Search Results (218)

Previous research has shown that both victim intoxication and narrative framing can influence the levels of victim blame. However, far less attention has been paid to how coercive strategy and narrative framing may interact to shape victim-blaming judgements and perceptions of sexual assault. The present study addresses this gap by examining how combinations of coercive strategies (physical force versus alcohol facilitated), narrative framing (active versus passive), and rape myth acceptance (RMA) influence victim blame and the recognition of sexual assault. Participant gender and age were also assessed in relation to RMA and victim-blaming attitudes. A total of 202 participants aged 18–63 (78.7% of women, 21.3% of men, M_Age = 28.93, SD = 14.36) completed an online survey evaluating vignettes depicting a male perpetrator sexually assaulting a female victim. Age significantly predicted victim blaming, with older participants assigning greater blame to the victim. Gender predicted both RMA and victim blame, with men reporting higher RMA and greater victim blame than women. Active framing in both the physical force and alcohol-use conditions reduced participants’ recognition of the incident as sexual assault. Participants with lower RMA consistently reported lower victim blame across conditions, and were more likely to identify the incident as sexual assault in the physical force condition. These findings highlight the influence of coercive strategies and the importance of victim-centred language in policing, legal, and media contexts, where narrative framing can meaningfully shape the recognition of sexual assault. Full article

Background/Objectives: Survivors of sexual violence and domestic violence/intimate partner violence (IPV) often require support beyond the immediate emergency encounter; however, post-acute care remains inconsistently defined, unevenly organised or conceptualised, and fragmented across service systems. This scoping review mapped international post-acute follow-up, care, assistance, and support pathways, with particular attention to organisational models, continuity mechanisms, loss to follow-up after first access, and implications for the Italian context. Methods: We conducted an international health-services scoping review of post-acute follow-up, care, assistance, and support interventions for survivors of sexual violence and domestic violence/IPV. Searches were performed in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, Embase, APA PsycINFO via EBSCOhost, and CINAHL via EBSCOhost. Eligible studies were published from 2013 onward and had to describe an identifiable post-acute component beyond the initial emergency, forensic, or first-contact phase. The review followed a Population–Concept–Context framework and was reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR. Results: Forty-four studies were included in the core synthesis, comprising 16 studies on sexual violence/sexual assault, 27 on domestic violence/IPV, and one mixed domestic, family, and sexual violence outreach model. The sexual violence literature clustered around early trauma-focused interventions, sexual assault care centre pathways, medical follow-up, follow-up attendance, and digital continuity tools. The IPV literature was broader and included psychotherapy, advocacy and case-management models, housing-first and trauma-informed stabilisation approaches, nurse-led and clinic-based services, outreach and safety-contact programmes, digital interventions, and programmes for system-involved survivors. Across both fields, the pathways most consistently described as supporting continuity combined structured re-contact, coordinated support, and multi-component responses over time. Conclusions: The mapped literature supports conceptualising post-acute responses to sexual violence and domestic violence/IPV as continuity pathways that extend beyond first contact and link healthcare, psychological, advocacy, and social supports. Systems may be better positioned to support continuity when they provide structured follow-up, warm handoffs, coordinated navigation, and context-sensitive recovery models. These findings point to provisional, evidence-informed organisational questions for strengthening post-acute pathways, including in Italy, particularly around structured re-contact, warm handoffs, survivor navigation, and integration between healthcare, anti-violence, psychological, and territorial social-support services. Full article

