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Editor's Note

The topic of sexual assault has gained increasing attention recently, with a number of high-profile cases grabbing the headlines, and the #MeToo movement giving victims a voice.

The statistics are unsettling - according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 25% of girls and 1 in 6 boys will fall victim to sexual abuse before their 18th birthday.

We're encouraged by the frequency and candor of the public dialog on the topic. We've collected the following resources on the topic of sexual assault for this month's edition of Friday's Progress Notes, and hope you find them helpful in your practice.

If you or your patients or clients need additional resources, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. They operate the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (800.656.4673).

We welcome your comments and feedback, if you'd like to get in touch just click here to send us a message.

Resources

1. The Sexual Assault Epidemic No One Talks About
   Pauline wants to tell her story — about that night in the basement, about the boys and about the abuse she wanted to stop. (Audio available)
   NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO (NPR)

2. Statistics About Sexual Violence
   Nearly one in 10 women has been raped by an intimate partner in her lifetime. The average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12 to 14 years old. One in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18 years old.
   NATIONAL SEXUAL VIOLENCE RESOURCE CENTER (NSVRS)

3. Understanding Teen Dating Violence
   Dating violence is a type of intimate partner violence. It occurs between two people in a close relationship. The nature of dating violence can be physical, emotional, or sexual.
   CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC)

4. Sexual Assault On College Campuses
   Studies show that students are at the highest risk of sexual assault in the first few months of their first and second semesters in college.
   OFFICE ON WOMEN'S HEALTH

5. Decreasing Human Trafficking through Sex Work Decriminalization
   In order to decrease human trafficking, health care workers should support the full decriminalization of prostitution. By removing punitive laws that prevent reporting of exploitation and abuse, decriminalization allows sex workers to work more safely, thereby reducing marginalization and vulnerability.
   AMA JOURNAL OF ETHICS

6. The Notion of Truth and Our Evolving Understanding of Sexual Harassment
   Recent years have demonstrated a dramatic shift in the public dialogue concerning sexual harassment. This shift reflects changing cultural mores and standards in the workplace and society as a whole, particularly with respect to the validity of women’s voices.
   JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PSYCHIATRY AND THE LAW

7. After An Assault
   One of the core purposes of counseling a college student who has been raped is to re-establish that student’s sense of safety and control. Even in the initial session, it can be helpful to ask the student to identify elements of a safety plan that includes practical physical and psychological elements as a first step toward this treatment goal.
   COUNSELING TODAY

8. Sexual Harassment And Medicine
   Sexual harassment hit a peak of cultural awareness over the past year. Will medicine be the next field to experience a reckoning? The field of medicine needs to do better in terms of education, support, anticipation, prevention, and reaction to harassment.
   CURRENT PSYCHIATRY ONLINE

9. Should a Physician Comply with a Parent’s Demands for a Forensic Exam on a 16-Year-Old Trauma Patient?
   A teenage patient refused the pelvic exam that would be required for evidence collection, and she was also unwavering in her refusal of emergency contraception. Her mother steadfastly insisted on both. What should the clinician do?
   AMA JOURNAL OF ETHICS

10. National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2015 Data Brief
    Sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence are serious public health problems affecting millions of people in the United States each year. These forms of violence are associated with chronic physical and psychological adverse health conditions, and violence experienced as a child or adolescent is a risk factor for repeated victimization as an adult.
    CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC)