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Abstract
This study aimed to assess the extent to which recent peer-reviewed published literature on the acute management of sexual assault was women–centered. We developed indicators and a framework that operationalized women-centered care provision in the context of sexual assault. We then reviewed and evaluated the literature in relation to these indicators. A systematic search identified a total of 20 relevant articles for inclusion in the analysis. These were published in medical journals (65%, 13/20), nursing journals (20%, 4/20), and journals targeted toward other health care practitioners (15%, 3/20), and originated from the United States (65%, 13/20), the United Kingdom (15%, 3/20), Australia (10%, 2/20), Spain (5%, 1/20), and Canada (5%, 1/20) between January 2000 and August 2005. We found little acknowledgment of the inherent tensions faced by sexual assault examiners in providing women-centered care. Moreover, absent from most articles were discussions of the complexities of consent in sexual assault examinations, social justice issues, the need for gender-sensitive training for health care providers, and a critical appraisal of colposcopic and DNA technologies. Indicators of respect, safety and restoring control, and connections to community were present in the majority of articles.
Acknowledgments
This project was sponsored by the BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre Foundation and the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women's Health through the Nelly Auersperg Award in Women's Health Research. Margaret McGregor holds a Vancouver Foundation, Community-based Clinician Investigator award and is supported by the University of British Columbia, Centre for Health Services and Policy Research and the Dept. of Family Practice, Division of Geriatrics. Janice Du Mont holds a CIHR New Investigator Award in Gender and Health and is supported by the Atkinson Foundation. An earlier version of this article was presented at the 14th Annual Scientific Assembly of the International Association of Forensic Nurses, Vancouver, British Columbia, September 29, 2006.
Notes
aIncludes drug and therapeutics bulletin, emergency medical services, and Journal of Clinical Psychology.
1. Colposcope (n): a magnifying instrument designed to facilitate visual inspection of the vagina and cervix (in Merriam-Webster's On-line Medical Dictionary, http://www.m-w.com/medical/colposwpe