Background: The prior literature associates childhood sexual abuse (CSA), a profound early-life stressor, with long-term cardiometabolic and psychological effects. However, data on the distribution of CSA severity and patterns among different sociodemographic groups are limited. This study aimed to describe CSA prevalence, patterns, and severity among adults with hypertension and to examine its association with sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated a sample of 353 adults using various self-reported items. The analysis used individual responses and a binary variable indicating CSA exposure. A composite CSA severity score was determined by the number of reported abuse patterns and categorized into ordinal levels. Results: Of the participants, 42.2% reported exposure to CSA. The most frequently reported pattern was sexual contact or harassment (26.1%), followed by other sexual abuse acts (25.2%), forced sexual acts or exposure (18.7%), and coerced sexual activity (17.3%). Sexual assault or rape was reported by 20.7% of respondents. In terms of severity, 57.8% of respondents reported no CSA exposure, whereas 10.8% reported experiencing the highest severity. All examined sociodemographic factors were significantly associated with CSA exposure (p < 0.001). Conclusions: High CSA exposure and greater severity patterns were prevalent in this population, demonstrating notable sociodemographic gradients. These findings support the need for trauma-informed therapeutic awareness of CSA exposure among adults with hypertension. Nevertheless, the role of CSA as a risk factor for hypertension cannot be inferred from this study, as it only included subjects with preexisting hypertension. Longitudinal research is necessary to identify causal pathways. Full article

Sexual consent is central to cases of sexual assault and rape. Logically, sleeping persons cannot consent; yet there has been scant research examining the experience of sexual touching while sleeping. The current research is the first known to specifically examine sexual touching with a sleeping partner, with a goal of understanding the contextual features surrounding, responses to, and perceptions of the legality and acceptability of these behaviors. Undergraduate participants from two universities (N = 724) completed several measures assessing their experience of sexual touching while sleeping, the context, sexual precedence, responses, and their perceptions of such touching. A significant proportion reported waking up to someone touching them sexually (n = 233; 32.2%), including genital touching and penetration, and about one in ten (n = 71; 9.8%) reported completely sleeping through a sexual act. Participants had been touched sexually while sleeping by a range of individuals from spouses to strangers, but it was more common among established sexual partners. Perceptions of legality and acceptability of sexual touching while sleeping were influenced by relationship context and sexual precedence. Meanwhile, immediate, longer-term, and affective responses to specific sexual touching while sleeping incidents varied by both relationship type and sexual precedence. This research provides important avenues for education and prevention efforts, particularly in light of the discordance between perceptions of legality and acceptability and current conceptualizations of consent and legal statutes. Full article

The abuse of γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and its precursors, γ-butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BD), has increased in recent years, with these substances frequently being illicitly added to beverages. GHB is colorless and odorless and exhibits anesthetic and hypnotic psychoactive effects, which are often exploited in drug-facilitated sexual assault, posing a significant public safety concern. Chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry is a conventional analytical approach for narcotic drug determination due to its high sensitivity and accuracy; however, its large instrumentation footprint and high operational cost limit its suitability for on-site rapid screening. In response to the growing demand for field-deployable analytical tools, rapid detection technologies for GHB have progressively evolved. This review summarizes and compares the advantages and limitations of current rapid detection methods for GHB and discusses their potential future developmental trends, with the aim of providing a reference for researchers and relevant authorities. Full article

Objectives: This study aims to characterize sexual assaults through the analysis of demographic, clinical, and medico-legal variables and to identify areas for improvement both in the care pathway and in the collection of information relevant to judicial proceedings. Methods: A retrospective review of injury reports issued by the reference hospital in Cantabria (northern Spain) between 2021 and 2024 was conducted. Variables related to the victim and the assault (including its temporal and spatial characteristics) were extracted, and both descriptive and analytical statistical methods were applied. Results: The results showed that 57% of reported sexual assaults occurred in a private residence, and in 68% of cases, the victim had voluntarily met with the aggressor. Temporally, incidents took place predominantly during early morning hours and on weekends, and most victims sought medical care within the first 24 h. Notably, 52% had consumed drugs or alcohol, 22% reported memory gaps suggestive of chemical submission, and victims who had consumed alcohol were less likely to express an intention to press charges (p = 0.005). In over half of the reports, the information provided was insufficient to properly interpret the results of biological trace analyses. Conclusions: Identifying common variables related to both the victims and the circumstances of sexual assault is essential for developing effective prevention and intervention strategies. Furthermore, the information to be included in injury reports for sexual assault should be standardized at the national level, as shortcomings in data collection during the initial medical assessment (which is highly relevant for judicial processes) highlight the need to raise awareness among emergency care professionals. Full article

