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Why Doesn't She Just Report It? Apprehensions and Contradictions for Women Who Report Sexual Violence to the Police
Abstract
A specific goal of law and policy reform has been to encourage women to come forward with sexual assault complaints, but has the nature of the police response improved to warrant this encouragement? While analyses of attrition point to important junctures where cases are dropped, less is known about the diverse and complex decisions women make to engage the criminal justice system and the apprehensions and contradictions that play out in their dealings with the police. This article presents the results of a study of sexual assault survivors whose assaults were reported to the police in a mid-sized Canadian city through the analysis of their experiences, from the decision to report to the police through to their interactions with front-line officers and sexual assault investigators. While some police officers delivered procedural justice in the form of a professional non-judgmental response, others acted on “real rape” understandings of sexual assault and conveyed disbelief, scepticism, and a poor understanding of the effects of trauma. Although charging and prosecution rates have not improved, results of this study show that survivors who engage with police are increasingly likely to expect a positive response. Some women were willing to trust that “things have changed” or their experience was unique. In an era of growing formal equality and heightened expectations of police, results of this study show that there is a long way to go before women are guaranteed equality in the application of sexual assault law.
... As prevalent as sexual violence may be within the U.S., sexual violence against women remains severely underreported (Johnson, 2017). In fact, it is the most underreported violent crime (Rennison, 2002) with an estimated 32% being formally reported (Planty et al., 2013). ...
... The lack of formal reporting is due to several possible reasons. These explanations include fear of retaliation, thinking police will not help, believing the assault was a private matter (Taylor & Gassner, 2010) or not important, and fear of getting the perpetrator in trouble, especially if it was someone the survivor knew (Johnson, 2017;Lathan et al., 2019). In rural places, informal social controls (Carrington, 2007), and the "good ole' boy network" (Websdale, 1998) may prevent a survivor from speaking publicly; again, a unique aspect of rural culture (Rennison et al., 2013). ...
... Law enforcement tactics may result in survivors feeling interrogated (Greeson et al., 2016b). Once the survivor feels they cannot trust law enforcement, they may perceive betrayal (Lathan et al., 2019) and lose confidence in the system (Johnson, 2017). Survivors are managing their trauma while investigators are concerned with building a case (Jordan, 2001), and as previous studies have shown, most research has focused on the investigation process, not immediate contact with survivors by law enforcement officers. ...
Sexual violence is a public health issue impacting many Americans, with girls and women disproportionately victimized. While sexual offenses remain underreported, media has recently spotlighted high-profile cases. However, understanding sexual assaults in rural areas remains absent in mainstream conversation. Studies show rural communities are not smaller versions of their urban neighbors as they harbor old-fashioned values, maintain secrecy, and rely on informal social controls that influence how citizens respond to sexual violence, including law enforcement. Yet, existing literature on law enforcement responses to sexual violence are mostly centralized in urban areas with a focus on the investigative process—ignoring rural dynamics and the impact first-responding law enforcement officers have on survivor perceptions of policing practices. As such, the current review summarizes the impact law enforcement has on sexual violence survivors, focusing on rural policing, and ending with an all-encompassing policy to better serve both law enforcement and sexual violence survivors.
... Although every individual's decision to involve police is unique and personal, survivors often cite that their primary motivation for involving police is ensuring that the perpetrator does not assault others, rather than for their own sense of justice or healing (Johnson, 2017). If victims are to act on these motivations, their only form of formal recourse is to endure the process reporting to the police (Johnson, 2017). ...
... Although every individual's decision to involve police is unique and personal, survivors often cite that their primary motivation for involving police is ensuring that the perpetrator does not assault others, rather than for their own sense of justice or healing (Johnson, 2017). If victims are to act on these motivations, their only form of formal recourse is to endure the process reporting to the police (Johnson, 2017). Unsurprisingly, although a strong body of literature exists on heterosexual and cisgender women's experiences of sexual assault and their engagement with police authorities, relatively little is known about the unique reporting experiences of LGBTQI2-S individuals. ...
... Unsurprisingly, although a strong body of literature exists on heterosexual and cisgender women's experiences of sexual assault and their engagement with police authorities, relatively little is known about the unique reporting experiences of LGBTQI2-S individuals. This is problematic as research on heterosexual women's experiences has established that sexual assault cases are often conducted by the police from a victim-blaming approach and case outcomes are heavily influenced by rape myths, stereotypes, and gender bias (Conroy & Scassa, 2016;Johnson, 2017). Given that sexual minorities do not fit the "perfect victim" archetype, are unduly impacted by minority stress and are much more vulnerable and sensitive to the environmental responses they receive, it is important to question how sexual and gender minority survivors experience reporting sexual assault to police and seeking procedural justice. ...
Sexual assault is defined as any type of forced or coerced sexual contact or behavior that happens without consent. Victims seeking justice and personal safety must report their assaults to police, however few survivors report their victimization. Sexual and gender minorities, inclusive of the LGBTQI2-S population, are at an increased risk for experiencing sexual assault yet the vast majority of empirical research on sexual victimization has been conducted through a hetero-cisnormative lens. Sexual and gender minorities likely have a unique experience of sexual assault compared to heterosexual, cisgender survivors, especially as it relates to their help-seeking behaviors post-assault. Through the use of Sexual and Gender Script Theory, this review explores barriers that sexual and gender minorities may experience when reporting sexual assault to the police, thereby impeding their access to equitable justice. Opportunities for future policy, practice, and research among sexual and gender minorities are presented.
