1. Victims of Sexual Assault and
Decision to Report to Law Enforcement Agencies
Erica Pieper
Texas Christian University
Department of Social Work
Background
1 of 6 women, 1 of 33 men in America will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime
44% of victims are under age 18
About 80% of victims of sexual assault know their perpetrator
68% of sexual assaults are never reported to law enforcement
7% of reported sexual assaults lead to an arrest
Purpose
Examine reasons victims of sexual assault choose to report their incident to law enforcement agencies
Address barriers surrounding the reporting of sexual assault
Assess reasons to better serve victims, specifically those on college campuses
Methods
Systematic review of literature regarding victims of sexual assault and their decision to report to law enforcement
Evaluated information found in five peer reviewed research journal articles
Purposefully chose articles with differing locations, sample sizes, research designs, and types of sample
Ensured results were gathered in the last ten years to ensure relevancy
Observed data analysis in each study in order to best understand impacting factors regarding decisions to report sexual assault
All articles utilized demographic questionnaires as well as numerous different scales regarding PTSD symptoms
Retrieved all articles from EBSCO Host
Findings
Findings
Relationship
to Offender
Event Seen
as Trivial
Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms
Alcohol or Drug Involvement
Physical Trauma
Walsh, R. et al. (2014). X
McFarlance, M. et al. (2006).
Felson, R. et al. (2007).
Kapur, N. et. al. (2011).
Nesvold, H. et al. (2011).
Sample
Male and female sample was reflective of the ratio of males and females who experience sexual assault in a given year
Participant age range in all studies were reflective of all ages, yet sampled the most affected age group (18-24 years of age)
Sample did not include child sexual abuse, as this is considered for a different type of reporting
Not all study samples accounted for educational level, income, or other abuse
Study samples did not account for the most often victimized racial groups
Findings
Decisions to report crimes to police are made based on a variety of factors
Higher levels of PTSD re-experiencing and hyper-arousal symptoms increased the likelihood of police notification
Women who experienced more than one sexual assault were more than 3 times likely to report beginning or increasing substance use compared to women who reported only one sexual assault
Majority of victims who reported to the police did so within the first day of the assault (64%)
Relationship between victim and offender is the largest impacting factor in reporting
Discussion
Victim and offender relationship strongly affects reporting
Non-reporting individuals suffer from PTSD, depression, and other negative symptoms as compared to those who report
Emphasis must be placed on healthy, respectful relationships
References
Felson, R. B., & Paré, P. (2005). The Reporting of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault by Nonstrangers to the Police.Journal Of Marriage & Family, 67(3), doi: /j x
Kapur, N. A., & Windish, D. M. (2011). Health care utilization and unhealthy behaviors among victims of sexual assault in Connecticut: Results from a population-based sample. Journal Of General Internal Medicine, 26(5), doi: /s
McFarlane, J., Malecha, A., Gist, J., Watson, K., Batten, E., Hall, I., & Smith, S. (2005). Intimate partner sexual assault against women and associated victim substance use, suicidality, and risk factors for femicide. Issues In Mental Health Nursing, 26(9), doi: /
Nesvold, H., Ormstad, K., & Friis, S. (2011). Sexual assault centres and police reporting—An important arena for medical/legal interaction. Journal Of Forensic Sciences, 56(5), doi: /j x
Walsh, R. M., & Bruce, S. E. (2014). Reporting decisions after sexual assault: The impact of mental health variables .Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, And Policy, 6(6), doi: /a