The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) International is urging survivors of sexual abuse by psychiatrists, psychologists, other mental health therapists, or psychiatric hospital staff to report their experiences confidentially. The organization has made available an online reporting form for survivors and witnesses to report these crimes safely and privately. This call follows a disturbing rise in media reports and convictions involving patients sexually abused by mental health professionals.
CCHR International is advocating for uniform state laws that deliver stronger criminal penalties, mandatory reporting requirements, and full accountability for those who exploit vulnerable patients. The organization, established in 1969, helped secure some of the first state laws in California and Colorado making sexual contact between therapists and patients a criminal offense. Today, 33 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have criminal statutes recognizing the added protections patients need. Similar laws have been achieved in Australia, Germany, Israel, and Sweden.
Despite these efforts, a study addressing U.S. laws found that only five states have addressed reporting sexual relationships between physicians and patients. Of these, only Texas mandates that a physician who learns of such misconduct report it, even without the patient's consent. Another 18 states permit reporting under broader laws covering physician impairments and unethical conduct, but reporting standards vary widely, using vague terms such as “reasonable belief,” “reasonable cause to believe,” or “any information.”
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 of criminal and disciplinary actions against mental health personnel shows that nearly a third of criminal convictions involve sexual abuse. Victims are frequently drugged by the abusing therapist, a factor that CCHR says statutes must specifically address.
A 2020 report on sexual assault in psychiatric settings found that the majority of states do not mandate physicians to report sexually exploitative colleagues—even when the information is disclosed during treatment—although many state medical boards have such requirements. A 2026 BMJ Open scoping review of literature on abuse by healthcare professionals in mental health services cited a study of adverse experiences in psychiatric hospitals in which approximately 3%–21% of patients reported experiencing some form of abuse by healthcare professionals.
The harm from physician sexual misconduct has been recognized for decades, yet the problem persists. 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 an average age of 7 for girls and 12 for boys, the youngest being three. Therapists who engage in sexual contact with patients are often repeat offenders; surveys show that over 50% of male therapists who admitted such involvement reported multiple patients, and a Canadian study placed the repeat offender rate at 80%.
CCHR says that mental health professionals undermine the seriousness of the offense by referring to it as a mere “boundary violation.” While acknowledging that such abuse is “inherently harmful to patients, always unethical, and usually illegal,” some psychiatric literature still downplays it with softer language. A 2023 study found that 5% to 45% of mental health inpatients experience sexual violence during admission, with underreporting common due to stigma, fear of disbelief, retaliation, or mistrust, as well as a culture of silence among staff.
CCHR has documented systemic sexual abuse in for-profit psychiatric and behavioral hospitals, including 21 incidents involving patients and children in one chain of facilities. Two staff members were convicted and sentenced to a combined 35 years in prison, and two facilities were closed following sexual abuse allegations. 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. If mental health professionals sexually assault their patients, they betray a position of trust. This is not a ‘professional boundary violation’—it is sexual battery.”
CCHR calls for immediate regulatory reforms, including the passage of uniform criminal laws in all states making sexual contact between therapists and patients a felony offense. Additional measures should include the revocation of government contracts and licenses for any facility where staff sexually abuse patients, along with mandatory criminal accountability for perpetrators.
