Preparedness for sexual violence at mass gatherings: A scoping review of medical and operational implications for emergency and disaster response systems[1]
Summary
PRISMA-ScR scoping review (nine databases + grey literature; 16 studies of events >1,000 attendees) of sexual violence at mass gatherings. Finds it consistently underrecognized and underreported, with six themes: substance use, environmental vulnerabilities, risk concentration among young women, bystander inaction, normalization of harassment, and limited effectiveness of existing prevention strategies. Victims disclose informally to friends or event staff rather than to law enforcement or EMS clinicians. Identifies EMS preparedness opportunities: trauma-informed training, private and secure treatment areas, surveillance integration, and referral pathways to sexual assault response services, embedded within incident command frameworks.
So what
The first synthesis of a hazard most event medical plans never name, and its operational findings are directly buildable: because victims disclose to event STAFF rather than police, the medical tent is often the de facto first response - which makes trauma-informed training, a private treatment space, and a pre-arranged SANE/SART referral pathway medical-plan requirements, not security matters. Fills a genuine domain gap in the library (intersects safeguarding, toxicology, and comms-ics) and pairs with the Purple Guide safeguarding chapter's at-risk-adults provisions.
Key findings
- 16-study scoping review; sexual violence underrecognized and underreported at events
- Six themes incl. risk concentration in young women, bystander inaction, normalized harassment
- Victims disclose to friends/event staff, not law enforcement or EMS
- EMS actions: trauma-informed training, private treatment areas, SART referral pathways
- Prevention strategies in use have limited demonstrated effectiveness
Read the paper
- Publisher (DOI) ↗may be paywalled
- PubMed ↗abstract · free