Gender-based violence (GBV) in higher education is increasingly recognized as a systemic problem across offline and online contexts, yet the pathways linking gender-related attitudes, victimization, and formal help-seeking remain insufficiently understood in Southern Europe. This study examined whether Sexual Harassment/Assault and Coercive Control mediate associations between ambivalent sexism, Acceptance of Dating Violence, Perceived Behavioral Control, and Formal Help-Seeking Intentions among women students in Greek higher education. An anonymous online survey was completed by 550 women students, and structural equation modeling tested direct, mediated, and multi-group associations by age, education level, and perceived financial situation. Coercive Control was the strongest predictor of Formal Help-Seeking Intentions, followed by Acceptance of Dating Violence and Perceived Behavioral Control, whereas Hostile and Benevolent Sexism had no significant direct effects. Mediation analyses showed that Coercive Control, rather than Sexual Harassment/Assault, provided the more consistent pathway to help-seeking intentions. Multi-group analyses indicated broadly stable patterns, with selected differences by age, education, and financial situation. The findings suggest that university GBV policies should move beyond incident-based responses, address patterned Coercive Control, and improve students’ perceived ability to access formal support services. Full article

The present study attempts to understand factors that influence bystanders’ decisions to intervene in risky sexual situations in the Ivory Coast. The study aimed to examine the influence of personality traits, history of sexual violence victimization, sense of community, and rape myths on bystander intervention among college students. Two hundred college students from one of the major cities in the Ivory Coast were invited to participate in the study using a convenience sampling approach. Using an OLS framework, our analysis revealed that extroversion is associated with a willingness to intervene, whereas prior sexual assault experience undermines the desire to intervene. Moreover, we found that students’ demographic characteristics influence their willingness to intervene. Policy implications of the findings are discussed. Full article

The conviction rate for sexual assault and rape in the UK has decreased since the 1980s. In part, this has been due to survivors’ negative experiences during their journey through the criminal justice system. While thorough reviews of the criminal justice system have taken place and recommendations have been made, there is a lack of psychological evaluation of the effects of this journey. In this study, we interviewed eight survivors who had gone through the criminal justice system, asking about their experiences and their impact. Thematic analysis, with triangulation, was undertaken, revealing that the negative experiences of feeling let down and the disjointed communication led to prolonged mental health difficulties. The interrelated subthemes highlighted how survivors’ expectations, potentially from seeking justice, were different from reality. Their reality of delayed, poor, and misguided communication from members of the criminal justice system made them feel abandoned, helpless, and powerless. The consequence of this was negative strain, additional trauma, and prolonged distress. These results are interpreted within a framework of the practicalities of investigating serious sexual assault and how best to support survivors of sexual violence while they are treated as witnesses under the criminal justice system in the UK. Full article

Background: Sexual Assault Care Centres (SACCs) in Belgium provide integrated medical and psychological care, a forensic examination and the option to report to the police to victims of sexual assault (SA). Understanding victims’ acceptability of these services is essential for improving SACC’s effectiveness and informing policy. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 19 victims and 14 support persons to explore victims’ experiences with SACCs. The victims represented diverse characteristics (gender, age, SACC site and police reporting status). Data were analysed using thematic framework analysis, guided by Sekhon’s “Theoretical Framework of Acceptability”. Results: Participants viewed SACCs as a highly acceptable integrated model of specialised care for victims of recent SA. They expressed strong appreciation for the care provided at the SACC and its set-up (affective attitude), and they identified key professional qualities of SACC professionals (ethicality). Participants demonstrated good understanding of the functioning of the SACCs (intervention coherence). The model was perceived as effective in providing medical care, mental health support, and facilitating police reporting, though gaps were noted in linking victims with other actors in the criminal justice system (perceived effectiveness). Organisational strengths included the holistic, long-term, proactive, affordable and accessible nature of the care offered (perceived effectiveness, burden and opportunity cost). Victims faced challenges in linking to, engaging with and remaining in care due to distress post-SA, with support persons playing a crucial role in helping them navigate these challenges (self-efficacy). Conclusions: The study highlights the acceptability of an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to specialised SA care. Key elements include embedded psychological support, the option for forensic examination without mandatory reporting, and the possibility of police reporting at the SACC. These findings may inform the development of specialised SA services in other settings. Full article

