Sexual assault in the emergency department: What can you do?

It has been documented that 1 in 3 women will experience rape in her lifetime, and this is most common in women under the age of 25.  Over 95 percent of victims of sexual assault are women worldwide, while in North America estimates place that at 85 percent.  These are the assaults we know about — generous estimates say that, at most, 10 percent of rapes are reported to police or other authorities/health care providers.  2004 CDC statistics indicated there were 57,000 visits to U.S. emergency departments for a presenting complaint of sexual assault — which is still a high number despite flawed methodology which likely vastly underestimated the numbers.  To support this, a 2014 survey of patients in the emergency department found that half had experienced sexual assault in their lifetime.  Sexual assault has an annual cost of over $2 billion in direct patient costs, lost wages and productivity (not including childhood sexual abuse). Sexual assault affects all domains of a victim’s life, the physical and emotional, and extends out in a ripple effect to their surrounding relationships.  This has been shown to be a key factor in the health of a person, exacerbating chronic complaints and contributing to new medical issues.  It can be difficult for a patient to disclose their assault due to shame, guilt, feelings of responsibility and cultural norms.  Instead, they can present with vague complaints which can be acute or chronic in nature — commonly head...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Emergency Medicine Source Type: blogs