Sexual Assault in the Context of Daily Level Changes in Socializing and Substance Use Prior to and During the...

This study examined daily level changes in sexual assault incidence over the course of the pandemic, and whether such changes could be contextualized by pandemic-related changes in socializing and substance use.

In a longitudinal study that encompassed pre-pandemic (February 2019 - March 2020) and pandemic periods (July 2020 - October 2021), young adult women (N=181; 22 - 25 years, M = 23.6) completed eight bursts of daily reports, each consisting of three weekend days (Friday - Sunday), three times a year (27 reports annually). Each day, women reported on their socializing, substance use, and unwanted sexual experiences.

Pandemic sexual assault incidence was about half that of the pre-pandemic period. Women reported fewer socializing occasions, less frequent alcohol use, and were more likely to socialize with a partner at someone's home during the pandemic, rather than with friends at a party or bar, compared with the pre-pandemic period. However, on days when women used alcohol and socialized, they were about 3 times more likely to experience sexual assault. Perpetrators of sexual assaults reported during the pandemic were more likely to be previous rather than new sexual partners, compared with pre-pandemic sexual assaults.

The contexts of sexual assaults experienced by women during the pandemic differed qualitatively from those reported prior to the pandemic. Changes in the social context were related to reduced risk for sexual assault; however, as one type of risk receded (assault emerging from social settings), another (assault by a partner, at home) became more prominent.