Strategies for seeking care in the host country among asylum-seeking women who have been victims of sexual violence: A French qualitative study

Maeva Jego Sablier, Jérémy Khouani

Keywords: asylum seekers, sexual violences, qualitative research, primary care

Background:

Asylum-seeking women (ASW) are highly exposed to sexual violence (SV). INCIDAVI is a French study which found a past year incidence of 26% for postarrival sexual violence (SV) among asylum-seeking women (ASW). It reported that fewer than 1 out of 10 victims consulted a healthcare professional when SV occurred.

Research questions:

These findings raise the question of how ASW who have been victims of SV get involved in care. We aimed to explore strategies for seeking care in the host country among this population.

Method:

This qualitative phase of INCIDAVI was based on a grounded theory approach. Semistructured interviews were conducted between February 1, 2022, and July 29, 2022. The interviews explored the women’s history of SV, the conditions under which women talk about SV and the perceived consequences of care. We performed an inductive analysis using NVivo® 14 software.

Results:

Twenty interviews were conducted (data saturation on the 18th interview). All had been victims of SV, in France and/or before France. Of these, 4 had been victims of rape in France, 14 of other types of SV in France, and 17 of SV before France. Life paths of ASW were traversed by SV which influence their health and safety behaviour and can re-expose them to SV. Talking about SV was a rare and strategic choice focused on seeking protection. When appropriate care was used, it was perceived as beneficial and leads to a change in the perception of a possible recovery.

Conclusions:

The failure of ASW to seek care for SV is shaped by the fact that SV is initially perceived as ordinary. A proactive attitude on the part of carers towards detecting such violence leads to positive experiences of care, which in turn influence women's initial perceptions of SV, enabling them to envisage health recovery.

Points for discussion:

Our qualitative phase of the INCIDAVI project give us a better understanding of how ASW victims of SV get involved in care and why so few have sought help from carers

Carers should take a proactive approach, provide a safe space to talk and consider social situation and intercultural aspects.

Positive experiences of care help to change patients' perceptions of SV, from trivialisation to real violence, for which care contributes to recovery.

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