Evaluating a Multidisciplinary Approach for Treating Victims of Rape and Sexual Assault

Title

Evaluating a Multidisciplinary Approach for Treating Victims of Rape and Sexual Assault

Name

Louise Hjort Nielsen

Abstract

The current PhD project investigates how Danish victims of rape and sexual assault experience the help they receive through the multidisciplinary public system and how they perceive being treated by the police officers, nurses, medical examiners, and psychologists in the system.

• Does the multidisciplinary public approach meet the needs of victims?
• Does the system unintentionally re-victimize the victims and if so, in what way does this affect the psychologically well-being of the victims following a sexual assault? Evaluation data is collected in the acute phase following the rape and at follow-up six months post-assault.

Keywords

Sexual assault, rape victims, post-assault

Start date and expected end date

01.01.2013 - 01.10.2016

Main supervisor

 Professor Ask Elklit

Co-supervisors

Associate professor Maj Hansen, Department of Psychology, SDU;
Dr. Ole Ingemann-Hansen, Department of Forensic Medicine, AU;
Professor Rebecca Campbell, Michigan State University, USA

Collaborators

Danish Police Force, Division of Investigation;
Aarhus Center for Rape Victims, Aarhus University Hospital

Funding

Center for Rape Victims, Aarhus and University of Southern Denmark