Mental health and addiction services response to sexual violence: how best to meet the needs of Black and Minority Ethnic survivors

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Sexual violence (SV) is a global public health problem.Approximately 20% of UK women have experienced SVsince the age of 16. SV can increase the risk of mentalillness and substance use, consequently survivorsfrequently use mental health and addiction services.Research has shown these services are not sufficientlyaddressing women's trauma needs. In addition, there hasbeen little exploration of the experiences of service useamong Black and Minority Ethnic (BaME) women survivors.This research is necessary as race can shape theexperience of violence, including context, disclosure andthe treatment needs.To address these existing evidence gaps, this researchaims to understand the experiences of BaME womensurvivors of SV and professionals to explore how statutorymental health and addiction services can best meet theneeds of this client group. Four studies are proposed: (1) amixed-methods systematic review exploring theexperiences of BaME survivors and professionals, and areview of the effectiveness of interventions to improveservice responses for BaME survivors, (2) interviews withBaME survivors from mental health and addiction servicesto explore their experiences of care, (3) focus groups withprofessionals from these services to explore theirexperiences of delivering care to this client group, and (4)pilot testing a co-designed resource to supportprofessionals in addressing the needs of this client group.