Management of people who have been raped

doi:10.1136/bmj.326.7387.458

BMJ 2003;326:458-459 ( 1 March )

Editorials

Management of people who have been raped

Needs special expertise, and more of it

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Rape is common but under-reported, with an estimated lifetime risk of up to one in four for women.¹ Definitions vary betweencountries; in England and Wales the term refers to non-consensualvaginal or anal penetration by a penis, of a woman or a man. Serioussequelae include psychological problems, infection, and unwantedpregnancy. People who have been raped may present, immediatelyor later, to general practitioners or other clinicians, not allof whom may be familiar with such situations. Here we outlinethe care of people who present after sexual assault; we use therelatively neutral term clients, as suggested elsewhere.²

Optimal management depends on the client's wishes and needs, time since assault, and whether involvement of the police isrequested. Meticulous medical notes are essential even if involvementof the police is declined initially, as reports may be requiredlater for legal processes or compensation. Immediate considerationsinclude safety, . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike

Complore

Connotea

Del.icio.us Add to Digg

Digg

Technorati What's this?

Relevant Article

Walk-in centres are often first line contact for rape victims: Maria J Gough
BMJ 2003 326: 1215. [Extract] [Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

Gough, M. J (2003). Walk-in centres are often first line contact for rape victims. BMJ 326: 1215-1215 [Full text]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Your definition of "rape" is inadequate!: Judith Ronat
bmj.com, 28 Feb 2003 [Full text]
Walk in Centres: often 1st line contact for rape victims: Maria J. Gough, et al.
bmj.com, 31 Mar 2003 [Full text]
Provision of Services to rape and sexual assault victims: Raine Roberts, et al.
bmj.com, 13 Mar 2003 [Full text]