"I Just Have to Go and Heal": A Qualitative Study on the Acceptability of the Belgian Sexual Assault Care Centres for Victims of Recent Sexual Assault

Highlights

What are the main findings?
-Victims and support persons considered the Belgian Sexual Assault Care Centres’ model (SACC)—providing integrated medical and psychological care, forensic examination and the option to report to the police for victims of recent sexual assault—to be highly acceptable, valuing its holistic, accessible, and long-term approach to post-assault care.
-Key innovative components—embedded psychological support, forensic examination without mandatory reporting, and the option to report to police within the SACC—were viewed as beneficial.

What are the implications of the main findings?
-Strengthening coordination between SACCs and other criminal justice actors is needed to ensure continuity of support after acute care.
-Core features of the SACC model may inform the development or refinement of specialised sexual assault services in other countries.

Abstract
Background: Sexual Assault Care Centres (SACCs) in Belgium provide integrated medical and psychological care, a forensic examination and the option to report to the police to victims of sexual assault (SA). Understanding victims’ acceptability of these services is essential for improving SACC’s effectiveness and informing policy.
Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 19 victims and 14 support persons to explore victims’ experiences with SACCs. The victims represented diverse characteristics (gender, age, SACC site and police reporting status). Data were analysed using thematic framework analysis, guided by Sekhon’s “Theoretical Framework of Acceptability”.
Results: Participants viewed SACCs as a highly acceptable integrated model of specialised care for victims of recent SA. They expressed strong appreciation for the care provided at the SACC and its set-up (affective attitude), and they identified key professional qualities of SACC professionals (ethicality). Participants demonstrated good understanding of the functioning of the SACCs (intervention coherence). The model was perceived as effective in providing medical care, mental health support, and facilitating police reporting, though gaps were noted in linking victims with other actors in the criminal justice system (perceived effectiveness). Organisational strengths included the holistic, long-term, proactive, affordable and accessible nature of the care offered (perceived effectiveness, burden and opportunity cost). Victims faced challenges in linking to, engaging with and remaining in care due to distress post-SA, with support persons playing a crucial role in helping them navigate these challenges (self-efficacy).
Conclusions: The study highlights the acceptability of an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to specialised SA care. Key elements include embedded psychological support, the option for forensic examination without mandatory reporting, and the possibility of police reporting at the SACC. These findings may inform the development of specialised SA services in other settings.