Scope of the Issue

Abstract

The worldwide frequency of sexual assault and the associated psychosocial difficulties have led to sexual violence being deemed a serious public health issue. There is a growing understanding in the field that survivors’ outcomes following sexual assault follow unique trajectories and professionals need to conduct thorough, unbiased assessment to adequately capture survivors’ presenting problems and their person-specific contributing factors. Although survivors are increasingly disclosing their victimization, they still experience obstacles to reporting victimization and receiving services. For example, many survivors report that formal sources of support are unhelpful or even potentially harmful. With the goal of increasing access to affirming and supportive services, the remaining chapters of this book highlight many of the common issues that emerge when working with sexual assault survivors and cover best practices for receiving disclosures of sexual assault.