Recommendations for Care and Support of Female Rape Victims.

Introduction According to prevalence studies, at least 5% of all women in the Federal Republic of Germany experience rape during their lifetime. While the effects vary according to the individual, rape has serious consequences for the somatic, psychological, and psychosocial health of the victim. The medical care that is provided to presumed rape victims is of special importance, as this care can have a positive influence on the patient's ability to process their experience and engage in healing following such a traumatic event. Furthermore, doctors are the professionals whose help is most often sought in this context. Primary care following rape consists of three aspects: the forensic medical examination, medical care, and psychological care. In this position paper, each of these aspects are discussed in detail. Recommendations for follow-up care are also provided. Methods In a multi-tiered process, a selective literature review was performed and a consensus among representative experts from different areas of specialization was formulated. Goals The goal of this paper is to contribute to the further improvement and standardization of the medical care provided to women who are presumed rape victims. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).

Citation

Lina Ana Fryszer, Melanie Büttner, Saskia Etzold, Elisabeth Muetzel, Katharina Rall, Julia Schellong, Team of authors at Frauennotruf [Womenʼs Emergency Helpline] Frankfurt, Matthias David. Recommendations for Care and Support of Female Rape Victims. Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde. 2022 Apr;82(4):384-391

PMID: 35392070

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