Women in Mind
Agenda Alliance’s campaign to keep women’s mental health needs in mind.
11 Sep 2018
Agenda’s response to the Care Quality Commission’s report into Sexual Safety on Mental Health Wards.
Jemima Olchawski, Chief Executive of Agenda, says:
“It’s a national scandal that patients are being put at risk of sexual assault, harassment and rape at one of the most vulnerable times in their lives, with women facing the majority of incidents.
“More than half of women in mental health services have already faced abuse. Experiencing assault and abuse when they are in hospital risks piling trauma upon trauma and exacerbating existing mental health problems.
“What’s more, this report suggests that when patients speak up about their experiences they are not always taken seriously or offered appropriate support.
“The Care Quality Commission’s recommendations must be implemented in full, but it’s also essential there is proper investment to put an end to breaches of single sex accommodation rules.”
Agenda’s Women in Mind campaign is calling for women and girls’ mental health to be made a priority and action taken to ensure they get the support they need, when they need it.