Risk factors associated with drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) compared with non-DFSA - a systematic review

Criminological and interpersonal covariates are different in drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) and sexual assault in general. These observations are based on retrospective survey-only data from victims who were not examined clinically in the acute setting.  This study aims to review the current literature reporting data specifically on clinically examined victims of suspected DFSA and associated interpersonal and criminological covariates.

In this systematic review, we searched PubMed/Medline and Embase for studies on DFSA reporting interpersonal or criminological covariates in victims older than 15 years and clinically examined within seven days of assault. Two authors independently screened studies for inclusion and extracted data. Meta-analysis was not possible due to different definitions of DFSA in the included studies.  RESULTS: The search yielded 1,350 hits. Thirty-one observational studies, case-control studies, and descriptive studies were included for a total of 14,727 observations. Twenty-two studies reported DFSA as a covariate in other research contexts. The most reported covariates were age, sex, and injuries.

The published data are sparse, varying, and often reported as secondary outcomes or epidemiological data. The varying definitions of DFSA preclude meta-analysis and hinder efforts to help victims of DFSA. An internationally agreed-upon consensus definition of DFSA should be established to overcome this challenge.  More knowledge regarding DFSA is necessary to investigate if DFSA victims experience different barriers to seeking both medical and judicial help than SA victims in general.