WHO releases guidelines on responding to child sex abuse 

WHO releases guidelines on responding to child sex abuse 

Context:

• The World Health Organisation has formulated clinical guidelines on responding to children and adolescents who have been sexually abused.

Guidelines:

• The guidelines put forward recommendations for the frontline health care providers-general practitioners, gynaecologists, paediatricians, nurses and others-who may directly receive a victim of sexual abuse or may identify sexual abuse during the course of diagnosis and treatment.
• The guidelines highlight that child sexual abuse has a short-term as well as long-term mental health impact like lifetime diagnosis of post-traumatic stress,, anxiety, depression, externalizing symptoms, eating disorders, problems with relationship, sleep disorder and suicidal and self-harm ideation and behaviours.
• Health consequences of the abuse include the risk of pregnancy, gynaecological disorders such as chronic non-cyclical pelvic pain, menstrual irregularities, painful periods, genital infections and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.