Female sexual assault, HIV testing, and education: A secondary analysis of the 2015 youth risk behavior survey

Physical and sexual assault are potential risk factors for HIV/AIDS. Little is known about whether assault victims get tested for HIV/AIDS. The purpose of this study was to examine whether victims of sexual assault are more likely to get tested for HIV if they had education about the virus prior to attack. A secondary data analysis of the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was used to explore the relationship among female victims of date or sexual assault, HIV testing, and education. HIV education, testing, and date and sexual assault were statistically related. A small percentage of students reported being forced to have sex (n=717; 10.8%) and experienced date assault (n=706; 10.6%). Of all female high school students who took the survey, 85% (n=5,512) had been educated about HIV at some point in their lives. However, only 992 (16.2%) of the young women who participated in the survey had reported getting tested for HIV. Victims were more likely to get tested for HIV. This study provides information for changes in HIV education to adolescents.