... However, it is difficult to determine the true prevalence of sexual violence and harassment on public transport globally, or in Australia. As is the case with sexual violence broadly, victim-survivors may be reluctant to report their experiences due to mistrust of the police and authorities (Daly & Bouhours, 2010;Johnson, 2017). For example, in a U.S. study, 77% of 140 female tertiary students reported experiencing sexual harassment on public transport, yet only 4% reported to authorities (Natarajan et al., 2017). ...
... In general, there is considerable underreporting broadly of sexual violence and harassment to the police (Thompson et al., 2010). This is due to distrust of the police, previous negative experiences with police or other authorities, as well as fears of not being believed (Johnson, 2017;Jones et al., 2009). Issues with reporting extend to public transport. ...
Sexual violence is a public health issue that can be experienced across the life course. Public transport is a key site of sexual violence and harassment experienced by women and gender-diverse people in Australia, although victim-survivor voices have rarely been sought in addressing this issue. Through in-depth qualitative interviews with 41 diverse female and gender-diverse victim-survivors who were staff or students at two Australian universities, we sought to understand their experiences of sexual violence and harassment on public transport. We found that women and gender-diverse people, while often reporting on a significant experience of sexual violence or harassment on public transport, also had other, "everyday" experiences across their life course that impacted how they traveled and their confidence in the world. Overall, we argue that the significant impact of sexual violence and harassment on public transport should be addressed through targeting public transport as a key site for primary prevention of sexual violence and harassment.
... Understanding interactions between victims and criminal justice agencies is imperative because these experiences often underpin victims' perceptions of the criminal justice process, not just the outcome of their cases (Johnson, 2017;Mawby and Walklate, 1994). Thus far, there is only one study within the United Kingdom which has touched upon these interactions, McGlynn et al.'s (2019) interviews with victims identified how victim blaming, and a lack of support to navigate the criminal justice system left victims deeply unsatisfied with their experiences. ...
... Providing victims with procedural justice has been argued to reduce victim trauma particularly in sexual assault cases. Being treated by police in ways which acknowledge harm, validates experiences, allows victims to express emotions, and ensures victims are treated as human beings can provide a sense of closure and empowerment which is not reliant on the outcome of their cases (Elliott et al., 2014;Johnson, 2017). ...
Twenty-eight in depth interviews were conducted with victims, stakeholders and criminal justice
staff to investigate legislative and policing responses to image-based sexual abuse in England and
Wales. The research identifies fundamental failures within these responses and therefore calls for
urgent change. Findings indicate that victims face fundamental prosecution barriers due to various
limitations within the law as well as police failure to implement victim’s rights and provide a sense
of procedural justice. This article therefore makes recommendations for stakeholder-informed
legislative and policing reform.
... With respect to perceptions of police, women who reported that their local police do a poor job promptly responding to calls and treating people fairly were more likely to experience non-spousal sexual assault. Prior research has indicated that sexual assault victimization is associated with negative perceptions of police (Conroy & Cotter, 2017) which may be linked to negative encounters with police when reporting sexual assault (Du Mont et al., 2003;Johnson, 2017). A recent study in the United States confirmed the persistence of victim-blaming attitudes and rape myths in police reports and called for behavioral interventions for police (Shaw et al., 2017). ...
... Future cycles of the GSS-V should incorporate items to measure gender inequality and societal norms that either support or condemn violence against women, as well as perceptions of weak laws or law enforcement. Extensive research in Canada provides evidence that even in contexts with progressive laws, biased enforcement by police or courts is an ongoing concern (Du Mont et al., 2003;Johnson, 2017;Randall, 2010). ...
An ecological framework is useful for understanding how individual, relationship, community, and societal level factors can affect women’s vulnerability to sexual assault. However, most studies have focused on examining individual and relationship factors only, due to measurement challenges and a lack of data at the societal level. The purpose of this study was to use data from a nationally representative victimization survey to identify salient predictors of sexual assaults not committed by common-law or marital partners among women across all levels of the ecological framework. Out of 16,738 female respondents, 1.9% ( n = 319) experienced one or more incidents of non-spousal sexual assault in the 12 months preceding the survey. Logistic regression modeling indicated that at the individual level, statistically significant factors associated with non-spousal sexual assault included age, Indigenous status, marital status, mental disability, education, main activity, and homelessness or precarious housing. Relationship level predictors of non-spousal sexual assault were a history of child sexual abuse and witnessing violence between parents. Community level predictors were a weak sense of belonging in the local community, low likelihood that neighbors would contact police if they witnessed family violence in the respondents’ home, and high likelihood that neighbors would contact police if they witnessed other criminal behavior. Societal level factors were perceptions that local police do a poor job promptly responding to calls, perceptions that local police do a poor job treating people fairly, and having experienced discrimination in the previous 5 years. The results demonstrated that community and societal level factors are critical components of an ecological framework and are important to understanding and addressing the many factors which are independently associated with vulnerability to sexual assault.
