There is an increasing scientific recognition that women, primary victims of different forms of interpersonal victimization, tend to co-experience other forms of victimization throughout lifetime. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of publications on lifetime multiple victimization of women. We found predominantly cross-sectional studies, retrospective and correlational designs, directed to study multiple interpersonal violence, particularly intimate abuse. Self-report inventories and semi-structured interviews were the most commonly strategies used to evaluate the problem, and the most frequent sampling option was convenience samples, recruited in normative (university) or forensic contexts. The prevalence of multiple victimization reported by women, although high, varied between studies, reflecting the different samples and evaluation tools. In terms of impact, the studies were consensual on the idea that the greater the cumulative victimization the greater impact victimization would produce. Finally, we present the main contributions and limitations that draw from this systematic review.
multiple victimization; poly-victimization; cumulative abuse; women; intersectionality
