Prevalence of sexual assault among women patients seen in family practice clinics.

OBJECTIVE

This study assesses the prevalence and characteristics of sexual assault among women patients attending two family medicine residency training clinics.

METHODS

Two hundred four consecutive women patients 18 years and older were asked to complete a questionnaire; one hundred eighty-eight (92.2%) agreed.

RESULTS

Fifty-four (28.7%) of the 188 women patients reported some type of sexual assault. Approximately 15% of patients reported being victims of rape; 8% reported attempted rape, and 5.3% reported forced sexual contact. Twelve (41.4%) of the 29 rape victims indicated that they had been raped more than once. Only 24% of rape and attempted rape victims reported the incident to police, 18.2% sought medical attention, and 21% sought counseling.

CONCLUSIONS

Family physicians should be aware of the prevalence of sexual assault in their practices and should understand proper questioning, management, counseling, and referral of patients.