Sexually assaulted older women attending a U.K. sexual assault referral centre for a forensic medical examination.

There is a paucity of literature on sexual violence against older adults, particularly in the U.K. This work aims to identify and describe the characteristics of alleged sexual assault and subsequent forensic medical examination (FME) for older clients presenting to a large sexual assault referral centre (SARC) in Manchester over a ten-year period. A retrospective analysis of forensic case notes was conducted for all clients (n = 39) who had attended for an FME between 2007 and 2017, and who were aged 70 or over at the time of the alleged assault. The average age of clients was 83 years, all were white, and 95% were female. Two populations were identified: a less frail population who had been assaulted at home by an alleged stranger with greater physical violence alleged, and a frailer population, with a greater incidence of dementia (77%), who were alleged to have been assaulted by a care-giver or fellow resident in a place of care. We note the need for flexibility in the site of FME, the underrepresentation of minority populations in SARC attendees, and difficulties with description of events by clients. We identify several patterns of non-age related anogenital and body examination findings, and offer recommendations for sexual assault services on how they may better cater to older populations.