Background/Objectives: Forensic DNA analysis is a key investigative resource in sexual-violence casework, but its recorded use depends on how cases move through clinical, custody, judicial, and laboratory pathways. In Italy, this transition is organizationally heterogeneous and poorly documented through linkable procedural data. This study aimed to describe archive-based trends in archived cases, documented judicial seizures, and recorded forensic DNA analyses within a Milan-based clinical-forensic custody pathway from 2016 to 2024. Methods: A retrospective, archive-based observational study was conducted using records from the institutional UNIMI forensic custody observatory linked to the SVSeD pathway. The primary dataset included annual counts of archived sexual-violence-related cases, cases with documented judicial seizure of biological evidence, and cases with recorded forensic DNA analysis. For contextual interpretation, aggregate centre-level indicators, namely total sexual-violence cases and ex officio reports, were also reviewed as non-linkable background data. Only descriptive analyses were performed, and no causal inference was attempted. Results: Over the study period, the archive recorded 2311 cases, 102 cases with documented judicial seizure of biological evidence, and 142 cases with recorded forensic DNA analysis. The temporal series showed marked variability, including a decline in 2020, followed by recovery in subsequent years. Most recorded forensic DNA analyses were documented as being performed by the Polizia Scientifica and Carabinieri (RIS/RaCIS), whereas smaller proportions involved the university laboratory and other external laboratories. Contextual indicators showed a progressive increase in total sexual-violence cases over time, while ex officio reports did not rise proportionally. Conclusions: The findings document pathway-level attrition between archived cases, documented seizure, and recorded forensic DNA analysis, but they do not identify the exact procedural stage at which attrition occurs. The absence of standardized case-level procedural variables precludes causal attribution for non-seizure or non-analysis of biological evidence. Future evaluation of forensic DNA utilization in sexual-violence casework will require standardized tracking across clinical, custody, judicial, and laboratory stages. Full article

Primary care clinics represent a promising, yet underutilized, setting for delivering health-focused prevention programming targeting adolescent substance use, sexual assault, and sexual risk behaviors; however, little is known about adolescents’ prior exposure to such messaging. Therefore, the present study examined adolescents’ prior prevention exposure, their perceptions of prevention content, and recommendations for future programs. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 25 adolescents (ages 14–18; 56% female, 36% male, 8% gender fluid or Two-Spirit) recruited from primary care and community settings in the southeastern United States. Thematic analysis was used to examine youth exposure to and perspectives on prevention programming. Three core themes emerged: (1) prior exposure to prevention content across topics; (2) appraisal of strengths and limitations within previous programming; and (3) recommendations for what adolescents believe their same-aged peers should know. Participants reported a preference for technology-based programs, criticized interventions exclusively promoting abstinence and negative consequences, and emphasized needing additional information on sexual consent. Adolescents in primary care settings report inconsistent exposure to prior prevention, most centering abstinence and negative consequences, rather than inclusive harm-reduction approaches. Findings highlight a structural gap in exposure to comprehensive adolescent prevention programming and position pediatric primary care as a uniquely flexible and developmentally congruent setting for delivering integrated, harm-reduction-oriented prevention interventions. These findings also further support the development of scalable, technology-driven prevention tools that can be implemented within pediatric primary care settings to improve accessibility reach, engagement, and relevance. Full article

