| Title: |
COVID-19 and sexual assault: trends in US emergency department visits—a cross-sectional analysis |
| Authors: |
McKeon Olson, Rose; Khurana, Bharti; Loder, Randall T. |
| Contributors: |
Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine |
| Source: |
PMC |
| Publisher Information: |
BMJ |
| Publication Year: |
2025 |
| Collection: |
Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis: IUPUI Scholar Works |
| Subject Terms: |
COVID-19; Emergencies; Sexual health; Violence |
| Description: |
Background: Sexual assault often increases during crises, yet trends in United States (US) emergency department (ED) visits for sexual assault during COVID-19 remain unclear. Objective: To examine demographic, incident and injury trends in US sexual assault presentations during early and late COVID-19 compared with pre-COVID-19. Methods: This study analysed National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Programme (2014-2021) retrospective data. ED visits for assault (n=246 499) and sexual assault (n=22 752) were compared across pre-COVID-19 (January 2014-March 2020), early COVID-19 (March 2020-January 2021) and late COVID-19 (February 2021-December 2021). Demographic and injury trends were analysed via t-tests, analysis of variance or χ² tests, with national trends assessed using Joinpoint regression and weighted data in SUDAAN. Results: From 2017 to 2021, while assault-related ED visits declined (-5.05% annually; p=0.003), sexual assault ED visits remained stable (-1.15% annually; p=0.57). During COVID-19, sexual assault cases decreased among 0-19 years (46.1% pre-COVID-19 to 37.3% late COVID-19) but increased among 20-34 years (36.0% to 40.3%) and 35-64 years (17.2% to 21.0%). From early to late COVID-19, cases increased among black (31.7% to 32.8%) and Hispanic (13.8% to 15.6%) populations but declined among white populations (49.5% to 47.7%). Assaults by parents (9.0% to 11.2%) and partners (10.9% to 13.5%) increased, as did poisoning-related (1.4% to 5.5%) and anoxia-related injuries (0.1% to 0.7%). Conclusions: Despite the pandemic, ED visits for sexual assault persisted, with demographic shifts and increased injury severity (eg, drug-facilitated violence, strangulation-related anoxia). These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions during public health crises. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| File Description: |
application/pdf |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
BMJ Public Health; https://hdl.handle.net/1805/51373 |
| Availability: |
https://hdl.handle.net/1805/51373 |
| Rights: |
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International ; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.2EE67FB8 |
| Database: |
BASE |