Reporting to the Police Among People with Mental Illnesses Who Were Victims of Violence

The aim of this study was to explore reporting to the police in people with mental illnesses who were victims of violence. Fifty-eight persons with mental illnesses who had experienced physical, sexual, or psychological violence in the past three years answered quantitative questionnaires. After vic...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Bergdolt, Juliane (Author) ; Grochtmann, Julia (Author) ; Schröder, Tobias (Author) ; Driessen, Martin (Author) ; Lindemann, Michael (Author) ; Beblo, Thomas 1966- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2024
In: Victims & offenders
Year: 2024, Volume: 19, Issue: 4, Pages: 595–612
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
Guilt
Shame
Criminal proceedings
Substance Use
Victimization
Police
Severe mental illness
Description
Summary:The aim of this study was to explore reporting to the police in people with mental illnesses who were victims of violence. Fifty-eight persons with mental illnesses who had experienced physical, sexual, or psychological violence in the past three years answered quantitative questionnaires. After victimization, 33 (56.9%) participants had police contact, with 22 of them having initiated this contact. Participants who were younger (p = .027), had a substance use disorder (25.8% vs. 50.0%), used drugs or alcohol during victimization (25.0% vs. 51.7%), or experienced shame or guilt (27.5% vs. 62.5%) after victimization were less likely to report to the police. The most frequently named reasons not to report were fear of secondary victimization by the police and the belief that the police could not do anything or that the perpetrator would not be punished adequately.
ISSN:1556-4991
DOI:10.1080/15564886.2023.2243607