Sexual victimization and risk factors among school-aged children in Colombia: A cross-sectional study

Child sexual assault (CSA) is a critical public health issue that disproportionately affects children in environments marked by family instability and limited school protection. Empirical evidence from Latin American school settings remains scarce.

To examine individual, familial, digital, and school-related factors associated with sexual victimization among students in Itagüí, Colombia.

A total of 205 students aged 8-17 years from three public schools participated in the study.

A cross-sectional analytical design was used. Sexual victimization was operationalized as a binary composite outcome based on four items capturing non-consensual sexual contact, coercion or threats, requests to expose intimate body parts, and grooming-like situations indicating imminent sexual risk. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were employed to estimate associations.

Overall, 32.1% of students endorsed at least one indicator of sexual Victimization or risk. Exposure to physical violence or threats was strongly associated with sexual victimization (OR 7.38; 95% CI 1.68-32.45). Knowing someone who had been victimized and family alcohol consumption also increased risk. Perceived school safety (OR 0.12; 95% CI 0.03-0.55) and knowledge of children's rights (OR 0.08; 95% CI 0.01-0.47) emerged as significant protective factors.

Sexual victimization in this school population was significantly associated with household violence and specific environmental vulnerabilities, whereas perceived school safety and knowledge of children's rights emerged as protective correlates. These findings highlight key factors relevant for early identification and prevention.