Who Receives Help Following Sexual Assault?
A new study will investigate access to services at Danish centers for sexual assault. The study will shed light on what happens to survivors who are not offered treatment at these centers.
Novo Nordisk Fonden har givet 2,26 millioner kroner til et forskningsprojekt om sektorovergange i forbindelse med hjælp efter seksuelle overgreb Forskningsprojektet ved navn ”For-glem-mig-ej” ledes af Maj Hansen, lektor ved Institut for Psykologi på Syddansk Universitet.
Hensigten med forskningsprojektet er at undersøge, hvilke overgrebsramte, der tilbydes et forløb på de danske centre for seksuelle overgreb samt hvordan overgrebsramte, som ikke tilbydes hjælp på centrene, oplever det videre behandlingsforløb uden for centrene, og hvorvidt denne behandling har fokus på det seksuelle overgreb.
-Voldtægt kan medføre alvorlige følgevirkninger for den ramte, og det er derfor vigtigt, at alle voldtægtsramte har adgang til specialiseret behandling for overgrebet, forklarer Maj Hansen.
Not Everyone is Offered Treatment
In Denmark, the treatment for sexual assault is organized around nine centers.
All survivors of sexual assault who approach one of these centers are offered an assessment interview to determine whether they meet the criteria for psychological treatment at the respective center. However, not all survivors are offered treatment.
-When a survivor is not offered treatment, it may be because they have other complicated and co-existing problems that require other forms of treatment. For instance, if the survivor also has severe mental illness, active substance misuse, cognitive impairments, or is in an ongoing abusive relationship, some survivors are referred to other treatment facilities, Maj Hansen explains.
Meet the researcher
Maj Hansen is associate professor at the Institute of Psychology and leader at the research unit THRIVE.
Difficulty in Accessing the Right Services
Other treatment facilities may include psychiatric units, substance abuse treatment, residential facilities, or crisis centers.
-It is unclear whether the sexual assault is taken into consideration in the subsequent treatment, or if the focus is solely on other aspects, potentially overlooking the assault altogether. Therefore, it can be difficult to determine where these survivors should receive help. Additionally, it is unknown how these survivors perceive the transition between different treatment options, known as sector transitions, Maj Hansen elaborates.
As a result, the "Forget-me-not" research project focuses on this particularly vulnerable group of survivors and their journey through the treatment system. The project aims to provide an overview of how potential issues with sector transitions can be minimized, ensuring the most continuity in the treatment process by investigating who is offered services at the centers, and what the path through the treatment system looks like for survivors not offered services at the centers.
About the Project
The project is conducted by THRIVE, Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, under the leadership of Associate Professor Maj Hansen, Project Coordinator Associate Professor Nina Beck Hansen, Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark & Center for Rape Victims, Odense University Hospital, and Postdoctoral Researcher Maria Hardeberg Bach, with participation from the Danish sexual assault centers.