Objective:

Describe the behavior of sexual violence in the department of Huila (Colombia) during the five-year period 2016 to 2020.

Materials and methods:

Quantitative research, descriptive cross-sectional type, universe of 4,988 cases of sexual violence, whose source was the Epidemiological Surveillance System (SIVIGILA).

Results:

Sexual violence presented an increasing trend between 2016 and 2019, but a decrease of four percentage points for the year 2020. The municipalities with the highest number of cases of sexual violence were Neiva, Pitalito, La Plata, and Garzón. In the sociodemographic analysis of the victim, the majority were in the life cycles of adolescence, infancy, and early childhood. Women presented the highest frequency; with a ratio of 7.3 women victims of sexual violence for each man. Regarding the modality, sexual abuse was the most relevant, followed by rape, sexual harassment, and sexual acts. Regarding the profile of the aggressor, it was the male gender that presented the highest frequency, with a ratio of 26.2 male aggressors to one female.

Conclusions:

Sexual violence in Huila showed a great vulnerability in adolescents, childhood, and early childhood and mainly in women. It is urgent to address aspects such as social and economic inequalities, gender violence, abusive behavior, social crises in local public policies.

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