Sexual Safety
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Sexual Safety in Acute Mental Health Care Settings
IRAS ID
260638
Contact name
Julie McGarry
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 9 months, 31 days
Research summary
Sexual violence is widely recognised as a significant global issue and is now a priority for healthcare systems in terms of support and service delivery worldwide. The impact of sexual violence is both immediate and far-reaching and includes both physical and psychological trauma. It has been estimated that universally around 1 in 3 (35%) of women have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. In England and Wales for the year ending March 2016 the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that of the 421, 185 recorded domestic abuse crimes (this excluded the 609,935 domestic abuse incidents that were not recorded as crimes), approximately 13,000 related to sexual offences. Moreover, women are more than 5 times more likely to have experienced this type of abuse since the age of 16 than men (ONS, 2017). It has also been identified that those who experience mental ill-health experience higher rates of victimisation and within acute care settings women are at particular risk of sexual assault. However, there is also a clear body of evidence that those working in mental health settings are poorly equipped to recognise and/or respond to sexual violence in this environment. In September 2018 the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published Sexual Safety on Mental health Wards which clearly highlighted that sexual safety is still a major issue in mental health services in the UK. At a national level the CQC have identified the need for national guidance on sexual safety on mental health wards that can be adapted to specific inpatient settings. This has formed the focus for the intended research.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/EM/0098
Date of REC Opinion
2 Apr 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion