Background: Sexual violence is a global health and human rights issue that impacts the physical and mental health of victims and increases healthcare costs.
Purpose: This research was developed to investigate the prevalence of sexual violence against women in Taiwan and the help-seeking behavior of these women. Based on the findings, suggestions are provided for both government policymakers and frontline medical staffs.
Methods: Data for this study were collected using a face-to-face interview survey conducted with women aged 18 to 74 years nationwide.
Results: Of the 1,504 women surveyed, 87 (5.76%) reported having suffered from sexual violence. The one-year prevalence was 1.41%, while the lifetime prevalence was 5.76%. Although sexual violence is known to impact physical and mental health, most victims are reluctant to seek help from formal support systems.
Conclusions: Victims of sexual violence often delay seeking help from medical settings. Although the victims identified in this study endured chronic symptoms and psychological trauma, few had made formal disclosures of intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) incidents. Frontline medical staffs have the opportunity to play an important role in sexual-violence response if they are made aware of incidents of IPSV / non-IPSV. Thus, to facilitate disclosure, screening for IPSV and non-IPSV should be made standard practice in high-risk medical settings.
Title: 臺灣女性遭受性暴力的現況與求助.
背景: 性暴力是全球公共衛生與人權議題，影響受暴者身心健康，也增加醫療與健康照護成本。.
目的: 瞭解臺灣女性遭受性暴力的盛行率、影響與求助，提供政府規劃相關政策與第一線醫護人員發展實務建議。.
方法: 以全國18–74歲女性為對象，透過面對面訪問調查法收集資料。.
結果: 1,504位受訪女性，有87人（5.76%）曾遭受性暴力，「一年盛行率」為1.41%，「終生盛行率」為5.76%。受暴女性身心健康受創，以尋求非正式支持協助為主。.
結論: 受暴者普遍延宕就醫，形成慢性症狀或心理創傷，即便就醫，也未必自我揭露遭受性暴力。若第一線醫護人員能適時覺察，並發展引導式問話，適時提供協助，就能發揮關鍵功能。.
Keywords: domestic violence; help-seeking; intimate partner sexual violence; sexual violence.