Citation

Anastassiou A, Shiboleth T, Caswell RJ. Sex. Transm. Infect. 2019; 95(8): 555-556.

Affiliation

Sexual Violence Special Interest Group, British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH), London, UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/sextrans-2019-054326

PMID

31748342

Abstract

Young people aged 16–19 years are the group reporting the highest prevalence in the last year of sexual assault in the England and Wales survey, with 1 in 10 reporting experience of sexual assault.1 Of note, younger teens were not surveyed. Experiences of sexual assault can result in physical injury, an increased risk of revictimisation, and a range of other deleterious outcomes concerning their (sexual and mental) health as well as emotional and social problems.2 Interventions are essential to alleviate or even prevent these outcomes, and research is important in order to improve this support for teens after sexual assault.

However, there is a marked scarcity of teen participation in studies where the findings could ultimately direct interventions and services following sexual assault. Without research inclusive of teen experiences, services will be offered that have been trialled in adults and as such may miss service issues that affect access to and acceptability of healthcare.3 Teen research participation …

Language: en

Keywords

adolescent; health services research; sexual assault