... It is thus paramount to mobilize a framework that can make sense of online interpretations of sexual assault cases in ways that push our capacity to think about the possibilities of a criminal justice system that better responds to sexual victimization. Sexual Violence, Justice, "Trial by Media," and Carceral Feminism Alongside advancements in legal and procedural reforms (Spohn & Tellis, 2012), feminist and victimology scholars have rallied the experiences of countless survivors of sexual violence into impassioned calls for more carefully considered research, government responses, political commentary, and institutional policy (Belknap, 2010;Brown & Walklate, 2011;Christie, 1977;Johnson, 2017;Kelly, 2011;McGarry & Walklate, 2015;Stanko, 2007;Walklate, 2007). Despite progress in discourse and policy, some social, cultural, procedural, and institutional responses to sexual assault cases remain riddled with problematic assumptions about gender and controversies over what counts as truth (Walby et al., 2011;Walklate, 2014). ...
... Perhaps more important than the acceleration of democratic participation, Twitter's accessibility and virtuality invites participation from everyone with access to a computer or smartphone, including, importantly, those who are often silenced. Where victims of sexual assault may be hesitant to bring their cases forward to police or to trial (Johnson, 2017), Twitter gives them a space where their voices can be heard. Twitter, then, stimulates and hosts massive volumes of diverse knowledge. ...
While social media platforms like Twitter can be divisive, this research explores how they contribute to progressive reforms in cases dealing with sexual assault. We found that the Twitter content following the not-guilty Jian Ghomeshi verdict fell into two porous camps - verdict protesters versus verdict supporters - and mapped out the emotional and affective epistemologies embedded in the two sides. On the one side, verdict supporters supported the problematic dichotomies of guilty/innocent, victim/perpetrator, and credible/unreliable testimonies. On the other side, verdict protestors were generally critical of the inherently masculine notions of due process, judicial truth, and victim blaming. We argue that criminologists should take seriously how emotions both structure and merge from legal practices and outcomes, and in doing so, can promote a more conciliatory and effective criminal justice system. These implications suggest that the Canadian criminal justice system needs to integrate an intersectional consideration of emotions if it will be successful in promoting healing rather than punitive forms of punishment that offer little to the survivors of sexual violence.
... Guilt and shame have significant implications on survivors' lives. Both are commonly cited as reasons why women do not report their sexual assault to police (Weiss, 2010;Johnson, 2017). ...
... Ontario (Johnson, 2017). ...
In 2017, the #metoo movement took Hollywood by storm and brought international attention to the widespread issue of sexual violence. In the aftermath of its fervour, scholarly inquiry into the #metoo movement and its influence are just beginning. Feminist response to and engagement with the #metoo movement has been varied. This thesis considers three key exploratory questions: where did the #metoo movement come from? What is the #metoo movement? Furthermore, where is the #metoo movement going? Approaching these questions from a post- structural, intersectional feminist theoretical framework, I employ a genealogical approach to writing a history of the present of the #metoo movement and trace a number of the conditions that have made the #metoo movement’s popular emergence possible. Specifically, I attend to the role that social media, digital activism, and anti-feminist backlash have played in the emergence of the #metoo movement. Discussing these questions over the course of three chapters finds that the #metoo movement can be thought of as a contested and fragmented space of counter public anti-sexual violence activism and as an alternative justice mechanism. At the same time, #metoo’s co-optation by white women in news media, entertainment, and popular culture poses significant dangers that could thwart intersectional social action. The #metoo movement presents numerous possibilities for enacting transformative social change, at the same time as it risks thwarting such efforts. Namely, the #metoo movement holds a significant possibility to challenge the mystical authority of formal justice mechanisms and realize a path to justice that centralizes the multiplicity of Survivor's needs and concerns. At the same time, there is nothing inherently feminist, nor is there an inherent-ness to #metoo’s feminism. The contrasts, conflicts, and contradictions within #metoo and across its relations to feminist activism and scholarship,
highlights the urgency behind flagging the way #metoo has been activated and co-opted to reproduce the conditions necessary for intersectional forces of oppression and domination.
... Despite the high rate of psychological distress following sexual assault, the rate of psychological service utilization is low, ranging from 3% to 30% (Ullman & Filipas, 2001;Walsh et al., 2010). This failure of the health system is due in part to negative social reactions upon disclosing assault, including victim blaming and skepticism by authorities (Johnson, 2017). These reactions can perpetuate the cycle of guilt, shame, and self-blame that subsequently reduces the likelihood of helpseeking (Kennedy & Prock, 2018;Ullman & Filipas, 2001) and increases symptom severity (Thurston et al., 2019), which, in turn, is further associated with even lower rates of help-seeking (Kennedy & Prock, 2018). ...
Sexual assault is a common human rights violation that globally affects approximately 1 in 3 women (30%). Making interventions available via the internet can enhance the security, privacy, and accessibility of mental health resources. This pilot study evaluates utilization, perceived helpfulness, and initial efficacy of Digital Aid to Help Life Improve after Assault (DAHLIA), a fully automated internet-based microintervention website developed to help women improve mood and functioning. Sixty-eight individuals consented to take part in this study. Although most participants visited the website only once, the eight DAHLIA microinterventions were used 117 times. Participants rated the microinterventions as moderately useful; depression and anxiety were inversely related to the perception of usefulness (p < .05). Microinterventions that were designed to offer immediate relief improved mood from before to after use more than the microinterventions requiring activities outside of the intervention (p < .05). Both types of microinterventions were similarly effective for reducing distress from before to after using microinterventions. Our initial test of DAHLIA indicated an interest in such interventions along with their potential to improve mental well-being in the moment. This study also suggested areas for improvement and further development.
