Defining sexual safety
Sexual safety refers to the respect and maintenance of an individual’s physical (including sexual) and psychological boundaries. This could be perpetrated by a fellow service user, family member, friend or member of staff.
Statistics
CQC analysis of reports between April 2017 and June 2017 found 1 in 1120 incidents involving service users, staff and visitors.
- 29 reports allegations of rape
- 95% of incidents carried out by service users
- 5% of incidents carried out by members of staff.
Where did these incidents take place?
- 38% unknown area
- 37% communal areas or in presence of others is where most incidents took place
- 17% private areas
- 6% outside areas
- 2% areas where other staff may be present
Issues Regarding Sexual Safety
There are two main issues with regard sexual safety:
- Behaviour that falls into the realms of a sexual offence, criminal offences such as sexual assault and rape.
- Inappropriate sexual behaviour which encompasses a wide range of behaviour, including suggestive language, flirtation, fondling, removing one’s clothes and masturbating in public.
Service User’s Rights
All service users have the right to feel safe from acts that compromise or breach their sexual safety while receiving care.
Rights and Responsibilities Regarding Sexual Safety
- Receive clear information and guidance
- Be heard and be believed
- Be treated with compassion, dignity and understanding
- Be supported by the person of their choice after a sexual safety incident has occurred
- Receive prompt treatment
- Be informed about their options after experiencing a sexual assault or sexual harassment
- Be protected from further contact with the alleged perpetrator.
Sexual Safety Incident Types
The types of behaviour that can breach and/or compromise the sexual safety of a service user have been split into the following three incident types:
- Sexual assault and harassment
- Consensual activity in an inappropriate context, setting or when the person lacks capacity to give such consent.
- Sexually disinhibited behaviour
Assessing Vulnerability
The following increase the persons vulnerability to being sexually assaulted or harassed:
- Being female
- Having a history of being sexually assaulted
- Experiencing their first admission to a care setting.
- Being heavily medicated
- Being intoxicated
- Having a learning disability
- Being a refugee/torture and trauma survivor
- Experiencing a psychosis
- Being a victim/survivor of domestic violence
- Sexual disinhibition
- Having a cognitive impairment such as delirium, dementia
- Impaired communication skills
Risk Factors for Offending
Risk factors for offending can include:
- Displaying violent and threatening behaviours, including intimidating behaviours and sexual harassment
- Having a history of sexual offending
- Have a history of domestic violence
- Sexually disinhibited behaviours
- Acute drug toxication eg methamphetamines
Core Elements of Sexual Safety in a Care Environment
- Providing a safe physical environment
- Recognise the rights of patients physical and psychological needs
- Be aware of a service users vulnerability or potential to harm others and report any concerns to the office
- Where possible be aware of a service users past experience of sexual assault. As an organisation we will work with local Safeguarding Adults teams to ensure that risk management plans are in place to keep everyone as safe as we possibly can.
- Monitor professional boundaries
- Manage sexually disinhibited behaviour, don’t ignore it, report any behaviour that you are concerned about so this can be addressed.
- Prevention of sexual activity in an inappropriate context or setting. Recognise people’s right to sexual activity but know when you should report concerns.
- Attend training so we can ensure you are up to date with the most relevant guidance.
- Appropriately respond to sexual assault or harassment. Know what you should do in these circumstances, encourage the person to contact the police, inform the office of any concerns and we can support you.
- Reporting and Recording of sexual safety incidents.
Online Sexual Safety
The internet provides opportunity for perpetrators to connect with their victims in a way which can go undetected if the victim is not aware of what to look out for and how to keep themselves safe online.
Open communication is one of the best ways of keeping young and/or vulnerable people safe online, talk regularly about what they are doing online, remind them of the dangers but creating an open relationship that they can share their online concerns with you. Observation is the key to spotting something which may not be healthy within an adult/young person relationship or the relationship between an adult and a vulnerable adult who may lack capacity to consent to sexual conversations or activity .
Grooming takes place in a variety of settings including online, over a long period of time, which helps the groomer to become embedded within the family unit or community, gaining the trust of those around them, not just the child or vulnerable adult. They often use a professional position or reputation, a familiar relationship, or trips, outings and holidays as well as buying gifts and giving the child or vulnerable adult lots of attention.
Some young people are using their own secret language to communicate with each other online and this is known by groomers.
By being familiar with the meaning of these abbreviations, and knowledgeable about grooming, provides positive steps to keeping young and/or vulnerable people safe online (including mobile phones).
