Forensic inpatients reside for long periods in restricted environments, which do not support the presence of sexual experiences or the expression of existing needs. However, sexuality and sexual health are important aspects in the overall recovery from mental illness. Given the lack of national policies, management decisions are bestowed upon individual institutions and staff members. This research aims to describe the current sexual policies in 32 forensic psychiatric wards in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium), varying from low to high security, and explore the perspective of forensic inpatients regarding such policies. The research questions were answered using a survey that questioned the different forensic units. Only 56% of the wards had a sexual policy at the hospital level. Results showed no significant differences in the applicable sexual policies between the security levels, but individual differences and inconsistencies exist in the rules and agreements applied among different wards. Subsequently, 15 semi-structured in-depth interviews with inpatients were conducted using a phenomenological approach. Most of the respondents were dissatisfied with their sexuality and experienced various barriers in meeting their sexual wants and needs. The results have an added value for clinical practice and lead to recommendations in the development of an integrated sexual policy.

法医住院患者长期居住在受限的环境中，这些环境不支持性经历的存在或现有需求的表达。然而，性行为和性健康是精神疾病整体康复的重要方面。由于缺乏国家政策，管理决策权被授予各个机构和工作人员。本研究旨在描述佛兰德斯（比利时荷兰语地区）32 个法医精神病病房当前的性政策（从低安全性到高安全性），并探讨法医住院患者对此类政策的看法。通过对不同法医单位提出质疑的调查来回答研究问题。只有 56% 的病房制定了医院层面的性政策。结果显示，不同安全级别之间适用的性政策没有显着差异，但不同病区之间适用的规则和协议存在个体差异和不一致。随后，采用现象学方法对住院患者进行了 15 次半结构化深度访谈。大多数受访者对自己的性取向不满意，并且在满足性需求方面遇到各种障碍。研究结果对临床实践具有附加价值，并为制定综合性政策提供建议。