Administration of Childhood Physical and Childhood Sexual Abuse Screens in Adolescents and Young Adults: a Literature Review

Examining Cultural Competency and Sexual Abuse Training Needs Among Service Providers Working with Black and Latino Sexual Minority Men

Black and Latino sexual minority men (SMM) with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) may be reluctant to disclose such experiences or may appraise them as consensual because of cultural norms. Anticipated stigma, medical mistrust, and concerns that providers lack training in sexuality may complicate their efforts to obtain treatment for long-term health consequences of CSA. It is important to examine the training needs of service providers working with SMM who may disclose sexual abuse. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 35 substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and allied health service providers across the New York City area. Themes included the importance of training in cultural competence, trauma-informed care, and assessment of-and counseling for-CSA. Further education in these areas can enable providers to recognize indicators of abuse in their clients' sexual histories and to more effectively and safely respond to this information. Future studies are encouraged to test a trauma-informed approach to screening for CSA history with Black and Latino SMM who present to SUD treatment and allied health service providers. This research should consider provider perspectives in developing such an approach and will likely involve training and evaluation to ensure adequate preparedness and effective service delivery.

Sexual Inviolability of Minors in Central Kazakhstan: A Forensic Medical Analysis

Abstract Child sexual abuse is a social phenomenon that requires special attention from society, as it leads to the suffering of the most vulnerable part of the world's population. Child sexual abuse around the world not only persists, but also continues to grow, despite the active measures of the world community against it. Taking into account the high latency of crimes against sexual inviolability and sexual freedom of the person, measures for their detection and prevention are of particular relevance. All this requires constant monitoring of the current situation not only in the world or in the country, but also in each region of the country separately. Forensic medical examination of victims of sexual violence plays an important role in the analysis of the situation on this problem, not only in the legal, but also in the medical aspect.  Research aim: Analysis of quantitative and qualitative indicators of crimes against the sexual inviolability of minors on the territory of Central Kazakhstan for the formation of indicators for assessing the current situation in the region and recommendations for the prevention of these types of crimes. Methods A retrospective analysis of the situation on the number and structure of sexual crimes committed against children from 2018 to 2021 was carried out, and their dynamics was studied. There were investigated 1252 forensic medical examinations on cases of sexual crimes against the sexual inviolability of the person on the territory of Central Kazakhstan. Methods of applied statistical analysis were used to analyz obtained results. Results A detailed analysis made it possible to assess the structure and peculiarities of sexual crimes committed against children on the territory of Central Kazakhstan over the specified period of time. The number of sexual crimes against minors in the region is increasing every year. Statistically significant age characteristics of victims and specific indicators characterizing the socio-psychological aspects of sexual crimes in the region were revealed. It has been established that in most cases the aggressor is part of the victim's family or is very close to it. The analysis of the age structure of children showed that boys from 6 to 14 years old and girls over 14 are more likely to become victims. In the studied territory, the number of sexual harassment of children is more often committed by one person, often known to them, and in most cases occurs in enclosed spaces than on the street. Conclusion The progressive growth of crimes against the sexual inviolability of children in the region requires strengthening measures to improve legal means of countering sexual crimes against minors. A detailed study of the issue made it possible to identify lacks (organizational, tactical, diagnostic) and give the forensic medical examination of sexual conditions a qualitatively new level. The strategy of combating sexual crimes against minors should be based on active preventive work. Key words: forensic medical examination, sexual violence, Central Kazakhstan, children, minors.

A Brief Depression and Anxiety Rating Scale for Sexual Violence Victims

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to develop a brief self-report measure of depressive and anxiety symptoms in victims of sexual violence.

METHODS

The sample, which consisted of 215 victims and 255 healthy controls, was recruited between December 2016 and November 2018 from eight Sunflower Centers. Eligible items were selected from existing scales of depression (CES-DC and CES-D) and anxiety (SAI-C and BAI) symptoms by item-total correlation coefficients and item response theory (IRT) analysis. Internal consistency coefficients were computed and the receiver operating characteristics curve was inspected to assess the validity of the brief scale and determine optimal cutoff scores.

RESULTS

The brief scales showed high internal consistency across all age groups. The optimal cutoff score of brief depression scale was 1.5 for children, 2.5 for adolescents, and 2.5 for the adults. That of brief anxiety scale was 8.5, 6.5, and 3.5, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The results underscore the need for age-appropriate screening measures of depressive and anxiety symptoms in victims of sexual violence.