... However, there are some important concerns with relying on legislation and changes based on the criminal justice system (Russell et al., 2020). As noted, women underreport incidents for complex reasons and more legislation could further reduce women's agency (Johnson, 2017). Also, those from marginalized backgrounds are too often disproportionately targeted by legislationwhatever its worthy intent (Human Rights Law Centre, 2017;Russell et al., 2020). ...
Primary prevention refers to addressing the root causes of violence against women. It is an increasing focus of policy and social change, and public transport is a recognized site where targeted primary prevention interventions could have high impact. However, to date, this locus has yet to be well explored. In addition, while there is a wealth of literature on feminist approaches to women's safety on and around public transport, the public transport sector itself has been slow to implement this research. This paper investigates the disconnect between primary prevention and public transport by conducting a narrative analysis of reviews of women's safety interventions on public transport and looks at how decision-makers in both primary prevention and public transport can work together to resolve this situation.
... This distrust is rooted in experiences of social injustice, abuse of power, and navigating systems (e.g., criminal justice system) that retraumatize survivors and frequently do not hold offenders accountable (Herman, 2005). Survivors often encounter judgment, disbelief, and refusals to help instead of assistance when seeking services purportedly designed to aid crime victims (e.g., law enforcement; Johnson, 2017;Lievore, 2005). Notably, issues such as the national sexual assault kit (SAK) testing backlog, wherein at least 200,000 SAKs were stockpiled over decades across U.S. police departments, indicate a disregard for survivor welfare and justice (Campbell & Fehler-Cabral, 2018). ...
Kink practitioners are marginalized and experience adverse health and social outcomes, which are exacerbated by consent violations. This study aims to understand experiences of reporting consent violations within a kink context. Kink practitioners ( N = 2,888) completed a survey focused on consent violations, reporting, and recommendations, with 767 (25.56%) of them reporting consent violations in the kink context. The type of consent violation (sexual assault or kink-related behaviors), disclosure, and reporting significantly differed based on gender, sexual orientation, and injury status, but not age. Additionally, recommended steps included avoidance of police and others in positions of power and increased accountability.
... This has too often led to sexual assault cases being classified in the UCR as unfounded (Doolittle et al., 2017). According to the definition, a police-reported sexual assault that is classified as unfounded by law enforcement is one that is deemed false or baseless following an investigation (Johnson, 2017;Rotenberg, 2017) and often occurs when police officers ascribe to rape myths (Doolittle et al., 2017). In 2017, national headlines in Canada uncovered alarmingly high rates of unfounded sexual assault, thereby prompting a call to action among various police organizations to review unfounded cases (Doolittle et al., 2017). ...
Police officers have an important role in attaining justice for survivors of sexual assault, yet investigations are complex, and survivors identify negative disclosure experiences with the police. Public discourse highlights the failure of police in sexual assault cases, yet little attention has been given to the perspectives of police officers and the challenges they face in the processing of sexual assault cases. This qualitative study explored the first-hand accounts of police officers who investigate sexual assault. Thematic analysis uncovered three themes including: 1) Luck of the Draw: Who Gets the Case? 2) Lack of Evidence: How Do We Proceed? and 3) Case Classifications: What is ‘Unfounded’ Anyway? Uncovering the compassionate approach of officers committed to assisting sexual assault survivors may counteract negative discourse and promote a victim-centered approach. Implications for increased training and organizational support for police officers may mitigate investigative challenges through a victim-centered police response to sexual assault.
... The odds of experiencing unwanted sexual behaviour in public were nearly four times higher for women than for men (Cotter & Savage, 2019). It is also worth noting, however, that many women do not report their experiences of sexual assault (Brennan & Taylor-Butts, 2008;Johnson, 2017;McCart et al., 2010;Sable et al., 2006). ...
Sexual assault is a common experience, with nearly 460,000 occurrences happening each year in Canada. Research suggests that women attending university are sexually assaulted at a higher frequency than the general population. Sexual assault (SA) has wide-ranging harmful physical, financial, social, and psychological impacts. Prevalence rates of SA are higher among women than men (30% versus 8%). Given the prevalence rates of SA, there is an urgent need for more research into the experiences of sexual assault, particularly in terms of knowledge from survivors of sexual assault on campus. A narrative research method was chosen for this study because it affords survivors of sexual assault the opportunity to construct a personal narrative and to give voice to their experiences. The research question for this study was: “What narratives are constructed by survivors of sexual assault on campus?” All the survivors were current students at a university in British Columbia and had experienced a sexual assault within the past 5 years. Six narrative themes emerged: (a) difficulty considering the experience as sexual assault, (b) harmful emotional consequences, (c) a hesitation to report and disclose experiences, (d) a placating or freeze response, (e) a desire to reconnect with the perpetrator, and (f) the need for education, resources, and policy changes on campus. The findings have significance for university sexual assault policies and procedures and offer valuable information for sexual assault counsellors in their practice.
... Incidents involving DFSA may be described in two ways: a "proactive DFSA" where a person is given drugs covertly or by force, and an "opportunistic DFSA" where a person is assaulted while they are incapacitated [9,10]. In either scenario, the survivor may feel hesitant to seek medical treatment due to shame, embarrassment, and/or other personal factors [11]. In these instances, a critical amount of biological drug evidence may be lost to metabolic processes, causing analytical complications for mass spectral analysis. ...
