Public views of sexual assault, and its prevention, in residential aged care facilities

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Lee, M
Moir, E
McKillop, N
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2024
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Abstract

The prevalence of sexual assaults against older people in Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs) is estimated to be more than double the incidents in the community, yet there is a paucity of empirical research focused on this context. Considering significant revelations and community concerns stemming from Australia's recent Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, the current study sought to assess public knowledge of sexual assaults in RACFs, specifically, the causes, delegations of responsibility, and possible solutions to limit reoccurrences. Thematic analysis was conducted on 2,398 social media comments made in response to posts concerning sexual assault in RACFs (n = 27 sources). Results suggest systemic factors frequently contributed to incidents (e.g., staffing insufficiencies, apathetic management, and meagre regulatory requirements), while improved guardianship, sanctions, and regulation were expected to mitigate risk. Notably, the government was frequently blamed for its role in establishing and maintaining conditions that manifest in abuse within RACFs, with responsibility also delegated to family members. Importantly, public opinion strongly coincided with prior empirical prevention recommendations, endorsing the implementation of identified measures to limit sexual victimisation risk in RACFs.

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Journal of Criminology

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57

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1

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© The Author(s) 2024. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

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Lee, M; Moir, E; McKillop, N, Public views of sexual assault, and its prevention, in residential aged care facilities, Journal of Criminology, 2024, 57 (1), pp. 23-44

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