The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) International is urging survivors of sexual abuse by mental health professionals to report their experiences, following a disturbing rise in media reports and convictions. The organization, established in 1969, has launched an online reporting form for confidential reporting, as part of its push for uniform state laws that deliver stronger criminal penalties and mandatory reporting requirements.
CCHR, which helped secure some of the first state laws in California and Colorado making sexual contact between therapists and patients a criminal offense, notes that today 33 U.S. states and D.C. have such statutes. However, a 2020 study found that only five states have addressed reporting sexual relationships between physicians and patients, with Texas being the only state mandating reporting without patient consent. Another 18 states permit reporting under broader laws, but standards vary widely.
A survey of psychiatrists revealed that more than one-third knew of a colleague who had been sexually involved with patients, yet only 8% reported the exploitation, even though 56% favored mandatory reporting. CCHR's public database shows that nearly a third of criminal convictions against mental health personnel involve sexual abuse.
The issue is not new. Surveys from the 1970s and 1980s found that approximately 7% of psychiatrists admitted to sexual misconduct, with over one-third involved with more than one patient. A 2001 national survey found that one in 20 abused clients was a minor, with the youngest victim being three years old. A 2023 study found that 5% to 45% of mental health inpatients experience sexual violence during admission, with underreporting common due to stigma and fear.
CCHR has documented systemic sexual abuse in for-profit psychiatric hospitals, including 21 incidents in one chain, leading to two staff convictions and two facility closures. Jan Eastgate, President of CCHR International, said, "Mental health facilities can operate with little supervision, creating a breeding ground for abusive acts to go undetected for years. This is not a 'professional boundary violation'—it is sexual battery."
CCHR calls for immediate regulatory reforms, including uniform criminal laws making sexual contact between therapists and patients a felony, revocation of government contracts for facilities where abuse occurs, and mandatory criminal accountability. The organization continues to urge victims and witnesses to come forward via its reporting form.
