Sexual Violence Risk — MRCPsych Paper B MCQ

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HardForensic PsychiatrySexual Violence RiskMRCPsych Paper B

A 45-year-old restricted patient with a history of repeated contact sexual offences is being considered for conditional discharge. The multidisciplinary team requires a structured professional judgement instrument specifically designed for adult sexual violence risk, to support formulation and individualised risk-management planning. Which tool is most appropriate?

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Correct answer: A — Risk for Sexual Violence Protocol (RSVP)

The correct answer is A, the Risk for Sexual Violence Protocol (RSVP; Hart et al., 2003, updated to RSVP-V2 in 2022). It is an offence-specific structured professional judgement (SPJ) instrument designed for management-oriented assessment of adult sexual violence risk, supporting formulation and individualised risk-management planning — exactly what the stem requests before conditional discharge. The HCR-20 V3 is an SPJ tool but addresses general violence, not sexual violence specifically. Static-99R is sexual-offence-specific but actuarial: it yields a normed recidivism estimate rather than the SPJ formulation and management planning required. SARA-V3 targets intimate-partner violence, and SAVRY assesses violence risk in adolescents, so neither fits an adult sexual offender. Any such instrument should supplement, not replace, comprehensive multidisciplinary clinical and psychosocial risk assessment.

Reference: Parole Board. Risk Assessment Guidance v2.0, sections 26.8–26.9: RSVP (Risk of Sexual Violence Protocol), July 2024. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66d1b5c08df4724cad1aead3/Risk_Assessment_Guidance_v2.0_-_External_version.pdf