title: Urban rape survivors: characteristics and prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus and other sexually transmitted infections. Multicenter Crack Cocaine and HIV Infection Study Team.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of recent rape, the characteristics or recent rape survivors, and the seroprevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), syphilis, and genital herpes (HSV-2) among recent rape survivors.
  
  
  METHODS
  We surveyed women 18-29 years old who were recruited from places unassociated with medical or drug treatment or the criminal justice system in three urban communities where illicit drug use is common. We compared characteristics and HIV, syphilis, and HSV-2 seroprevalence of women who reported recent rape with those of women who denied recent rape.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred fifty-one of 1104 (13.7%) women reported having been raped in the year before our interview. Rape survivors were more likely than women who denied recent rape to smoke crack cocaine (86.8 versus 56.7%; odds ratio [OR] 5.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.2-7.8), to be homeless (17.2 versus 6.1%; OR 3.2, CI 2.0-5.2), to report a recent sexually transmitted disease (38.7 versus 18.7%; OR 2.7, CI 1.9-3.9), and to be infected with syphilis (42.4 versus 28.4%; OR 1.9, CI 1.3-2.6) and HSV-2 (71.9 versus 57.5%; OR 1.9, CI 1.3-2.8). Survivors were more likely to acknowledge any HIV risk behavior (including sex work) (85.4 versus 49.5%; OR 5.9, CI 3.9-9.0) and to be HIV-infected (23.3 versus 13.4%; OR 1.9, CI 1.3-2.9). Rape was not independently associated with HIV (OR 0.8, 95% CI 0.4-1.3), syphilis (OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.6-1.3), or HSV-2 (OR 1.3, 95% CI 0.9-2.0) infections after adjustment for confounding factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  One in seven women reported being raped recently. Rape was most common among sex workers, crack smokers, and the homeless. Most survivors reported HIV risk behaviors, and many were HIV-infected. Programs to prevent repeated rape, voluntary HIV counseling and testing, and other medical and social services may benefit survivors in these and similar communities.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Irwin
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Edlin
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Faruque
authors.forename: H V
authors.initials: HV
authors.lastname: McCoy
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Word
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schilling
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: McCoy
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Holmberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016578:Crack Cocaine; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D006558:Herpes Genitalis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011902:Rape / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012495:San Francisco / Q000453:epidemiology; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D017741:Survivors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013587:Syphilis / Q000453:epidemiology; D014504:Urban Health
chemical_list: D016578:Crack Cocaine