Citation

Bowen KN, Diamond B, Burns R. Violence Vict. 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Springer Publishing)

DOI

10.1891/VV-2021-0037

PMID

35613885

Abstract

Little is known about victims' experiences with the perpetrator after they report a sexual assault. This study examined harassment of sexual assault victims during the prosecution process utilizing case notes from a large, southern District Attorney's office. Specifically, harassment cases were compared to cases where no harassment was reported by the victim. We found that approximately 15% of victims vocalized harassment by the defendant, his family, or friends. The results detail characteristics and factors related to how harassment was carried out in these cases. These findings unveil the importance of communicating with victims during the prosecution process and suggest control balance theory to be an appropriate lens through which to view harassing behavior.

Language: en

Keywords

victimization; violence; sexual assault/rape