These summaries were written by SVPEP staff and are based on original papers published within the last 3 years. The information available on this web site is provided as a public service and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the Arizona Department of Health Services, or the University of Arizona. To conduct an individual search or locate older articles use the Search Summary Database which includes over 600 articles related to sexual violence.

Azikiwe, N., Wright, J., Cheng, T., & D’Angelo, L. J. (2005). Management of rape victims (regarding STD treatment and pregnancy prevention): Do academic emergency departments practice what they preach? Journal of Adolescent Health, 36, 446-448.

Summary: This study examined the difference between institutional policy and practice concerning the role of emergency contraception (EC) and STD-screening for sexual assault cases in 85 emergency departments. Results showed that 60% of emergency departments screen for STDs. Additionally, 85.9% provide EC counseling, 87.7% administer the first dose in the emergency department, and 64.7% offer HIV postexposure prophylaxis (PEP). Interestingly, only 67.9% of emergency departments have an EC policy and only 55.3% have a nonoccupational HIV PEP policy. As such, the majority of academic emergency departments are apparently offering EC counseling, EC treatment, and HIV PEP to victims of sexual assault, despite the absence of institutional policies.

Topics: medical response; treatment; victim services

Fitzgerald, M.M., Danielson, C.K., Saunders, B., & Kilpatrick, D.G. (2007).Youth victimization: Implications for prevention, intervention, and public policy. The Prevention Researcher, 14, 3-7. [Posted August 2007]

Key Points: Policies and practices are needed to minimize the harm of youth victimization by encouraging assessment, targeted prevention, and treatment interventions.  

Summary: The authors review national prevalence rates of youth victimization, including: sexual, emotional or physical abuse; witnessing domestic or community violence; property crime; and excessive punishment. They note gender and race/ethnicity differences in prevalence rates as well as mental health effects. Specific recommendations for assessing risk and resiliency factors as well as screening for victimization in clinical settings are given. The authors discuss the importance of targeted interventions for specific groups, and urge adoption of an ecological model. Finally, the authors discuss how public and organizational policies can help decrease the impact of victimization and increase the availability of supportive services for youth and their families.

Topics: adolescent/high school; effects; medical response; prevalence; prevention; racial/ethnic differences

Kimerling, R., Street, A. E., Gima, K., & Smith, M.W. (2008).  Evaluation of universal screening for military-related sexual trauma.  Psychiatric Services, 59, 635-640. [Posted August 2008]
 
Key Points: Universal screening may play an important role in secondary prevention efforts for military sexual trauma. 

Summary: In 2005, 33,259 women and 540,381 men were screened for military sexual trauma which the Veterans Health Administration refers to military sexual trauma as severe or threatening forms of sexual harassment and sexual assault sustained in military service.  The purpose of the study was to evaluate screening efforts and to explore if there was association with increased use of mental health services and sexual trauma screening.  Women and men who had positive screens had higher rates of post screen mental health treatment. The screens increased utilization of mental health services among individuals without a history of mental health treatment.

Limitations: The study does not show a causal relationship between screening and use of mental health services. 

Topics: evaluation, medical response, military

Magid, D. J., Houry, D., Koepsell, T. D., Ziller, A., Soules, M. R., & Jenny, C. (2004). The epidemiology of female rape victims who seek immediate medical care: Temporal trends in the incidence of sexual assault and acquaintance rape. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 19, 3-12.

Summary: The emergency department is an important source of information about sexual assault occurrence since victims of sexual assault usually go to the emergency department for medical assistance after being assaulted. This is a study comparing the number of female sexual assault victims treated in a Colorado county’s emergency department between July and November of 1974 and 1991. It was hypothesized that there would be a significant increase in the incidence of sexual assault between 1974 and 1991. As predicted, there was a 60% increase in sexual assault incidence with this increase primarily caused by an increase in sexual assaults involving known assailants. Moreover, victims in the emergency department reported more physical force and physical injury in 1991 when compared to 1974. Additional differences between study years (e.g., incidence of oral/anal intercourse during assaults as well as administration of pregnancy prophylaxis and antibiotics) are also presented. Implications of these findings concerning rates of acquaintance rape, reporting rates, and changes in treatment practices are discussed.

Topics: injury; medical response; statistics

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Updated 09/19/08