The disproportionately high prevalence of learning disabilities amongst adults attending Saint Marys Sexual Assault Referral Centre.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: There is a dearth of reliable data on sexual assault prevalence amongst people with learning disabilities. This work aims to identify the prevalence of learning disabilities amongst adult clients attending Saint Marys Sexual Assault Referral Centre and ascertain the similarities/differences amongst clients with learning disabilities as compared to clients without. METHOD: A short validated Learning Disability Screening Questionnaire was completed by adult clients attending Saint Marys for a forensic medical examination during a twelve-month period. RESULTS: Amongst 679 clients who attended for an FME and completed the LDSQ, 8.2% were likely to have a learning disability and the presence of self-reported mental health issues (X2  = 11.24, p = .001), self-harm (X2  = 5.63, p = .017) and substance misuse (X2  = 13.15906, p = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with the broader literature, people with learning disability were over-represented in the sexually assaulted population emphasizing the importance of timely, accessible and appropriate patient-centred care for this vulnerable group.