ACEs, sexual violence, and sexual health

Author(s):  
Christine Wekerle ◽  
Martine Hébert ◽  
Isabelle Daigneault ◽  
Elisabeth Fortin-Langelier ◽  
Savanah Smith
2021 ◽  
pp. e20210003
Author(s):  
Brittany Thiessen ◽  
Linzi Williamson ◽  
Carie M. Buchanan

A growing number of universities are providing sexual violence prevention programs to students in recognizing the need for this programming. While universities favour programs on singular topics aimed at preventing sexual violence, scholars have argued that comprehensive sexual health education should begin prior to entering university to better ensure safer campus communities. Further, students have expressed unmet needs regarding the sexual health education they received prior to attending university. Therefore, the current study sought to explore gaps in sexual health education as identified by university students. Participants ( N = 444) were asked to describe the consent definition they were taught in high school and from their parents, and how the sexual health education they received could have been improved. An inductive thematic analysis was used to identify six themes from the data: back to consent education basics, you have the power to set boundaries, staying safe in sexual situations, take a sex-positive approach with sex education, wholistic education on consent-based relations, and practical recommendations for providing sex education. Findings highlight that participants desired a more wholistic approach to their sexual health education that included practical components on healthy sexuality. Notably, participants relayed how proper sexual health education may have prevented experiences of sexual violence they had. Thus, it is essential to continue exploring how best to provide comprehensive sexual health education to adolescents.


Author(s):  
Anne Nobels ◽  
Christophe Vandeviver ◽  
Marie Beaulieu ◽  
Adina Cismaru Inescu ◽  
Laurent Nisen ◽  
...  

Sexual violence (SV) is an important public health issue with a major impact on victims and their peers, offspring and community. However, SV in older adults is under-researched. This paper aims to establish the prevalence and nature of SV in older adults in Europe, link this with existing policies and health care workers’ response to sexual health needs in older age, and critically revise the currently used frameworks in public health research. To fill this gap in the literature, we applied a Critical Interpretative Synthesis (CIS) approach. The CIS approach uses techniques from grounded theory and processes from systematic review. It allows to critically interpret key findings from both academic as well as grey literature, engendering theory refining. In the first phase of purposive sampling, we conducted a systematic review of academic sources and included 14 references. The cut-off age used to define old age varied between 60 and 70 years old among the included studies. Subsequently we added another 14 references in the second phase of theoretical sampling. We ultimately included 16 peer-reviewed articles and 12 documents from the grey literature. The CIS results demonstrate that knowledge of SV in older adults is still limited. The current research suggests that SV in older adults rarely occurs, however, prevalence rates are likely to be underestimated because of methodological shortcomings. The complexity of SV in older adults is not acknowledged in ongoing research due to the conflation of SV with other types of violence. Information on specific risk factors and about assailants committing SV in old age is absent. Policy documents dealing with sexual and reproductive health, rights and ageing make no mention of SV in older adults. In clinical practice, the sexual health needs of older adults often remain unmet. In conclusion, our findings suggest that older adults are forgotten in prevention and response to SV. Greater awareness about this topic could contribute to a revision of current policies and health care practices, leading to more tailored care for older victims of SV.


