Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34873008›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2021

Sexual abuse of people with intellectual disabilities in residential settings: a 3-year analysis of incidents reported to the Dutch Health and Youth Care Inspectorate.

Quirine Amelink, Selini Roozen, Ian Leistikow, Jan-Willem Weenink

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Quirine AmelinkLegal affairs, Inspectie Gezondheidszorg en Jeugd, Heerlen, Netherlands qj.amelink@igj.nl.ORCID 0000-0002-0456-2444
Selini RoozenMental Healthcare, Inspectie Gezondheidszorg en Jeugd, Heerlen, Netherlands.
Ian LeistikowErasmus School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Jan-Willem WeeninkErasmus School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo explore characteristics of sexual abuse within residential settings for people with an intellectual disability and to map out measures undertaken and improvement plans made by healthcare organisations after sexual abuse.

designDescriptive analysis of reports about sexual violence against persons with an intellectual disability submitted to the Dutch Health and Youth Care Inspectorate by healthcare organisations.

settingResidential settings for people with an intellectual disability in The Netherlands. SELECTION: 186 incident reports submitted to the Inspectorate between January 2017 and December 2019 were included.

results125 incident reports concerned sexual abuse by fellow clients and 61 reports concerned sexual abuse by professionals. Client perpetrators were predominantly male whereas almost 30% of the abusing professionals were female. The majority of the perpetrating professionals were unlicensed professionals. Clients who committed sexual abuse were mostly relocated to another residential setting. Most healthcare organisations invested in education and training for employees instead of improving the sexual education programme for clients after an incident of sexual abuse. If there was a strong suspicion of sexual abuse by a professional, resignation followed in most cases. In just two cases, the perpetrating professional was reported to a warning registry.

conclusionsA small amount of the perpetrating professionals held a licensed profession, which makes it challenging to address this form of sexual abuse through healthcare regulation. It raises the question why warning registries are not engaged more often after alleged sexual abuse. Constantly relocating abusing clients might endanger the (sexual) safety of clients in these new environments. Previous literature suggests that adequate sexual education regarding social skills and sexual behaviour is very effective for the majority of clients who commit sexual abuse. Healthcare organisations could take up a more prominent role in this to ensure safety for their own clients and for clients residing elsewhere.

Indexed as

Intellectual DisabilitySex OffensesAdolescentEthnicityFemaleHumansMaleNetherlandshealth policyhealth & safetymental healthorganisational developmentquality in health care

Identifiers

PMID34873008
PMCPMC8650479

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.