Citation

Lorenz K, Dewald S, Venema R. Violence Vict. 2021; 36(3): 455-476.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Springer Publishing)

DOI

10.1891/VV-D-20-00058

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Most sexual assault victims make the conscious decision to not report to the police. Concerns about the police appear to be prominent in victims' decision-making, but we do not know specifically what these concerns entail, and therefore cannot address them. A qualitative inquiry is needed to understand perceptions of the police in reporting decisions, from the voices of victims themselves. Participants (N = 175) responded to an open-ended survey question about their decision to not report to the police following sexual victimization. Analyses revealed that police perceptions shaped the decision to not report for 36% (n = 63) of participants. Nonreporting decisions related to the police fell into two themes: concerns of police treatment and previous/vicarious negative experiences with the police. We include recommendations for police and a call for alternative reporting options.

Language: en

Keywords

qualitative; sexual assault; police; decision-making; reporting