Mental Health Watchdog Seeks Action Amid Alarming Patient Sexual Abuse Cases
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LOS ANGELES - PrAtlas -- The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) International, a leading watchdog for the mental health industry abuse for over 56 years, is urgently calling for stronger regulatory protections and accountability to address the epidemic of sexual abuse allegations in psychiatric and behavioral facilities. This comes in the wake of CCHR's report from February 2025, which revealed disturbing increases in reports of sexual abuse of patients by staff in for-profit residential psychiatric hospitals.

Research and reports from the UK indicate that a shocking 95% of such cases may never be reported to authorities, which CCHR believes could reflect a similar situation in the U.S., leaving survivors without justice and perpetrators unpunished.[1] Furthermore, many of the victims in these facilities are vulnerable juveniles, with the Lawsuit Information Center warning that the problem is particularly severe in programs that "operate with minimal regulation or oversight from state authorities, creating an environment where abuse can go undetected for long periods."[2]

"Abuse thrives in environments with minimal oversight," said Jan Eastgate, President of CCHR International. "Many mental health facilities operate with little supervision, creating a breeding ground for these horrific acts to go undetected for years. Treating psychiatrists, hospital staff and profit-driven corporate managers have been complicit in failing to act to protect."

In some cases, survivors and their families have struggled to bring incidents to light due to restrictive reporting mechanisms and institutional resistance to transparency.
Recent studies confirm these claims, with a 2023 report revealing that 5 to 45% of inpatient mental health patients have experienced sexual violence during their admission.[3] Another study by the Joint Commission found that assault and sexual assault incidents in hospitals generally had risen 77% over two years, with nearly 43% of cases involving sexual assaults – 28% of which were perpetrated by staff members.[4]

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In response to this systemic abuse, CCHR is calling for immediate regulatory changes, including the revocation of government contracts for any facility found to have committed sexual abuse and criminal accountability for those responsible and a review of their Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements. The group emphasizes that for-profit psychiatric and behavioral hospitals should be held accountable as a condition of receiving government or private insurance reimbursements.

CCHR's calls for reform after several high-profile cases. In Detroit, Fox 2 News reported on a facility that for decades has had allegations of sexual abuse against children. The psychiatric hospital was suspended for five years in 2022, accused of covering up "horrific" sexual abuse.[5] Over 70% of the owning company's revenue in 2024 derived from Medicaid (56.5%) and Medicare (14.2%) representing $2.2 billion of its total $3.15 billion.

The problem is not confined to the United States. A 2024 investigation by The Independent and Sky News uncovered tens of thousands of sexual assaults and incidents at state-run mental health hospitals in the UK. The investigation revealed that fewer than 5% of sexual incidents reported to hospitals were referred to the police, while over 19,000 incidents occurred between 2019 and 2023, including hundreds of reports of serious assaults on women.[6]

A 2024 U.S. Senate investigation into residential mental health treatment centers further revealed severe abuse cases, including sexual violence, physical harm, and neglect, particularly against minors with developmental disabilities or those in foster care systems. These facilities often rely on public funding, raising significant concerns about the safety of children under the care of these institutions.[7]

Lawsuit Information Center reports, "Most concerningly, many of these minors—who often have developmental disabilities or are part of the foster care system—are placed in these facilities with public funding, including Medicaid and child welfare dollars. This raises serious questions about the use of taxpayer money to support facilities that fail to ensure the safety and well-being of children under their care."

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"For-profit psychiatric and behavioral hospitals must be held accountable for prioritizing financial gain over patient well-being," Jan Eastgate, president of CCHR International said. "We need real consequences for those who allow these abuses to continue."

CCHR, which was established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and the professor of psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Szasz, is calling for an overhaul of the system, including substantial fines for negligent facilities, penalties for those responsible for abuse, and the creation of more accessible mechanisms for patients and families to report abuse without fear of retribution. Patients and their families are urged to use CCHR's Abuse Case form to report any incidents of abuse.

Sources:

[1] Rebecca Thomas and Sky News's Rob Mulhern, "Mental health patients 'r*ped and sexually assaulted' as NHS abuse scandal revealed," The Independent, 29 Jan. 2024, www.independent.co.uk/news/health/sexual-abuse-mental-health-uk-b2484163.html

[2] Ronald V. Miller, Jr., "Residential Treatment Facility Sex Abuse Lawsuits," Lawsuit Information Center, 14 Nov. 2024, www.lawsuit-information-center.com/residential-treatment-facility-sex-abuse-lawsuits.html

[3] Holly Betterly, Meghan Musselman, and Renée Sorrentino, "Sexual assault in the inpatient psychiatric setting," General Hospital Psychiatry, Vol. 82, May–June 2023, Pages 7-13, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0163834323000270

[4] Gretchen Morgenson, "Lean staffing, lax hiring, training flaws: Why sexual assaults at hospitals are up
Allegations that go unreported and a lack of accountability for healthcare workers leave patients in the dark and increase the risk of abuse, research shows," NBC News, 18 Nov. 2024, www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/lean-staffing-lax-hiring-training-flaws-assaults-hospitals-are-rcna171055

[5] "Closed Detroit youth mental health facility accused of covering up 'horrific' sexual abuse in new lawsuit," Fox 2 Detroit, 11 Mar. 2025, www.fox2detroit.com/news/closed-detroit-youth-mental-health-facility-accused-covering-up-horrific-sexual-abuse-new-lawsuit

[6] Rebecca Thomas and Sky News's Rob Mulhern, "Mental health patients 'r*ped and sexually assaulted' as NHS abuse scandal revealed," The Independent, 29 Jan. 2024, www.independent.co.uk/news/health/sexual-abuse-mental-health-uk-b2484163.html

[7] Ronald V. Miller, Jr., "Residential Treatment Facility Sex Abuse Lawsuits," Lawsuit Information Center, 14 Nov. 2024, www.lawsuit-information-center.com/residential-treatment-facility-sex-abuse-lawsuits.html