Although victim blaming in the context of sexual assault is often emphasized, little research has compared rates of victim blaming following sexual assault relative to other forms of criminal victimization. There are a variety of risk factors for the development of psychopathology following trauma exposure (Brewin et al., 2000). One risk factor is negative social reactions from professional or personal others when the survivor discloses their experience (Dworkin et al., 2019).

Sexual assault is a serious public health problem in the United States with national studies finding that approximately 20% of women and 1.5% of men experience an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime (Smith et al., 2017). Sexual assault causes both mental health and medical problems (including posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, suicidal ideation and behaviors, alcohol and drug use, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and unintended pregnancy).

The purpose of this study was to document rates of rape acknowledgment (labeling rape as rape rather than using a minimizing label) and corresponding mental health correlates using the minority stress framework in a sample of youth: specifically including a sample of racially diverse sexual and gender minority young adults. Participants were 245 young adults who identified their sexual orientation as under the bisexual umbrella. Of the participants, 159 (65.2%) identified their gender identity as nonbinary.

The majority of sexual assault victims make the decision to not report their victimization to the police (Bachman, 1998; Ullman & Filipas, 2001; Wolitzky-Taylor et al., 2011). While there are many reasons why a victim may choose to not report, most notable in the research are victims’ concerns about fears of mistreatment, not being taken seriously, not being believed, and the prospect of reprisal from the perpetrator (Logan, Evans, Stevenson, & Jordan, 2005; Patterson et al., 2009; Wolitzky-Taylor et al., 2011).

In the United States, 21.3% of women and 2.6% of men experience attempted or completed rape in their lifetimes (Smith et al., 2018). Rape is associated with numerous negative physical and mental health effects, yet little is known about medical prescribing practices following rape-related emergency room visits. The goal of this study was to examine factors associated with medications prescribed the same day as a sexual assault medical forensic examination (SAMFE).

This study examined health profession students’ comfort levels, perceived knowledge, attitudes, and preferences for domestic and sexual violence education at an academic medical center. Students acknowledged that their perceived knowledge of community resources was poor which may have contributed to the fact that comfort, attitudes, and perceived knowledge of the topic remained only fair. A majority of students (83.2%) reported that they had received less than three hours of training in their coursework, which remained consistent for students with more years of education.