Rape, Sexual Violence, and Acquiescence in Intimate Relationships: Screening, Assessment, and Clinical Decision Making

Abstract

In recent years, researchers have examined the advantages and disadvantages of intimate partner violence (IPV) universal screening in family therapy and among all health care providers.This article promotes a more inclusive framework, arguing that conventional IPV screening and assessment strategies give inadequate attention to marital rape and sexual acquiescence. This article summarizes the marital rape literature, maps this literature to common definitions of IPV, and demonstrates how an existing model for IPV screening and assessment (IPV-SAT) can be adapted to include sexual violence screening and assessment. Important considerations for creating a safe context for screening and assessment, a conceptual framework for applying the continuum of sexual violence in universal screening practice, and examples of the use of these ideas in clinical settings are described.

#MeToo on the Canadian Prairies: Raising Awareness of Sexual Assaults and Mental Health in Women Abused by Intimate Partners

“…Given the scores on mental distress in the clinical range and the concerning levels of PTSD and depression, counselling for women whose partners have sexually assaulted them is recommended and has been found to be effective in one study (Howard et al, 2003), much as adult survivors of child sexual abuse often benefit from clinical intervention (Lundqvist et al, 2009). We concur with Maas-Despain and Todahl (2014) that clinicians need better training to assess and address sexual assaults in intimate relationships. Once partner sexual assault has been disclosed, counselling typically entails a trauma-focused approach, similar to clinical approaches for general partner violence, child sexual abuse, and victims of non-partner sexual assaults (Howard et al, 2003), so facilitating disclosure is key.…”

Attachment Insecurities and Sexual Coercion in Same- and Cross-Gender Couples: The Mediational Role of Couple Communication Patterns

“…Our results highlight the especially high occurrence of sexual coercion within romantic relationships which accentuates the need for practitioners to 1) systematically assess whether couples experience subtle forms of sexual coercion and 2) educate and guide couples in recognizing these sexual practices and their detrimental effects on their relationship in order to prevent further victimization. However, as stated by Maas-DeSpain and Todahl (2014), sexual coercion has received very little attention in the psychotherapy literature. As such, practitioners who specialize in couple therapy may know very little about ways to assess and treat sexual coercion in couples.…”

Creating a Trauma-Sensitive Practice: A Health Care Response to Interpersonal Violence

“…While Johnson’s 32 model continues to be investigated and tested, 67 the notion that there are multiple types of IPV and that women as well as men can be perpetrators suggests that providers should reasonably assume that men and women can both be survivors and perpetrators of violence, and that violence quite often takes many forms—from severe acts of physical aggression to much more subtle and confusing forms of violence such as sexual persuasion and acquiescence. 68…”