Today, we’re speaking to Cate McCarter and Professor Amanda Williams.
Title of paper: Understanding chronic pelvic pain in women survivors of sexual violence: a qualitative study
Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2026.0057
Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is common and can be difficult to treat. Some women with CPP are survivors of sexual violence. How such women understood their pain was strongly influenced by feeling ignored by doctors and shamed by both CPP and sexual violence. According to women in our study, a ‘good enough’ response from GPs involved being seen as a whole person, being asked about sexual violence, pain being adequately investigated, and the GP acknowledging what is not understood about CPP and sexual violence. This allowed the negotiation of a pain explanation that validated the woman’s experience and integrated her social context with medical results, delivered with empathy and understanding.
