Citation

McMahon S, Schwartz R. Affilia 2011; 26(3): 250-263.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0886109911417683

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article reports on a content analysis of the social work research literature to assess the level of attention that the profession has paid to the rape of adults. The analysis of 66 social work articles published between 1975 and 2008 revealed that rape was a primary focus in about one third of the articles. However, 94% of the articles connected rape with another issue that was central to the profession (such as domestic violence or mental health). The majority of articles were client focused, rather than addressing practitioners' needs or macro-level issues. A large number of articles framed rape as a form of domestic violence; however, there is a clear need to address the issue of rape both within and outside the context of domestic violence. Implications for future research are discussed.