Depression, although a consequence of sexual violence, has not been studied in the context of college students’ views of campus sexual violence climate. Depression is one of the most prevalent and impairing mental health concerns among college students and has well-established links to sexual violence victimization; therefore, it serves as a theoretically and clinically meaningful focal outcome. Therefore, we assessed perceptions of institutional climate in the context of self-reported depression. Undergraduates (n = 716) reported perceptions and experiences of campus sexual violence and misconduct, connectedness, attitude, and depressive symptoms in an online survey. More than a third of participants reported elevated depressive symptoms. This was associated with campus connectedness and attitude, perceived campus climate, and personally experiencing rape, assault, or harassment. In a multivariate model, only the perceived climate variables did not retain significance. Elevated depressive symptoms were associated with connectedness and attitude towards the university and experiencing sexual harassment/assault. Understanding and explicitly addressing these connections may be beneficial for the effectiveness of campus prevention and intervention. Full article

The forensic reliability of biological fluids in sexual assault investigations depends on substrate type, environmental exposure, time since deposition, and analytical methodology. This systematic review evaluates the forensic reliability of major biological fluids, semen, blood, saliva, and vaginal secretions by comparing detectability and persistence on porous and non-porous substrates, assessing environmental and temporal effects on DNA integrity, and examining the performance of identification methods. A systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (2001–2025) was conducted following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Eligible studies investigated fluid persistence, degradation, or identification reliability under controlled or casework-relevant conditions. A weighted scoring framework categorised relative reliability. Twenty-seven studies met inclusion criteria. Semen and blood demonstrated higher reliability across substrates, particularly when collected within recommended timeframes. Porous substrates reduced surface detectability but occasionally preserved DNA from rapid degradation. Elevated temperature, humidity, and prolonged intervals consistently reduced DNA quality and detection success. Molecular approaches, including mRNA profiling, showed enhanced specificity in degraded or mixed samples, though methodological variability limited direct comparability across studies. The forensic reliability of biological fluids is context-dependent, shaped by complex interactions between substrate characteristics, environmental exposure, and analytical technique. Semen and blood remain robust DNA sources, while emerging technologies offer improved specificity in challenging scenarios. Standardised evaluation frameworks and timely evidence collection remain essential to enhance evidential value and minimise misinterpretation in sexual assault investigations. Full article

Herein, RATSGO (Real-time Automated Training and Sensing for Gas Odor), a fully automated live-animal olfactory training platform, for the detection of GBL as a sexual assault-facilitating drug is reported. The system integrates four distinct operant conditioning-based training paradigms, all executed without human intervention, to enhance learning speed, consistency, and scalability. Using this fully automated framework, four rats were trained to identify γ-butyrolactone (GBL). Three of the four animals successfully reached the predefined learning completion criterion, whereas one failed to meet the criterion. Across 320 automated trials, the GBL rats achieved a mean detection accuracy of 90%, with sensitivity and specificity values of 97% and 82%, respectively. The corresponding positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV) were 85% and 96%. When challenged with GBL diluted in drinking water (180 trials), performance remained high, yielding 88% accuracy, 89% sensitivity, 87% specificity, 85% PPV, and 90% NPV. Similarly, in experiments involving GBL mixed with whisky (200 trials), the rats demonstrated robust recognition capability, achieving 90% overall accuracy, perfect sensitivity (100%), 84% specificity, 79% PPV, and 100% NPV. Importantly, odor discrimination performance was preserved when reassessed four months after the completion of training, indicating strong long-term retention of the learned odor representations. Collectively, these findings confirm that the RATSGO system supports rapid, stable, and precise odor learning, underscoring its promise as a practical and extensible biological sensing platform for chemical detection applications. Full article