Over 1,000 sexual assaults in mixed sex mental health wards

Eine, I have been fortunate to not have had admission for a number of years, but I can definitely add a nodding yes to what you say. In my case, I was raped, and the perpetrator followed me around the ward thereafter, to the point that the staff called him my boyfriend and acted like 'matchmakers'. It's one of the most painful bits of the memories, replete with a sense of utter powerlessness. Every admission I have had subsequently, I have seen varying forms of sexualized male behaviour, and I've definitely seen vulnerable women basically predated by men while on a MH ward.

Sorry I feel my comment was badly worded, it should say that public ignorance in this area is part of the problem rather than "posters"

I did not mean to take a swipe at any poster, and I'm sorry it comes across that way.

Sore subject.

Having knowledge and experience in this area, I feel :

Posters expressing surprise that this is a thing (both the mixed sex wards and the assaults) are part of the problem.

It is a big issue, but people, in my experience, simply have no idea of the scary realities of psychiatric inpatient treatment (on multiple levels including restrictive practice) and don't care to be enlightened

People who experience significant enough MH issues to be hospitalised, also experience high amounts of social and familial abandonment and people instantaneously doubting the truth of anything they say.

My friend has been assaulted and taken advantage of multiple times by men on psych wards. She is young and vulnerable.

Truly horrific. I was shocked when a few years ago I ended up in hospital for a stomach thing. Nothing too serious but had to be hospitalised for a few nights. I couldn't believe the ward was mixed. I didn't sleep at all - was totally terrifying to sleep in the same room as a bunch of blokes in hospital gowns just separated by curtains. I discharged myself after one night. Thankfully I recovered well at home, but I still can't believe this is standard practice. And it will, of course, be even worse on a mental health ward.

Shit, I hadn't realised this happened (and I should have been aware, given that more than one of my sibs has been sectioned at least once).

My relative was placed in mental health ward a result of ptsd from a rape - once there she was raped again by a fellow patient and also left with a new boyfriend who was controlling and violent and he was disharged as she was able to care for him.

This is utterly horrifying.

Thank you for the flowers.

I should never have been in that hospital, I wasn't unwell enough really. It was a funny chain of events that put me there. The overwhelming memory I have looking back is of spending 2 months expecting to be raped. Many of the staff were fantastic but there were times when they were all sitting eating together and the front door would stand open, essentially unguarded although in theory there were supposed to be staff around. It was in a deprived area and twice we had aggressive, high or drunk people walk in and start making trouble. One had his penis out. The night staff couldn't be bothered - I walked in on one with no clothes on because he was washing all his clothes in the hospital at night, the rest of the time they'd all sit in the smoking room and spend the night there, only coming out to do basic checks. I was up on the 3rd and at one time the 4th floor, with sleeping pills in my system, I wasn't allowed a lock on the door and I knew full well for the whole visit that I couldn't stop anyone coming in and doing what they wanted to me. Everyone else in that hospital was 40, 50, 60+ and I already had a background of quite severe trauma. I'm really so lucky nothing worse happened but the point I'm trying to make is that a large number of the women who get out of these hospitals without having been assaulted will still have been traumatised by worrying they might be. They matter too.

I never share this stuff. It's difficult to do so. But I'm glad to do so here because it matters that people talk about this kind of thing.

Floral n floomph 💐

Cruel and inhumane.

Why has this not been stopped. ?

I've mentioned before that the first time I was raped was in a mixed sex MH ward. That was way back in the 1990's. For some strange reason, I found hope and comfort in the idea that society must have moved on and a more professional, robust and caring system must be in place. Then I see those figures and I actually start physically reacting to the numbers of women who must have gone through what I did, in that place where your state of mind is so very messed up anyway and I frantically wonder if I could have done anything different to stop what happened to me and try and stop it happening to others.

Anyone who permits this when they have the power to stop it is culpable for unspeakable pain.

1,019 reports of alleged sexual assaults between men and women

“between men and women”

FFS

Kittens
I'm getting really tired of banging my head against the wall going "women do not exist to facilitate men's mental health and/or emotional needs".

This. I wonder how many more centuries it will be before we’re actually considered full human beings in our own right.

Floomph

"I remember arguing about this with someone involved in mental health provision a while back and her argument was that mixed wards are better for the recovery of male patients."

Easier for the staff is what she meant.

100 pregnancies a year is in. sane. Thats nearly 2 a week!

Delurking to post for this.
It's so frustrating. This was an issue when I was working in acute adult MH back in 00s and sadly nothing has changed. Women and children on wards are so vulnerable. Children were occasionally placed with us if there were no youth spaces available. I think we had 3 in total, either 15 or 16. They were only 'specialled' (had a member of staff with them at all times) if they were in full-time education. 16 yr olds who'd left school were considered adults, so didn't get the chaperone as a matter of course.
We had patients who presented a risk because of their illness. We had a few paedophiles as well, usually trying to fabricate a psychiatric mitigation for their crimes. We didn't have paedophiles and children admitted at the same time, thank God.

I'm getting really tired of banging my head against the wall going "women do not exist to facilitate men's mental health and/or emotional needs".

I remember arguing about this with someone involved in mental health provision a while back and her argument was that mixed wards are better for the recovery of male patients.

I am sure that it may be better for some or many male patients to be around women. I kind of think though that there could be safe ways to facilitate interactions with women who aren't also patients, at least for many of those men.

I have personal experience of this but my experience was much more minor than what many others go through. I was 19. I am having trauma therapy nearly two decades on. It's such a basic - protecting women at their most vulnerable. It should be relatively easy to take steps to make changes to prevent this from happening. I won't hold my breath though.

Apart from anything else how is "oh well, we're officially committed to single gender (not sex, that part's a lie) wards but sometimes if it gets crowded we'll just have to mix patients (shrugs) guess it just can't be helped (shrugs again) and we will of course report ourselves when that happens (definitely! you can trust us!)" an acceptable thing to be happening?

Also, have the DM completely missed that NHS wards are no longer single sex?

Absolutely horrific. 100, 100!! pregnancies per year. I would like to hope that being in a secure mental health ward in the first place would mean women were considered to be unable to give consent for sex but I’m not that naive. Christ it’s horrible. Just imagine being a woman in the middle of a mental health crisis and then shoved in with men and sexually assaulted/raped. There is no thought for the women is there? Another horrifying report to demonstrate just how insignificant women’s needs are