Nurses’ Awareness of Sexual Abuse Screening

Nurses are often the first point of contact and care providers in emergency departments and high-risk clinics. However, sexual abuse screening rates by nurses have been consistently low. Although most nurses come into contact with victims of suspected sexual abuse, it is difficult for them to provide physical, psychological and legal interventions due to various demographic factors, interaction with victims and their families, lack of awareness of reporting, procedures and collection of forensic evidence. Sexual abuse is a common global health problem and is associated with a range of significant and lasting physiological and psychological health effects. Nurses may ignore screening for abuse due to concerns that the examination may trigger memories of abuse, concerns about providing appropriate care, and insecurities and inadequacies about the reporting procedure. Sexual abuse is not only a legal and social problem but also the focus of medical treatment. In-service trainings, legal regulations, clinical guidelines and evidence collection kits need to be developed for nurses to gain competence in sexual abuse screening. In addition, forensic nursing should be expanded in undergraduate, graduate and in-service nursing education. In this literature review, it was aimed to examine nurses’ awareness of sexual abuse, preventive factors and solution suggestions in the light of current literature.