Clinical Scorecard: Lifetime Prevalence Among Women of Technology-Enabled Sexual Violence and Other Coercive Sexual Behaviors

At a Glance

Key Highlights

• The most frequently reported lifetime TFSV experience was receiving unwanted sexual images or messages (24.9%).

• Lifetime prevalence was 18.1% for nonconsensual drugging, 6.0% for stealthing, and 5.0% for nonconsensual choking or suffocation during sex.

• Reported prevalence was higher among younger participants; among women aged 23 to 34 years, 33.9% reported nonconsensual drugging, 15.2% stealthing, and 15.4% choking or suffocation.

• In the 23-to-34-year group, 60.7% reported unwanted sexual images, 50.3% unwanted requests for sexual images, and 35.6% persistent requests for dates or sex despite refusals.

• The authors identify recall and selection bias as limitations. Add other limitations only if verified in the full source.

Guideline-Based Recommendations

Diagnosis

• The study estimated lifetime prevalence using participant reports of specified events; it does not provide clinical diagnostic criteria.

Management

• The article does not provide individual treatment or management recommendations.

Monitoring & Follow-up

• The authors call for repeated population-based assessments across countries to evaluate temporal and contextual variation and associated health consequences.

Risks

• Potential recall and selection bias may affect prevalence estimates.

• The persistent unwanted-request item did not expressly specify that the experience involved technology.

• For suspected drugging, 1,551 participants responded “I suspect” and 1,043 responded “Yes”; do not infer perpetrator motivation unless supported by the full source.

Patient & Prescribing Data

No prescribing or treatment data were reported. The analytic sample comprised 14,358 women in Iceland; mean age was 50.3 years, and 99.5% identified as women.

The study reports prevalence of lifetime experiences, not medication use, treatment, or treatment outcomes.

Clinical Best Practices

• This population-based prevalence study does not establish clinical best practices or provide recommendations for screening, treatment, or follow-up. Its findings may inform awareness of the range and frequency of reported experiences, but should not be interpreted as clinical guidance.

Related Resources & Content

1. JAMA Network Open, 2026 — Lifetime Prevalence of Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence and Other Coercive Sexual Acts Against Women

2. Benítez-Hidalgo V, Henares-Montiel J, Ruiz-Pérez I, Pastor-Moreno G, 2025 — International Prevalence of Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence Against Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

3. JAMA Network Open — A Pilot Study on Skills Development in Affective Recovery Through Video and Text Interventions for Survivors of Recent Sexual Assault

4. Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) — Posttraumatic Symptoms as Predictors of Engagement With a Mobile App for Coping After Military Sexual Trauma: Public Usage Data Analysis Study

5. Frontiers in Psychiatry — An Evaluation of Disparities in Childhood Sexual Violence Among Women in Ghana: A Comparison of Data from 2008 and 2022 Utilizing the WHO Health Equity Assessment Toolkit

6. American Journal of Epidemiology — Factors Influencing Nonphysical Intimate Partner Violence: Insights from a Nationally Representative Survey in Canada

7. Technology Facilitated Violence against Women and Girls — Council of Europe Committee on Crime Problems

8. Care, courage, change: health-sector leadership in tackling violence against women and girls — WHO Regional Office for Europe

9. https://rcem.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Management-of-Adult-Patients-who-attend-Emergency-Departments-after-Sexual-Assault-and-or-Rape.pdf

10. International Prevalence of Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence Against Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies - Vivian Benítez-Hidalgo, Jesús Henares-Montiel, Isabel Ruiz-Pérez, Guadalupe Pastor-Moreno, 2025

11. Lifetime Prevalence of Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence and Other Coercive Sexual Acts Against Women | Women's Health | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network

12. Non-consensual condom removal among adults:... | F1000Research

13. Characteristics of drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA): an observational study at a Danish sexual assault center | International Journal of Legal Medicine | Springer Nature Link