In recent years, a significant number of investigations have discovered up to 200 000 unsubmitted sexual assault kits (SAKs) in the US. While the public outcry was largely directed towards DNA analysis, the SAKs also contained biological specimens specifically designated for toxicological analysis. Due to the sensitivity of analytes in potential drug facilitated sexual assaults, the preservation and maintenance of the specimens is crucial in providing accurate toxicological measurements. The investigations into the unsubmitted SAKs have identified subjective law enforcement officer (LEO) rationale for the unsubmitted kits, however the impact on toxicological specimens has not been examined. This brief review of policies and guidelines with respect to forensic specimens has identified potential sources of evidentiary degradation, despite the use of chemical preservatives. With respect to temperature-controlled environments, the variation in SAK submission policies established throughout the US are potentially detrimental to the preservation of toxicological evidence. Degradation as a result of time-delayed collection and poorly maintained storage temperatures plays a crucial role for/in the interpretation of qualitative and quantitative toxicological results. This review finds these delays can be addressed through modernisation of facilities; electronic tracking of unsubmitted SAKs; mandated transfer of biological evidence within 72 h; and documentation of temperature within the chain of custody or other records. Without identifying the range of temperatures in which the evidence was exposed, forensic toxicologists may unintentionally provide erroneous interpretations of toxicological analyses – potentially casting doubt on the survivor’s recall of events and negatively impacting future sexual assault investigations.
... The fear impacted my daily life and how I interacted with others. Only 3.7% of cases are reported out of a thousand incidents as survivors fear retaliation from the perpetrator(s), their family, or friends (Johnson 2017). Survivors often find it difficult to disclose their experiences often because they do not know where to start and the process can be re-traumatizing. ...
With the pandemic caused by the new corona virus, many businesses had to close their doors, including beauty salons around the world. With this in mind, this study sought to analyze the speech given by the American presenter Ainsley Earhardt of “FOX & Friends”, about the need to go “to fix the hair and do the nails” during the pandemic. Her comment was controversial and Public Opinion revealed interesting interpretations in this regard. Therefore, this study based on the concepts of “primining” - this being the relationship between event/event and its target, and through the Critical Discourse Analysis method, sought to better analyze what meanings the presenter's speech can reveal and what reflexes her speech caused in the media and among her audience.
Keywords: Pandemic. Speech. Female beauty. Public opinion.
https://imrjournal.info/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Paper-Proceedings-CGWS2021.pdf
@Canadian International Conference on Gender & Women's Studies 2021
... By using a neoliberal logic that views indi viduals as responsible for their own safety and wellbe ing, the state obscures its ongoing racist and colonialist actions within the legal system, family services, and law enforcement, systems that continue to fail count less women (Maynard 2017;Razack 2016). Police officers tend to treat women who report sexual viol ence with skepticism and distrust, often with a misun derstanding of the effects of trauma (Johnson 2017). Many officers maintain a very narrow idea of what "real" rape is, preferring to investigate stranger rape over acquaintance rape. ...
As of January 1, 2017, the Province of Ontario has required all post-secondary institutions to create and maintain a stand-alone sexual assault policy that includes clearly stated complaint and response procedures. This paper brings to bear the influence of Black feminist thought as an analytic tool and politic on the outcomes and omissions of the development of these policies. Analyzing the stand-alone sexual violence policy of the University of Ottawa as a case study, the author conducted a critical discourse analysis with an intersectional lens to determine if intersectionality influenced the policy creation. Findings reveal that policymakers conceptualize gender in a one-dimensional manner, without attention to intersections of sexualized violence with racism and other systems of oppression. A policy with an ill-defined focus on gender can result in a colorblind policy that suggests that the institution should treat all students the same, regardless of systemic disadvantages they might face on the basis of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, or ability. This avoidance can create barriers to reporting. Neoliberalism and the changing university culture are discussed.
... Women cite numerous reasons for lack of reporting to police, including shame, not wanting to get in trouble, fear of disbelief from law enforcement, and the use of substances at the time of the assault (Spencer et al., 2017). Among women who do report their sexual assaults, a high percentage are deemed by police to be false or baseless and therefore coded as "unfounded" (Johnson, 2017). Unfounded differs from unsubstantiated in that unsubstantiated refers to a failure to prove that a sexual assault occurred, while unfounded claims essentially consider the report as a lie (Rotenberg, 2017). ...
One in four women will experience sexual assault in their lifetime. Although less than 5% of sexual assaults are reported to law enforcement, one in five cases reported to police are deemed baseless (by police) and therefore coded as "unfounded." Police officers are in a unique position to act as gatekeepers for justice in sexual assault cases, given their responsibility to investigate sexual assault reports. However, high rates of unfounded sexual assaults reveal that dismissing sexual violence has become common practice amongst the police. Much of the research on unfounded sexual assault is based on police perceptions of the sexual assault, as indicated in police reports. Women's perspectives about their experiences with police are not represented in research. This qualitative study explored women's experiences when their sexual assault report was disbelieved by the police. Data collection included open-ended and semi-structured interviews with 23 sexual assault survivors. Interviews covered four areas including the sexual assault, the experience with the police, the experience of not being believed, and the impact on their health and well-being. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and entered into NVIVO for analysis. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi's analytic method, resulting in the identification of four themes, including, (a) vulnerability, (b) drug and alcohol use during the assault, (c) police insensitivity, and (d) police process. The women in this study who experienced a sexual assault and reported the assault to police were hopeful that police would help them and justice would be served. Instead, these women were faced with insensitivity, blaming questions, lack of investigation, and lack of follow-up from the police, all of which contributed to not being believed by the institutions designed to protect them. The findings from this research demonstrate that police officers must gain a deeper understanding of trauma and sensitive communication with survivors of sexual assault.
