Sexual assault in the inpatient psychiatric setting

Sexual assault in the inpatient psychiatric setting is a significant problem with serious, lasting consequences. It is important for psychiatric providers to appreciate the nature and magnitude of this problem to be able to provide an appropriate response when faced with these challenging scenarios, as well as to advocate for the imple-mentation of preventive measures. This article provides a review of the existing literature regarding sexual behavior in the inpatient psychiatric unit, describing the epidemiology of sexual assaults in these settings, and exploring the characteristics of both victims and perpetrators, with a particular focus on factors of relevance to the inpatient psychiatric patient population. Inappropriate sexual behavior in inpatient psychiatric settings is common, however the varying definition of such throughout the literature serves as a challenge to clearly identifying the frequency of specific behaviors. The existing literature does not identify a way to reliably predict which patients are most likely to engage in sexually inappropriate behaviors on an inpatient psychiatric unit. The medical, ethical, and legal challenges that such cases present are defined, followed by a review of current management and prevention strategies, and suggested future directions for research.

Automated summary

Sexual assault in the inpatient psychiatric setting is a serious problem with lasting consequences. The existing literature lacks a consistent definition of inappropriate sexual behavior, making it challenging to determine the frequency of specific behaviors. Predicting which patients are most likely to engage in sexually inappropriate behaviors is not possible based on current literature. This article reviews the epidemiology, characteristics of victims and perpetrators, and management strategies for sexual behavior in the inpatient psychiatric unit.