Sexual assault occurring in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV) relationships has received much less attention in the literature on sexual assault. Studies of both survivors and their informal support network members are also lacking in both sexual assault and IPV literatures.
UNASSIGNED: The current study\'s purpose was to examine sexual assault survivors\' experiences where intimate partner violence was mentioned as part of their narratives.
UNASSIGNED: Survivors and their informal support providers (SP; e.g., family, friends, romantic partners) were interviewed separately about disclosure, social reactions, and help-seeking following assault. Twenty-nine survivors and 12 informal support persons they told about their assaults mentioned survivor experiences of IPV-related sexual assault (IPVS).
UNASSIGNED: Several themes emerged from the analysis of codes related to the traumatic event of IPV: 1) Severe physical violence in an intimate partner relationship; 2) use of violence for sexual gratification; 3) connecting trauma to other behavior, 4) unwanted duty and redefining abuse, and 5) state responses to IPVS.
UNASSIGNED: Implications are drawn for future research and practice on IPVS with survivors and their informal support networks.

Over 100,000 women present for emergency care after sexual assault (SA) annually in the United States. To our knowledge, no large prospective studies have assessed SA survivor experiences with police. Women SA survivors enrolled at 13 sites (n = 706), and 630 survivors reported on their police interactions. Most women were interested in speaking with police, spoke with police, and reported positive experiences. Latinas and women with lower education and income were less likely to speak with police. Trauma and posttraumatic stress symptoms were associated with more negative experiences. Qualitative comments provide key points for police to consider when speaking with survivors.

We report the experience of bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide for nonoccupational postexposure prophylaxis in sexual assault cases. Between June 2021 and October 2023, 39 individuals completed the 28-day follow-up; 41% experienced some side effects, and 1 person discontinued the drug because of a rash. No individuals seroconverted to HIV during the follow-up period.

OBJECTIVE: Describe the characteristics and changes in the profile of women who sought care after experiencing sexual violence (SV) during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic in a Brazilian city.
METHODS: This is a cross-sectional retrospective study. Data from emergency care and legal abortion requests of women assisted at the Women\'s Health Care Center Hospital (School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas, Brazil) due to SV experienced between March 23 and August 23, 2020 (Quarantine Group, QG), were collected and compared with data from the same period of the previous biennium (Comparison Group, CG). χ2 and Fisher\'s exact tests were used to compare groups; the significance level was 5%.
RESULTS: Data for 236 women were analyzed; 70 women were included in the QG and 166 in the CG. In the QG, there was a restriction in the area of origin of women, with a higher proportion of women who lived in Campinas (P = 0.0007) and a higher frequency of chronic SV (P = 0,035). There were no rapes associated with the use of social media or apps in the QG, but 9.8% of women in the CG experienced rape associated with the use of social media or apps. There were higher rates of domestic violence (P = 0.022) and intimidation through physical force (P = 0.011) in the first two months.
CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 quarantine affected the profile of women who sought care after experiencing SV. The quarantine resulted in changes in the area of origin of patients, hindering access to health services and leading to higher rates of chronic and domestic SV, particularly in the first 2 months of the pandemic.

Forensic science has made a lot of progress in the medical field, but still ocular signs are not so well known to forensic scientists, whereas ocular signs play a very important role in forensic science. The major goal of this study to describe the importance of eye related clues in forensic science to solve the crime scenes and know the actual cause of death for the conviction of the criminals and save an innocent persons. Narrative review was done to review the articles available on the PubMed, Google Scholar, Research Gate, Web of Science and Medline related to the forensic optometry about the various methods of identification and strategies to deal with the forensic cases. The review covered studies that focused on interventions for forensic optometry and eye-related clues to the current study target. Twenty-seven of the 54 studies that met the inclusion criteria yielded good results, and all examined the significance of eye-related clues in forensic optometry. Peer reviewed articles/studies were referred to ascertain the eye related clues in the forensic science. Some authors suggest that eye related clues are very important aspects towards the forensic science and done the clinical research on that aspects. Criminal cases, domestic abuse and sexual assault affect people of all socioeconomic backgrounds. As a result, these traits would be highly valuable in determining the way of death and the chronological history of events leading up to a crime.