2021 ◽  
pp. 513-536
Author(s):  
Megan K. Maas ◽  
Emily A. Waterman

Both sexual health promotion (i.e., prevention of adverse physical outcomes such as sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy and promotion of sexual experiences that are emotionally, mentally, relationally, and physically positive) and sexual violence prevention (i.e., prevent ion of sexual harassment consisting of unwanted sexual teasing, joking, or sexual requests and sexual assault that consists of any unwanted sexual contact) are important public health issues for emerging adults. This chapter discusses the opportunity for integrating sexual health promotion and sexual violence prevention for emerging adults. It discusses key topic areas for integration, including bystander intervention, sexual communication, consent education, gender transformative education, and media literacy. The chapter also discusses how preventionists can use existing infrastructure for sexual health promotion and sexual violence prevention to better integrate these initiatives. Integrating these efforts will help ensure that emerging adults think holistically about their sexual experiences as a fundamental part of their well-being throughout the life span.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Nobels ◽  
Christophe Vandeviver ◽  
Marie Beaulieu ◽  
Adina Cismaru Inescu ◽  
Laurent Nisen ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTSexual violence (SV) is an important public health issue with a potential major impact on victims and their peers, offspring and community. However, SV in older adults is under-researched. This paper aims to establish the prevalence and nature of SV in older adults in Europe, link this with existing policies and health care workers’ response to sexual health needs in older age and critically revise the current used frameworks in public health research.We applied a Critical Interpretative Synthesis. After the first phase of purposive sampling we included 14 references. Another 14 references were included after the second phase of theoretical sampling. We ultimately included 16 peer-reviewed articles and 12 documents from the grey literature.0.0% to 3.1% of older adults in Europe were sexually victimised in the past year. Lifetime prevalence of SV was 6.3%. Information on specific risk factors and assailants committing SV in old age is non- existing. Although in theory policy makers increasingly recognise the importance of sexual health in older age, SV in older adults is not mentioned in policy documents on sexual and reproductive health and rights and ageing. In clinical practice, the sexual health needs of older adults remain often unmet. Knowledge about SV in older adults is still limited. Ongoing research does not fully grasp the complexity of SV in older adults. Greater awareness about this topic could contribute to a revision of current policies and health care practices, leading to more tailored care for older victims of SV.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (13) ◽  
pp. 1967-1977
Author(s):  
Randolph D. Hubach ◽  
Chandra R. Story ◽  
Joseph M. Currin ◽  
Audrey Woods ◽  
Ashlee Jayne ◽  
...  

Rates of sexual assault and sexual violence among college-aged adults are much higher than the national rates of sexual assault and sexual violence. Therefore, reduction and prevention of sexual violence among university students is critical and is consistent with national public health priorities. Often times, messages to students focus only on sexual assault and omit larger notions of sexual health. Four focus groups with a total of 24 participants (nine men, 15 women) highlighted three main perceptions about the sexual assault programming offered at this large university: themes of resistance to traditional programming, a need for holistic sexual health programming, and a desire to have an environment, which normalizes conversations surrounding sex, sexuality, and sexual health.


2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (9) ◽  
pp. 1115-1127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corey E. Flanders ◽  
RaeAnn E. Anderson ◽  
Lesley A. Tarasoff ◽  
Margaret Robinson

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. e037599
Author(s):  
Rachel J Caswell ◽  
Ian Maidment ◽  
Jonathan D C Ross ◽  
C Bradbury-Jones

IntroductionSupporting people subjected to sexual violence includes provision of sexual and reproductive healthcare. There is a need to ensure an environment for safe and supported disclosure of sexual violence in these clinical settings. The purpose of this research is to gain a deeper understanding of how, why, for whom and in what circumstances safe and supported disclosure occurs in sexual health services.Methods and analysisTo understand how safe and supported disclosure of sexual violence works within sexual health services a realist review will be undertaken with the following steps: (1) Focussing of the review including a scoping literature search and guidance from an advisory group. (2) Developing the initial programme theories and a search strategy using context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configurations. (3) Selection, data extraction and appraisal based on relevance and rigour. (4) Data analysis and synthesis to further develop and refine programme theory, CMO configurations with consideration of middle-range and substantive theories.Data analysisA realist logic of analysis will be used to align data from each phase of the review, with CMO configurations being developed. Programme theories will be sought from the review that can be further tested in the field.Ethics and disseminationThis study has been approved by the ethics committee at University of Birmingham, and has Health Research Authority approval. Findings will be disseminated through knowledge exchange with stakeholders, publications in peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations and formal and informal reports. In addition, as part of a doctoral study, the findings will be tested in multisite case studies.PROSPERO registration detailsCRD4201912998. Dates of the planned realist review, from protocol design to completion, January 2019 to July 2020.


2019 ◽  
Vol LXXX (2) ◽  
pp. 95-107
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Gabryś

The sexuality of women with disabilities is an issue that still requires exploration despite the growing interest of researchers and clinicians in the topic. The focus of the deliberations is on analysis of factors that hamper the sexual life of women with motor disabilities. This phenomenon is presented based on the findings of available studies and analyses. The following issues are described: stereotypes, myths, and prejudice concerning sexuality, sexual knowledge, sexual violence, body image, and sexual identity. Also, sexual health and medical counseling are analyzed.


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