Keywords: adult victims, reporting/disclosure, sexual assault, support seeking.
... A reason frequently cited is the J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f belief that police cannot help them [135]. Victims with a history of reporting sexual assaults express their dislike of complaining again because of negative experiences with the authorities [136]. Regarding victimized women who drank before an assault, the justice system is less likely to provide effective responses [137]. ...
An innovative approach towards the holistic and multidisciplinary study of the victimization of women by drug-facilitated sexual assault has been developed. This phenomenon constitutes a significant problem given the narrowing of the gender gap in drug use over the last few decades and the widespread presence of psychoactive substances worldwide. As violence against women and drug misuse intersect in this phenomenon, this intersectional nature emphasizes the need for a novel approach that enables us to go beyond the studies carried out to date. Consequently, a multidimensional strategy incorporating a gender-sensitive approach has been implemented. The study was aligned with approaches recommended by international authorities concerning sustainable development, thus meeting current global challenges. Furthermore, the study was structured based on an ecological model divided into multiple influence levels and integrating the triangular theory of violence. As a result, a new ecological working framework was built as a multilevel platform useful for understanding and preventing the victimization of women by drug-facilitated sexual assault.
Alcohol and Other Drug Facilitated Sexual Violence (AODFSV), known as “drink-spiking,” is the administration of alcohol or other drugs to someone without their consent, with the intent to harm them. Investigation into portrayals of AODFSV in the Australian news media is needed. Using feminist critical discourse analysis, this paper investigated the portrayal of AODFSV in the Australian news media in the past ten years. 226 articles were included for analysis and three themes were identified. Firstly, “how the media constructs the drink spiking narrative,” uses the “cautionary tale” that warns women about the dangers of the night-time economy and reinforces and perpetuates victim-blaming and rape myths. Secondly, “how the media normalises the drink spiking discourse” focuses on the substances used in drink spiking, the settings, the construction of the perpetrator and the victim as well as the depictions of sexual violence. Thirdly, “how the media shapes responses from emergency services” including police and hospital staff. This paper highlights the way the media creates and reinforces drink-spiking discourse, which constructs drink-spiking as individual behaviour rather than a culturally embedded issue. Such ideology perpetuates victim blaming and rape myths. We argue for critical and thoughtful reporting on AODFSV.
This study analyzed tweets from Twitter containing hashtags related to the #WhyIDidntReport movement, which was created to allow victims of sexual violence to share their experiences and seek support. The study aimed to identify common barriers to formal reporting of sexual violence. The study used the Twitter API and snscrape, a social network scraping tool, to gather tweets from January 1, 2020 to October 31, 2022. A total of 29,855 tweets were collected and preprocessed, and 1,500 were randomly selected for analysis to identify themes. The study found that the most common reason for not reporting was personal, followed by societal. The least common reason was criminal. The study also found that the most common subtheme for not reporting was fear of retaliation from the perpetrator, which made up 30.6% of the tweets. Another subtheme under the personal theme was ignorance of assault, which made up 15.3% of the tweets. The subtheme of considering the assault as not serious made up 12.6% of the tweets. Several recommendations were made to the prevalence of sexual violence.
As a victim-survivor and feminist activist who participated in the #MeToo movement in China, I always have confusion and questions generated from my experiences and observations. The limited literature on Chinese social movements rarely utilises China situated frameworks, which reduces the understanding. This article focuses on ‘how #MeToo movement(s) manifest and evolve in China’ and aims to find out its ‘Chinese characteristics’. Through an analysis of two archives and my autoethnography using He-Yin Zhen’s feminist analytical concepts ‘nannü’ (man/woman) and ‘shengji’ (livelihood), Confucian moral outlook, and ‘Chinese characteristics’, I find that the movement displays ‘Chinese characteristics’ in multiple aspects. There is not one monolithic #MeToo movement in China but many with different agendas, although some of which are prioritised more than others. These findings stress the importance of privileging the historic-cultural context and personal perspectives in studying social movements. This article illustrates that situated feminist research is needed to reconstruct feminist studies in the global South, and that feminist movements need to consider the historical and cultural context, and challenge dominant romanticising and elitist discourses, in order to develop sustainably.
Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, individuals with autism experience unique barriers to accessing abortion for rape-related pregnancies in states restricting reproductive health care. Barriers to reporting rape include inadequate sex education which contributes to a lack of information about sexual violence (SV), difficulties labeling and recognizing SV, and potential difficulties navigating the role of a caregiver or conservator when reporting SV. Individuals with autism often experience a lack of equitable support from formal SV support services. Both barriers to reporting and lack of equitable support from formal SV support services reflect that individuals with autism are marginalized and often overlooked when receiving sexual and reproductive health care. Suggestions are provided for sexuality educators, SV support services, police, healthcare providers and policymakers, for better supporting individuals with autism experiencing rape-related pregnancy in states with abortion restrictions.
