Improving Mental Health Support Access for South Asian Adult Survivors of Sexual Violence

AMASS: Improving Access to Mental health and support services for South Asian adult Survivors of Sexual violence in the UK

As an interdisciplinary collaboration of social, clinical and implementation science academics in healthcare, the project aims to explore the barriers to accessing mental health and support services for adult survivors of sexual violence of South Asian origin residing in the UK. In comparison to other ethnic groups in the UK, the South Asian population underutilises mental health services due to cultural, systemic and sociopolitical factors (Baker, 2020; Prajapati & Leibling, 2019).

The consequences of being a victim of sexual violence can be pervasive and can include physical health difficulties and emotional and psychological problems, including traumatic stress-related disorders, depression, anxiety and suicidality (Schnittker, 2022; The Survivors Trust, 2024). A key barrier to help-seeking amongst victims of sexual violence is stigma (Mellen et al., 2023). This is further pronounced in South Asian communities by cultural norms around family reputation (Gill & Begum, 2023). Given the prevalence of such stigma and the established under-utilisation of mental health services by this ethnic group, South Asian victims of sexual violence are likely to be one of the hardest-to-reach groups in potential need of support.

Therefore, this project aims to explore the barriers this group experiences in accessing mental health and support services in the UK.