Sexual violence and psychosis: Intersections of rape culture, sanism, and anti-black sanism in psychiatric inpatient chart documentation

Abstract

This chapter explores how rape culture informs the ways in which mental health professionals document regarding sexual violence in the charts of patients diagnosed with "psychotic illness." Where relevant, intersections with sanism and anti-Black sanism (Meerai et al. in Intersect: Glob J Soc Work Anal Res Polity Pract 5(3):18-35, 2016) are highlighted. The chapter begins with a discussion of intersections between rape culture, sanism, and anti-Black sanism. Five themes emerging from the data are then explored: (1) the normalization of sexual violence; (2) sexual violence reconfigured as delusions; (3) pathologizing the impact of sexual violence; (4) what about the perpetrators: invisibilizing acts of sexual violence, and (5) sexual violence as a symptom of psychosis. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the institution's responsibility to address sexual violence within and outside of its walls.