Who Experiences Sexual Violence in Muslim Communities?

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Haddijatou Ceesay, Yasmeen Khayr, Sabreen Mohammed, Kiran Waqar, Hera Syed

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in every four girls and one in every six boys will be victims of sexual violence before the age of 18. The goal of this chapter is to investigate the prevalence of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence in Muslim communities aged 18-45 in the United States and Canada. According to the findings, 97% of the 529 Muslim respondents had experienced sexual violence, ranging from offensive comments about their bodies to unwanted pursuit, attempted kissing, and rape. More specifically, 53.9% experienced stalking, 58.4% experienced attempted or completed sexual assault, and 28.4% experienced intimate partner violence. Unfortunately, 93.9% of the Muslim respondents experienced a variety of sexual harassment as well. These alarming rates of sexual violence are not representative of all Muslims. Still, they do reflect a self-selection of Muslim survivors seeking space to disclose and seek support in response to their harmful experiences. It is crucial to understand the reality of sexual violence among Muslims to more accurately respond and address the urgent need for comprehensive support services for survivors within Muslim communities.