Scoping Review on the Prevalence of Sexual Violence Against Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults.

There have been no scoping reviews addressing the current state of research on sexual violence against deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children, adolescents, and young adults. To fill the gap, this scoping review investigates how prevalence data of sexual violence has been collected and estimated across studies. Five electronic databases (Medline, PsycINFO, ERIC, Embase, PSYNDEX) were searched to identify studies reporting the prevalence of sexual violence against DHH children, adolescents, and young adults (aged ≤25 years) published in German or English between 1995 and 2024. Additionally, a manual search was conducted. Out of 834 studies, 11 met the eligibility criteria for the scoping review. Across the studies, huge methodological heterogeneity was found. Prevalence of sexual violence was described through 12-month prevalence, lifetime prevalence, retrospective periodic prevalence up to the age of 16, and retrospective periodic prevalence up to the age of 18. Studies examined the prevalence of sexual violence by any type of perpetrator, (intimate) partners, only male perpetrators, and a person known only from the internet. Combining all studies, the overall prevalence of sexual violence by any type of perpetrator differs (11.0%-50.0%). Furthermore, prevalence of unwanted sexual intercourse (8.0%-21.9%), of sexual violence with physical contact (15.2%-24.8%), and of non-physical contact (12.6%-22.2%), each by any type of perpetrator, varied. Recommendations for future research activities, policy, and practice are presented to enhance efforts to prevent sexual violence against DHH children, adolescents, and young adults.