Regional differences in comprehensive health care for acute sexual assault in Chile
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56116/cms.v65.n4.2025.2475Keywords:
Sexual aggression, public policy, public healthAbstract
Objectives. In 2023, Chile added comprehensive care for acute sexual aggression in their program Garantías Explícitas en Salud (GES). The aim of this study is to evaluate its implementation by comparing case prevalence between regions and by sociodemographic factors.
Methods. A descriptive ecological study was designed to characterize comprehensive care of acute sexual aggression (GES 86) in Chile. Adjusted rates were calculated for each region and specific rates were estimated for sex, age, and victim-aggressor relationship.
Results. The regions of Tarapacá, Aysén, Antofagasta and Magallanes present the highest age-adjusted rates per 100.000 population. The highest percentage of people who sought services were women across all regions. Age ranges between 10-44 years in women, 0-9 years in men and the months of January and November had the highest number of cases. Regarding victim-aggressor relationship, violence was perpretaded mainly (≈2200 cases) by someone known to the victim.
Conclusions. This study highlights territorial, gender, and age inequalities and the high proportion of known aggressors. The implementation of GES 86 must be completed alongside broader strategies of primary prevention, human rights and social justice that reduce negative sequalae in the overall health of survivors.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Camilo Sepúlveda-Queipul, Dahianira M. Camacho-Monclova
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