adult California residents. The survey provides timely population-level estimates on physical violence, inclusive of knife and gun violence, as well as a range of sexual violence experiences, inclusive of harassment, coercion, and forced sex.
NORC at the University of Chicago conducted the online CalVEX survey on behalf of the University of California San Diego’s Center on Gender Equity and Health (GEH). 3,560 California adult residents ages 18+ were surveyed from March 2023 to May 2023. For complete research methods, including recruitment, weighting variables, and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Nicole Johns at nejohns@health.ucsd.edu.
END
SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 6, 2023 – Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN), a leader in genetic testing and precision medicine, today revealed new nationwide survey results indicating widespread confusion and misconceptions about ovarian cancer screening among a majority of women.
The Myriad Genetics Cancer Risk survey shows that nearly three out of four women (71%) falsely believe annual pap smears include testing for ovarian cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the “only gynecologic cancer the Pap test screens for is cervical cancer.”
“Ovarian cancer is ...
Non-Hermitian systems with their spectral degeneracies known as exceptional points (EPs) have been explored for lasing, controlling light transport, and enhancing a sensor’s response. A ring resonator can be brought to an EP by controlling the coupling between its frequency degenerate clockwise and counterclockwise traveling modes. This has been typically achieved by introducing two or more nano-tips into the resonator’s mode volume. While this method provides a route to study EP physics, the basic understanding of how the nano-tips’ shape and size symmetry impact the system’s non-Hermicity is missing, along with additional loss from both in-plane and out-of-plane ...
A newly discovered way of optimising plant enzymes through bioengineering has increased knowledge of how plant material can be converted into biofuels, biochemicals and other high-value products.
The University of Adelaide-led study presents innovative ideas for how the walls of plant cells can be assembled, structured and remodelled by controlling specific enzymes’ catalytic function.
Fundamental plant cell properties – such as structure, integrity, cytoskeletal organisation and stability ...
A multidisciplinary team of investigators from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center was awarded a $2.5 million Translational Team Science Award from the Department of Defense to develop a tailored treatment for glioblastoma, a deadly brain tumor with limited treatment options.
The team — including David Nathanson, associate professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Benjamin Ellingson, director of the UCLA Brain Tumor Imaging Laboratory and professor of radiological ...
MIAMI, FLORIDA (EMBARGOED UNTIL SEPT. 5, 2023 AT 8 P.M. ET) – A new analysis of liver cancer has identified racial and ethnic differences and emerging trends for this highly fatal disease. The study, conducted by researchers with Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and collaborating organizations, also identified potential targeted interventions to improve control and prevention.
Their extensive review, published Sept. 6 in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, examined 14,420 confirmed ...
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Forest thinning is improving the robustness of older trees and enhancing native biodiversity on federal lands in eastern Oregon, evidence that collaborative efforts to restore forests are working, research by Oregon State University shows.
The study led by James Johnston of the OSU College of Forestry involved long-term monitoring and research partnerships between OSU, the U.S. Forest Service and local groups in Oregon’s Blue Mountains.
Published today in Forest Ecology and Management, the findings illustrate the collaboration’s success ...
There’s been a striking 79% increase in new cases of cancer among the under 50s around the world over the past three decades (1990-2019), finds research published today in the open access journal BMJ Oncology.
Breast cancer accounted for the highest number of ‘early onset’ cases in this age group in 2019. But cancers of the windpipe (nasopharynx) and prostate have risen the fastest since 1990, the analysis reveals. Cancers exacting the heaviest death toll and compromising health the most among younger adults in 2019 were those of the breast, windpipe, lung, bowel, and stomach.
The findings ...
There’s strong evidence of a ‘threshold effect’ in English hospitals’ efforts to comply with the 18-week referral to treatment standard, concludes a long term data analysis of performance against the target, published online in the journal BMJ Quality & Safety.
The target focused activity on meeting the threshold requirement for patients on the waiting list after which it tailed off—the so-called threshold effect–rather than instigating pervasive improvement in practice, the analysis indicates. Clinical need may be a secondary consideration for meeting the target, suggest the researchers.
In 2012, an 18-week ...
The hyperactivity disorder, usually referred to as ADHD, is an independent risk factor for several common and serious mental health issues, finds research published in the open access journal BMJ Mental Health.
It is associated with major depression, post traumatic stress disorder, the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, and suicide attempts, the findings show, prompting the researchers to recommend vigilance by health professionals in a bid to ward off these disorders later on.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition in children and teens that extends into adulthood in up to around two thirds of cases. Worldwide, its prevalence ...
The rotating shoulders and extending elbows that allow humans to reach for a high shelf or toss a ball with friends may have first evolved as a natural braking system for our primate ancestors who simply needed to get out of trees without dying.
Dartmouth researchers report in the journal Royal Society Open Science that apes and early humans likely evolved free-moving shoulders and flexible elbows to slow their descent from trees as gravity pulled on their heavier bodies. When early humans left forests for the grassy savanna, the researchers say, their versatile appendages were essential ...
