Victim-Survivors’ Prioritization of Reasons for Non-Reporting Adult Sexual Assaults to Law Enforcement

Despite the potential benefits of reporting a sexual assault to the police, few sexual assault victim-survivors choose to do so. Prior research on reasons for non-reporting has lacked American Indian/Alaska Native representation as well as a quantitative prioritization of non-reporting reasons. This...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:  
Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. VerfasserIn: Johnson, Ingrid Diane (VerfasserIn)
Beteiligte: Lewis, Rebekah
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: 2023
In: Journal of interpersonal violence
Jahr: 2023, Band: 38, Heft: 3/4, Seiten: 4293-4316
Online-Zugang: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Journals Online & Print:
Lade...
Verfügbarkeit prüfen: HBZ Gateway
Schlagwörter:
cultural contexts
adult victims
reporting/disclosure
Sexual Assault
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Despite the potential benefits of reporting a sexual assault to the police, few sexual assault victim-survivors choose to do so. Prior research on reasons for non-reporting has lacked American Indian/Alaska Native representation as well as a quantitative prioritization of non-reporting reasons. This study sought to fill those gaps by using quantitative data from 95 participants in an online, self-administered survey of victim-survivors of adult sexual assaults in Alaska. Descriptive, univariate results revealed great variation in the reasons for non-reporting. Further, which reasons were more commonly endorsed changed when measuring victim-survivor prioritization of reasons (primary, secondary, and tertiary) rather than simple endorsement. Lastly, there were few subgroup differences when conducting bivariate analyses using racial/ethnic identity and the act of reporting other adult sexual assaults in Alaska. The results of this study add to existing literature on non-reporting with an emphasis on changing how we measure the reasons behind non-reporting. The results also signal to criminal justice policy makers and practitioners that proactive, comprehensive efforts must be made to regain the faith and trust of current and potential victim-survivors so that they see the criminal justice system as a viable avenue for securing justice in ways that are meaningful to them.
ISSN:1552-6518
DOI:10.1177/08862605221114146