Nursing Strategies for Caring for Victim of Sexual Assault
If You Have a Client Who Has Been a Victim of Sexual Assault You Should:
- Provide them with emotional support and unconditional positive regardand acceptance. This will help to create an environment where victims can express fears, anxieties, and concerns without fear of rejection or criticism.
- Encourage, without pushing, victims to talk about their feelings.
- Assure them that the feelings that they are having are normal for someone who has been sexually assaulted.
- Focus on the victims needs, be empathetic and respectful.
- Listen and believe never place personal judgement on the victim or their story.
- Give as many choices as possible to the victim, give them back the control that they lost during the assault.
- Accept what ever decisions the victim makes concerning their care, be reassuring that whatever they decide is what is right for them.
- Treat the individual as a normal healthy individual who is reacting to a serious life crisis.
- Provide education concerning common feelings and reactions that they may have, both short and long term, as a result of being raped.
- Reassure the victims that they are safe and out of harms reach.
- Emphasize to the victim that it is not their fault, and that no one deserves to be sexually assaulted.
- Explain everything (including procedures) that you are doing, and receive informed consent for each procedure.
- Be culturally sensitive, educate yourself about beliefs and values held by different cultures and incorporate this knowledge into your practice.
Nursing�s role in the rape victim�s recovery cannot be overestimated. The nurses positive reaction and emotional support can help the patient heal emotionally as well as physically.
(Ruckman, L.M., 1992; Counseling rape victims: The nursing challenge, 1990).
Further Information for Nurses
According to Hennebry (1998), rape is a complex and emotive subject but very little specific training or support is available to nurses who want to increase their understanding of the issues involved. This trend must be changed in order for nurses to provide professional care for victims of sexual abuse. By developing staff awareness and support it is possible to provide a coordinated service to support patients, and their partners and families, after sexual assault (Hennebry, 1998). Collaboration is key when caring for victims of violence and can be especially helpful when facing extenuating circumstances, such as patient threats of self harm and debilitating anxiety (Markowitz, 2002).
Interventions for the acute phase of rape trauma syndrome include: encourage the victim to obtain medical treatment while remaining empathetic to her situation, explore whether the victim wishes to report to the police, and encourage the victim to talk about the assault. (Poirier, 1999) Furthermore the nurse should acknowledge the traumatic nature of the assault, providing the victim with supportive statements (that they are not to blame), suggest a referral for short term follow up counseling, list available community resources, and offering to telephone the victim the next day (Tyra, 1998). Patients prefer a straight forward and honest approach to care (Hennebry, p.27). They are after all normal healthy individuals who have just experienced a life altering event. When questioning a victim, the nurse should be specific, clear, and focused to avoid ambiguity in responses and responses should be recorded verbatim (Poirier, 1999).
Clinicians who work with women who were sexually assaulted must strive to truly understand the woman�s feelings, bolster their self esteem, and tell them that no one deserves abuse (Draucker, 1999). Furthermore, they should not focus exclusively on the amelioration of symptoms but should provide support, validation and empowerment for survivors who seek treatment. It is extremely important for nurses provide the victim with appropriate care after an assault. In order to give such care, the nurse must have an understanding of how other life circumstances may compound the effects of rape for the victim. A number of issues can compound grief anger or alienation after a rape. These include: experiencing a repeated attack, being abused as a child, and experiencing a lose in faith if a victim is religious (Hennebry, p.27)
When caring for victims of sexual assault, the nurse must also be clear on her own values and beliefs. (Rivero, 2002). Listening to patients who have been severely traumatized can be very painful, especially if the victim is particularly vulnerable or has repeatedly experienced abuse or assault (Hennebry, p.27).