Title: [Sexual violence: Recommended procedures and results of emergency care for women victims of rape]

POPLINE Document Number: 314981

Author(s):

Faundes A
Rosas CF
Bedone AJ
Orozco LT

Source citation:

Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetricia, 2006 Feb;28(2):126-135.

Abstract:

Gender-based violence is related to the power imbalance between men and women that is present, to a greater or lesser degree, in all societies. It was recognized as a human rights problem by the UN relatively recently. It includes emotional, physical and sexual violence. Sexual violence is the extreme form of gender violence, usually accompanied by the other types of violence. Its prevalence is difficult to determine, but it most probably affects at least one third of women some time in their life. It has multiple consequences to women's physical and gynecological health, which depends in great part on the quality of the care the woman received immediately after the assault. Unfortunately, most emergency health services, including those in women's hospitals, are rarely prepared to provide the correct care for these women. Care should be multidisciplinary and involves crisis treatment, meticulous clinical examination with complementary auxiliary methods, treatment of physical lesions, prevention ofpregnancy and of sexually transmitted infections and AIDS, and follow-up for at least six months after the aggression. (author's)

Keywords:

Critique
Women
Violence Against Women
Rape
Emergency Services
Emergency Contraception
Examinations and Diagnoses
Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention
Demographic Factors
Population
Domestic Violence
Crime
Social Problems
Sociocultural Factors
Health Services
Delivery of Health Care
Health
Contraception
Family Planning
Medical Procedures
Medicine
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Reproductive Tract Infections
Infections
Diseases