Abstract
Sexual assault is a serious public health issue facing the youth today, with homeless, runaway and refugee adolescents particularly vulnerable. Medical management of survivors of sexual assault is best performed by experienced clinicians in a respectful, non-judgemental manner, so as to mitigate further trauma to the youth involved. This chapter will focus on the management of acute sexual assault; issues involving historical sexual abuse go beyond the scope of this chapter. Distinction should be drawn between the health and forensic aspects of the assessment, and the youth must be fully informed of their choices throughout the examination process. While follow-up care is fraught with challenges due to the frequency of noncompliance, a detailed review of services available to the youth and potential barriers to compliance may improve outcomes.
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Colbourne, M., Pickett, T.A. (2020). Medical Care of Youth After Acute Sexual Assault. In: Warf, C., Charles, G. (eds) Clinical Care for Homeless, Runaway and Refugee Youth. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40675-2_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40675-2_14
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