Final answer:
Sexual violence and abuse are often unreported due to fear of retaliation, stigma and shame, and a lack of trust in the legal system or authorities. These factors inhibit victims from coming forward, resulting in over half of IPV incidents remaining hidden and causing major societal impact.
Step-by-step explanation:
Sexual violence and abuse are grossly underreported for several reasons. Fear of retaliation or further violence is a significant deterrent, as victims may worry about the consequences of reporting their abuser. The stigma and shame associated with being a victim often prevent individuals from coming forward, as societal attitudes can be judgmental or dismissive of victims' experiences. Additionally, there is often a lack of trust in the legal system or authorities, fueled by a belief that reporting the abuse won't result in meaningful help or justice. This mistrust is substantiated by statistics showing that victims might consider abuse a private matter, are concerned for the abuser's well-being, or fear that the police won't take action. More than half of intimate partner violence (IPV) goes unreported, which obscures patterns of abuse and complicates the gathering of accurate statistics. Research indicates that many victims experience abuse for an extended period before their first report, and these unreported cases have a major impact on families and society. Moreover, even when abuse is reported to police by a third party, a significant number of victims deny that the abuse occurred. This highlights the complexities surrounding the reporting of such incidents and the need for sensitive and robust support systems.