Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Edith Wolfson Medical Center, Holon, Israel.
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2020 Jul;99(7):941-947. doi: 10.1111/aogs.13809. Epub 2020 Feb 23.
To improve care for victims of sexual assault, specialized assault centers have been developed globally, providing medical, psychological and legal care in one place. Our assault center serves a large population in the center of Israel. In 2010, we initiated a program aimed to prevent assaults among minors and to encourage early referral of victims to the center. The goal of the current study was to assess the impact of this program by comparing the characteristics of sexual assaults before and after the program's initiation.
We conducted a historic cohort study of all victims of sexual assaults who were treated in our center between October 2000 and November 2017. A comparison was performed between victims treated before and after January 2010 (early vs. late study period), when the prevention program was initiated. The program mainly included lectures in middle and high schools, and workshops for police investigators.
Overall, 3941 victims of sexual assault were treated in our center during the study period. Most victims were females (90.5%). Mean age was 23.0 ± 11.0 years. Most victims were single (93.1%), and approximately half knew their perpetrator before the assault. Compared with the early study period, in the late study period we observed a decrease in the rate of minor victims (31.9% vs. 24.7%, respectively, P < .001) and an increase in the rate of victims who arrived to the center within 3 days of the assault (P = .001). However, we observed higher rates of multiple-perpetrator assaults (16.7% vs. 21.9%, respectively, P < .001), alcohol use (29.2% vs. 40.1%, respectively, P < .001), and drug use (7.2% vs. 9.0%, respectively, P = .04). Moreover, in the late study period, fewer victims were willing to press charges (79.5% vs. 64.4%, respectively, P < .001).
Our prevention program might have contributed to reducing the rate of sexual assaults among minors and shortened the time interval between the assault and victim's arrival to the center. Nonetheless, more efforts should be taken to reduce the involvement of alcohol and drugs in sexual assaults and to encourage victims to press charges.
为了改善性侵犯受害者的护理，全球范围内已经建立了专门的攻击中心，提供医疗、心理和法律方面的一站式服务。我们的攻击中心为以色列中心地带的大量人群提供服务。2010 年，我们启动了一项旨在预防未成年人遭受攻击并鼓励受害者尽早到中心就诊的计划。本研究的目的是通过比较该计划启动前后性侵犯的特征来评估该计划的影响。
我们对 2000 年 10 月至 2017 年 11 月期间在我们中心接受治疗的所有性侵犯受害者进行了历史性队列研究。在该计划启动时（2010 年 1 月前和后），对两组受害者进行了比较。该计划主要包括中学和高中讲座以及警察调查员研讨会。
在研究期间，共有 3941 名性侵犯受害者在我们中心接受治疗。大多数受害者为女性（90.5%）。平均年龄为 23.0±11.0 岁。大多数受害者为单身（93.1%），并且大约一半的受害者在袭击前认识施害者。与早期研究相比，在晚期研究中，我们观察到未成年受害者的比例下降（分别为 31.9%和 24.7%，P<.001），并且在袭击后 3 天内到达中心的受害者比例增加（P=.001）。然而，我们观察到多人性侵的比例更高（分别为 16.7%和 21.9%，P<.001），酒精使用的比例更高（分别为 29.2%和 40.1%，P<.001），以及药物使用的比例更高（分别为 7.2%和 9.0%，P=.04）。此外，在晚期研究中，愿意提出指控的受害者比例较低（分别为 79.5%和 64.4%，P<.001）。
我们的预防计划可能有助于降低未成年人遭受性侵犯的比例，并缩短受害者到达中心的时间间隔。然而，还需要进一步努力减少酒精和毒品在性侵犯中的参与，并鼓励受害者提出指控。
