Victimization and Sexual Perpetration in Adolescents: Insights from a Spanish Sample

Abstract This study examines the relationship between self-reported sexual violence perpetration and victimization experiences in a nationally representative sample of 4,024 Spanish adolescents aged 14–17. Drawing on the victim–offender overlap framework and developmental victimology, the study explores patterns of victimization and polyvictimization among adolescents who reported engaging in sexually violent behaviors during the past year. Results indicate that 4% of participants reported perpetrating sexual violence, and victimization was highly prevalent within this group. Among adolescents who engaged in sexually violent behaviors, 84.4% experienced at least one form of victimization in the same period. Electronic victimization (55%) and conventional crimes (41.9%) were the most frequently reported experiences. The number of victimization experiences among victimized perpetrators ranged from 1 to 21, with a mean of 6.4 ( SD = 5.2). Notably, 36.3% reported exposure to seven or more forms of victimization and were classified as polyvictims. Significant gender and age differences emerged in the victimization profiles of adolescent perpetrators, indicating differentiated patterns of exposure across developmental stages. These findings suggest that adolescent sexual violence perpetration rarely occurs in isolation but is embedded within broader trajectories of cumulative victimization across multiple social contexts. From a criminal policy and prevention perspective, the results underscore the need for integrated, developmentally informed, and gender-sensitive approaches that address victimization and offending simultaneously, including the incorporation of online environments into contemporary prevention strategies within European contexts.