This article derives from part of a larger study on sexual violence prevention in teacher education that analyses the narratives of fifteen teacher candidates in an Ontario university. It begins by providing a rationale for the research, which engages emerging teachers as key stakeholders in prevention education. Narrative inquiry was conducted to understand the experiences of teacher candidates who were troubled by the programme’s lack of education and training on sexuality education and sexual violence prevention. Teacher candidates reflected that their first education about consent and sexual violence occurred in a postsecondary rather than an elementary or secondary school context. As part of the teacher certification programme, participants felt entitled to learn about sexuality education methodologies and sexual violence prevention education. As emerging teachers, they expressed the desire to know how to teach young people about sex and consent, healthy relationships, boundaries, and the sociopolitical contexts of sexual violence, as well as how to sensitively respond to disclosure. Most pointedly, participants understood the power that effective sexuality education by trained teachers may have in reducing victimisation, thereby contributing to educational equity. Findings are discussed in relation to the literature on feminist understandings of sexuality education and sexual violence prevention.
This research uses feminist methodology to investigate the multi-contextual narratives of pre-service teachers in sex education when they were K-12 students, their emerging understandings of sex and sexual violence, and their experiences learning about prevention in undergraduate and teacher education. Participants experienced inadequate sex education in K-12 school, where they learned about sex and sexual violence through the margins of rather than the formal curriculum, leading to difficulty negotiating sexual ethics and developing sexual citizenship. Participants critically reflected on their own teachers’ discomfort with teaching about sex and addressing incidences of sexual violence, as well as on the absence of prevention education in the teacher education. They had limited understandings of sexual violence and expressed desire to learn more as they emerge into their teacher roles, to do better than their teachers did. Implications include the need for mandatory integration of prevention education throughout the teacher certification curriculum.
Research Summary
Despite constituting a substantial portion of police contacts, victims in general, and violence against women (VAW) survivors in particular, have received little attention in body‐worn camera (BWC) research. As BWCs proliferate in policing, crafting victim‐sensitive BWC policies is important. Drawing from qualitative interviews with 33 survivors of sexual assault and/or intimate partner violence, we identify themes that characterize victim‐sensitive BWC policies: notification, consent, alternative recording options, procedural consistency, and data storage and access. These findings lay a foundation for further research that can assess the generalizability of these themes to other samples of survivors.
Policy Implications
VAW survivors are stakeholders who should be consulted in the production of victim‐sensitive BWC policy for police services. This exploratory study suggests that BWC use will be more victim‐sensitive when (1) officers notify victims of BWC use as soon as reasonably possible during an interaction, (2) officers ask victims if they consent to BWC recording, (3) officers deactivate the video recording function of the BWC (or reposition the BWC's lens away from the victim) if consent is not provided or if doing so would make the victim more comfortable, (4) police services ensure that BWCs are used consistently by frontline members, that BWC videos are regularly subject to supervisory review, and that videos are appropriately used in training to prepare for quality survivor‐police interactions, and (5) officers and services provide victims with clear information regarding BWC footage access and data security.
This article analyses the content of 483 reports of sexual violence, including rape, sexual assault, child sexual abuse and various forms of sexual harassment, made to a digital reporting tool (DRT) developed by a rape crisis centre in Melbourne, Australia. These written digital reports were made in a confidential and informal capacity, with all de-identified reports distributed to relevant policing jurisdictions to support intelligence gathering. Based on an analysis of the de-identified reports, this article suggests the DRT functioned as an important gateway in connecting survivors with appropriate therapeutic support when disclosing sexual violence and had a demonstrable capacity to provide the police with information for intelligence gathering. There was also scope for survivors to make formal reports should they wish to do so. However, further research with police, sexual violence support services and survivors is needed to develop a full understanding of the potential of informal sexual violence reporting options.
This chapter reviews current research and internationally published guidance for conducting interviews with adult sexual assault victims and identifies key best practices to improve the interview process. Among the issues identified by practitioners, researchers, and victims, two of the overriding themes are victim empowerment and a climate of belief. Although police services internationally have special units, enhanced training for sexual assault investigations, and established multi-disciplinary efforts to make victims more comfortable with the process, attrition figures for sexual assault crimes remain high. This chapter will address the following questions: (1) What do victims need? (2) What challenges do investigators face? Answers include the need for a victim-centred and trauma-informed process, good interviewing practices, and having the appropriate mindset. To this end, training should address both attitudes and behavior, with incremental skill development. Recording interviews for evidentiary purposes is discussed as an alternative to written statements. The chapter concludes with suggestions for further research.
Ample research explores individual factors associated with sexual violence, yet individual, dyadic, and environmental influences on intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) occurring in the larger context of non-intimate partner violence (NIPSV) remain relatively unexplored. The current study aimed to determine the extent to which county-level indicators in combination with individual and dyadic factors are associated with sexual violence across relationship types. Reported IPSV and NIPSV cases were obtained from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s (TBI) online incident-based reporting system. County-level variables indicative of neighborhood physical disorder, violent crime, income inequality, firearm prevalence, and community alcohol use patterns were retrieved from the online resource County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. Using a nested case–control design, we determined significant sexual violence risk within younger cohorts and across relationship types, finding three significant county-level factors: 1) income inequality, 2) rate of firearm fatalities, and 3) percentage of female residents. Suggested prevention and intervention efforts include targeting younger age groups for IPSV and NIPSV education, developing resources for a range of relational partners, improving legal access and law enforcement training for reporting, and continued examination of the role of firearms.
Background
Most previous sexual assault attrition research has not differentiated between cases reported promptly and non-recent (or historic) reports, obscuring differences in attrition patterns. Historic child sexual abuse [HCSA] presents challenges for investigation and prosecution, including a lack of physical evidence, and complainant and witness memory issues.
Objective
To determine attrition patterns and analyze complainant reasons for withdrawal in HCSA cases in a region with a large Indigenous population.