Introduction The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in India prohibits sexual engagement among individuals under 18 years old. However, societal variables also affect many teenagers\' consensual sexual activities. Little research has been conducted on the legal ramifications for consenting to sexual action under the POCSO Act. This study examined consensual sexual assault cases under the POCSO Act and their possible outcome. Methodology Five years of medicolegal records from a tertiary hospital were analyzed for sexual assault victims aged <18 years. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze victim demographics, literacy, sexual acts, reporting patterns, and accused-victim relationships. Result A total of 410 instances of sexual assault were recorded, and 29% involved victims between the ages of 16 and 18. Most victims (73.9%) in this age range were literate, and 85.7% provided consent for sexual relations. Parents or guardians reported all cases, and most of the accused were victims\' friends. Discussion The POCSO Act offers legal safeguards for sexual abuse and exploitation. However, their use in adolescent sexual consent has raised concerns. The Law Commission of India\'s refusal to reassess the POCSO Act\'s age barrier for sexual consent emphasizes the need for a child-centric approach to negotiating complex teenage relationships. Conclusion Balancing legal obligations and developmental needs is essential to addressing consensual sexual acts under the POCSO Act. While sensitively implementing the law, stakeholders must focus on their children\'s best interests and healthy development. Child-friendly environments and support systems empower victims and reduce trauma in teenage relationships.

Survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence often face many challenges in seeking/receiving healthcare and are often lost to follow up.
Our study objectives are to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and satisfaction of using telemedicine technology among sexual assault and intimate partner violence patients who present to a Canadian Emergency Department.
Qualitative research was conducted using a thematic approach.
Patients were identified from a case registry of all sexual assault and intimate partner violence cases seen between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2022 from an emergency department of a large Canadian hospital. Qualitative trauma-informed interviews were conducted with consenting participants. Thematic qualitative analyses were performed to investigate barriers and drivers of telemedicine for follow-up care.
Of the 1007 sexual assault and intimate partner violence patients seen during the study timeframe, 180 (8%) consented to be contacted for future research, and 10 completed an interview regarding telemedicine for follow-up care. All participants were cisgendered women, 5 (50%) experienced sexual assault, 6 (60%) physical assault, and 3 (30%) verbal assault. All knew their assailant, and 6 (60%) were assaulted by a current or former intimate partner. Three themes emerged as drivers of telemedicine use: increased comfort, increased convenience, and less time required for the appointment. Three thematic barriers to telemedicine use included lack of privacy from others, lack of safety from their assailant, and pressure to balance competing tasks during the appointment.
This study illustrated that telemedicine for sexual assault and intimate partner violence follow-up care is feasible, acceptable, and can improve patient satisfaction with follow-up care. Ensuring safety and privacy are key considerations when offering telemedicine as an appropriate option for survivors.
A qualitative analysis of telemedicine and virtual healthcare for survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violenceWhy was the study done? Sexual assault and intimate partner violence are prevalent issues in our society. More than 3/10 Canadian women have been sexually assaulted at least once since the age of 15 years and more than 4/10 Canadian women have experienced IPV in their lifetime. Survivors face many obstacles to receiving care after sexual assault and intimate partner violence and are often lost to follow up.What did the researchers do?The researchers studied the acceptability, feasibility, and satisfaction of using telemedicine technology among sexual assault and intimate partner violence survivors who presented to a Canadian Emergency Department. Sexual assault and intimate partner violence survivors were interviewed individually about their experience receiving follow-up care via telemedicine. The interviews were done using a trauma-informed approach, and data analyses were done to explore the barriers and drivers of telemedicine for follow-up care.What did the researchers find?The total number of interviews was 10, and all participants were cisgendered women. All knew their assailant and six were assaulted by a current or former intimate partner. Survivors found that telemedicine was an accessible way to have a follow-up appointment and were mostly satisfied with their experience. Three major drivers to using telemedicine included increased comfort being at home in their own space, increased convenience as they did not have to leave their house to have the appointment, and less time required for the appointment. Three major barriers to using telemedicine included lack of privacy from others during the appointment, pressure to balance competing tasks during the appointment, and lack of safety from their assailant.What do the findings mean?This study has shown that follow-up care for sexual assault and intimate partner violence survivors using telemedicine can be feasible, acceptable, and can improve patient satisfaction. However, it is important to consider factors such as safety and privacy on an individual basis when offering telemedicine as an option for follow-up care for survivors.

