The Scope and Consequences of System Responses to Intimate Partner Sexual Violence: A Scoping Review

Background and Purpose: Intimate partner sexual violence affects about 41% of women and has unique outcomes compared to other types of intimate partner or non-partner sexual violence. Despite the adverse effects and distinct consequences associated with this issue, intimate partner sexual violence is often overlooked and frequently misunderstood. Policy and public opinion are reflected in how systems respond to this form of violence. The current study is a scoping review that aims to identify existing literature relevant to the scope and consequences of system responses to intimate partner sexual violence within the United States. The scoping review protocol was pre-registered at Open Science Framework (OSF) https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/DETFH.

Methods: Based on the PRISMA-ScR protocol, a comprehensive literature search was conducted using six databases: PubMed, Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE), PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Cochrane Library, and the Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Inclusion criteria were as follows: 1) peer-reviewed articles, 2) published between 1977 and 2023, 3) written in English, 4) focused on victims of intimate partner sexual violence in the U.S., 5) examined the system’s response, 6) used qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods, and 7) non-experimental study design.

Results: Out of 1787 studies screened, 11 were retained for this study. The studies focused on the military (n=1), legislation (n=1), the medical/healthcare system (n=3), and the criminal justice system (n=6). Overall, the studies focused on interactional factors impacting system responses to intimate partner sexual violence.

Conclusion and Implications: Our findings highlight a general lack of awareness among professionals across systems regarding the realities of intimate partner sexual violence. There are ongoing stereotypes and a lack of understanding about the negative effects of sexual violence, coercion, and aggression within intimate relationships. These findings primarily emerge from a criminal justice and law enforcement perspective, which is concerning because victims usually engage with these systems only after the situation has reached a critical and hazardous stage. These results underscore the necessity of enhancing efforts to educate systems about the complexities of intimate partner sexual violence.