Sexual violence and mental health services: a call to action
Open accessAbstract
People who experience sexual violence are highly likely to experience psychological and/or mental health (MH) problems as a result. People who use MH services often have a history of sexual assault and are also likely to be revictimised as an adult. Yet despite there being a very clear association, MH services are not yet performing routine enquiry, and even if they do, are not confident about how to record and manage disclosures. There is some emerging evidence that people with MH problems are exposed to sexual violence in inpatient MH settings, perpetrated by both other patients or members of staff. In this editorial, we explore the evidence to support a wider focus on sexual violence as a part of routine care, as well as some recommendations about how staff can more effectively discuss sexual issues including that of sexual victimisation.
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- Authors
- Hughes, E., Lucock, M., & Brooker, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Leeds (GB)
- Royal Holloway University of London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Hughes, Elizabeth
- Venue
- Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2019-03-11
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 594-597
- ISSN
- 2045-7960 (ISSN-L)
- 2045-7979
- PMC
- PMC6998872
- OpenAlex
- W2922249658
- Cited by
- 27
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
- Edinburgh Napier Research Repository (Edinburgh Napier University) (submittedVersion)
- Huddersfield Research Portal (University of Huddersfield) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (16/117/03)
- Economic and Social Research Council (ES/S004424/1)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Keywords
- sexual violence, sexual assault, mental health services, revictimization, disclosure management, employee training
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Mental Disorders, Female, Humans, Mental Health Services, Sex Offenses, Crime Victims
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