BACKGROUND: Nonprofit organizations are increasingly using social media to improve their communication strategies with the broader population. However, within the domain of human service nonprofits, there is hesitancy to fully use social media tools, and there is limited scope among organizational personnel in applying their potential beyond self-promotion and service advertisement. There is a pressing need for greater conceptual clarity to support education and training on the varied reasons for using social media to increase organizational outcomes.
OBJECTIVE: This study leverages the potential of Twitter (subsequently rebranded as X [X Corp]) to examine the online communication content within a sample (n=133) of nonprofit sexual assault (SA) centers in Canada. To achieve this, we developed a typology using a qualitative and supervised machine learning model for the automatic classification of tweets posted by these centers.
METHODS: Using a mixed methods approach that combines machine learning and qualitative analysis, we manually coded 10,809 tweets from 133 SA centers in Canada, spanning the period from March 2009 to March 2023. These manually labeled tweets were used as the training data set for the supervised machine learning process, which allowed us to classify 286,551 organizational tweets. The classification model based on supervised machine learning yielded satisfactory results, prompting the use of unsupervised machine learning to classify the topics within each thematic category and identify latent topics. The qualitative thematic analysis, in combination with topic modeling, provided a contextual understanding of each theme. Sentiment analysis was conducted to reveal the emotions conveyed in the tweets. We conducted validation of the model with 2 independent data sets.
RESULTS: Manual annotation of 10,809 tweets identified seven thematic categories: (1) community engagement, (2) organization administration, (3) public awareness, (4) political advocacy, (5) support for others, (6) partnerships, and (7) appreciation. Organization administration was the most frequent segment, and political advocacy and partnerships were the smallest segments. The supervised machine learning model achieved an accuracy of 63.4% in classifying tweets. The sentiment analysis revealed a prevalence of neutral sentiment across all categories. The emotion analysis indicated that fear was predominant, whereas joy was associated with the partnership and appreciation tweets. Topic modeling identified distinct themes within each category, providing valuable insights into the prevalent discussions surrounding SA and related issues.
CONCLUSIONS: This research contributes an original theoretical model that sheds light on how human service nonprofits use social media to achieve their online organizational communication objectives across 7 thematic categories. The study advances our comprehension of social media use by nonprofits, presenting a comprehensive typology that captures the diverse communication objectives and contents of these organizations, which provide content to expand training and education for nonprofit leaders to connect and engage with the public, policy experts, other organizations, and potential service users.

Sexual violence is widespread in war-torn North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Timely access to care is crucial for the healing and wellbeing of survivors of sexual violence, but is problematic due to a variety of barriers. Through a better understanding of care-seeking behaviours and factors influencing timely access to care, programmes can be adapted to overcome some of the barriers faced by survivors of sexual violence.
The aim of this study was to describe demographics, care-seeking patterns and factors influencing timely care-seeking by survivors of sexual violence.
Retrospective file-based data analysis of sexual violence survivors accessing care within two Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) programmes supporting the Ministry of Health, in North Kivu, DRC, 2014-2018.
Most survivors (66%) sought care at specialised sexual violence clinics and a majority of the survivors were self-referred (51%). Most survivors seeking care (70%) did so within 3 days. Male survivors accessing care were significantly more likely to seek care within 3 days compared to females. All age groups under 50 years old were more likely to seek care within 3 days compared to those aged 50 years and older. Being referred by the community, a family member, mobile clinic or authorities was significantly associated with less probability of seeking care within 3 days compared to being self-referred.
Access to timely health care for survivors of sexual violence in North Kivu, DRC, is challenging and varies between different groups of survivors. Providers responding to survivors of sexual violence need to adapt models of care and awareness raising strategies to ensure that programmes are developed to enable timely access to care for all survivors. More research is needed to further understand the barriers and enablers to access timely care for different groups of survivors.
Main findings: Timely access to care for survivors of sexual violence is crucial yet challenging in many places, including in North Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This study shows that a majority of survivors access care through specialised clinics, that access is limited for male and child survivors, and highlights factors influencing timely access to care for survivors of sexual violence.Added knowledge: This study shows that age, sex, and different referral pathways impact timely care seeking among survivors of sexual violence accessing care.Global health impact for policy and action: A better understanding of care-seeking patterns and which factors influence timely care seeking is useful when designing and implementing programmes responding to survivors of sexual violence.

This study aimed to explore the predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women who have recently experienced sexual assault, by examining psychological and neurophysiological factors using a prospective design with resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) functional connectivity. The study enrolled 33 women who had been recently traumatized by sexual assault and conducted assessments within a month of the trauma. These survivors were evaluated for PTSD three months later and were classified into two groups: PTSD positive (n = 12) and PTSD negative (n = 21). They were compared to two control groups comprising women who had not experienced any extremely traumatic events: 25 with depression and 25 healthy controls. The evaluation focused on resting-state EEG functional connectivity within default mode network (DMN) using small-worldness (SW), based on graph theory. We also assessed self-reported levels of depression, anxiety, anger, and executive functions. The findings indicated that survivors who developed PTSD three months post-trauma exhibited higher anxiety levels and reduced DMN SW in the beta 3 frequency, compared to those who did not develop PTSD. Contrary to expectations, survivors without PTSD showed decreased executive functioning and lower prefrontal centrality compared to those with PTSD. This study underscores the importance of early assessment and intervention for sexual assault survivors at risk of developing PTSD.