Sample and setting
This study examined 231 non-institutional HCSA complaints reported to the police in a Northern Canadian Territory.
Methods
Files were coded for a range of complainant, suspect, and offence variables. Reasons given by complainants were examined using thematic analysis. Logistic regression was performed, looking for factors connected with complainants' likelihood of continuation.
Results
Overall attrition was 68.8%, with 159 cases not resulting in convictions. The leading cause of attrition, at 39.6%, (n = 63) was initiated by complainants, many of whom withdrew during the early stages of the investigative process. Thematic analysis of reasons for complainant withdrawal yielded two main themes (‘cold feet’ and ‘therapeutic’). Logistic regression results showed that three complainant-related variables were significant [p = 0.001] for complainant continuation: multi-complainant cases; previous disclosure by complainants; and complainant age (15–17 years old) at offence.
Conclusions
Results showed less attrition overall than for recent sexual assault, and highlighted the need to support HCSA complainants from early in the process, especially those reporting abuse for the first time. It was also found that some complainants were satisfied without going to court.
The present study aimed to investigate and analyze women’s sociocultural barriers in using public transport of Ahvaz Metropolis. This research is applied-theoretical in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of method. The data were collected through library studies, surveys, and interviews with citizens and experts of public transport. The ARAS decision-making method was used to rank the barriers. For zoning the barriers in Ahvaz, the interpolation kriging model in ARCGIS 10.3 software was employed. The results show that the sociocultural barriers of each age group of women are different in each public transport mode. Ranking these barriers shows that sexism looks, men's sexual looks, relatives, families, disapproval, and the drivers’ nonsense talk, respectively, are the major barriers to bus and taxi use, walking, and cycling. In addition, zoning the barriers indicated that the further one moves from north to south of the city, the greater the barriers are. A regional view of this zoning confirms that about 90% of the area of districts 4 and 8 are in the high and very high range, and 30% of district 3 is in the high range. These districts are less favourable than other districts of Ahvaz, but zone 2 is the most favourable one, as it is entirely in low and very low ranges.
Drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) is a sexual act in which the victim is unable to give or rescind consent due to alcohol or drug intoxication, which involved the abuse of benzodiazepines around the world. Conventional techniques used for the analysis of benzodiazepines have the limitation of short detection time window due to the rapid metabolism of these drugs in body. This study aimed to investigate the characteristic changes of metabolites in the blood of rats after ingesting diazepam/clonazepam through a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolomics method, allowing the indirect reveal of the rats ingested diazepam/clonazepam. First, we found that diazepam and clonazepam in the blood of rats could not be detected by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry after 48 h of ingestion. Then, orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis regression models were, respectively, constructed to determine whether the rats ingested diazepam/clonazepam after 48 h. The results showed that 5 metabolites were found to be associated with diazepam exposure, and 7 metabolites were found to be associated with clonazepam exposure, which may be characterization for the evaluation of digestion of diazepam and clonazepam in rat.
Sexual violence is seriously underreported in
many countries. Findings from prior research
indicate that victims of rape who seek their rights
experience worse mental health than those who
do not report the violence. The aim of this study
was to increase knowledge and deepen the understanding of rape survivors’ lived-experiences
with the criminal justice system (CJS) in Iceland.
The research methodology was the Vancouver
school of doing phenomenology. Participants were
ten Icelandic women who reported a rape to
the police. In all cases, the prosecution authority decided not to charge the suspect due to
lack of sufficient evidence. Two interviews were
conducted with every participant, a total of 20
interviews. The main finding is that reporting the
rape was like adding trauma on top of trauma for
the women. They described the reporting process
as a stressful and degrading experience that had
a harmful impact on their mental health. Four
main themes were identified regarding participants’ experiences: 1) ”So afraid to take the step”
2) “The uncertainty, never knowing anything”
3) “Completely fell apart” 4) “Left me hurt”.
Despite the case being dropped, the women
eventually managed to see the purpose of reporting the rape, which was an important step toward improved mental health and well-being. The
results indicate that the needs of victims of sexual
violence are not adequately met in the CJS in
Iceland. It is necessary to build a system that can
empower survivors and help facilitate their recovery instead of preventing it. To achieve this goal,
it is important to implement a trauma-informed
approach to the CJS and to enhance collaboration
with the health care system.
Keywords: Sexual assault, criminal justice
system, trauma, mental health, phenomenology.
Victim compensation programs seek to alleviate adverse effects of victimization and repay victim losses. A few studies have concluded that US compensation programs are under-utilized because victims are unaware of such programs and police officers overlook sharing the information. The present study sought to further explore this issue from the perspective of state compensation directors and police executives. Survey respondents were asked their opinions about police officers’ basic knowledge of victims’ compensation programs, reasons for under-utilization of the programs, and the most effective ways to inform victims of their right to compensation. Surveys were administered to 38 state compensation directors and 23 law enforcement executives from across the US. Survey results confirmed the belief that many eligible victims are not receiving compensation and that better training of patrol officers on compensation eligibility and benefits was needed. However, just one in 10 of the state directors implicated police failure to notify victims as a major reason for victims not filing claims. The consensus of both police administrators and state compensation directors was that, while patrol officers should be tasked with providing basic notification of compensation availability, it is important that victim advocates and police detectives follow up with more detailed information in the days following victimization. Policy implications and future directions for research are discussed in light of the findings.
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