Rape attitudes amongst British medical students

Objectives To examine the rape attitudes of a sample of 252 British medical students. Design A 20-item questionnaire was used. Setting A London medical school. Subjects Fourth-year medical students. Results In general, students were well informed on legal and factual issues regarding rape and sexual assault. However, significant differences were f ound in the attitudes to rape between males and females. Female students we re significantly more positive in their responses to victims. Conclusions These results support findings from previous studies of rape at titudes in other professional groups. Better knowledge and enlightened atti tudes amongst health care staff can have a significant impact on the manage ment of sexual assault and influence the likelihood of victims presenting f or treatment. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the importance of teachi ng about sexual violence in British medical schools.