Rape and Sexual Assault: Reporting to Police and Medical Attention, 1992-2000

August 2002 NCJ 194530:

Abstract:
Presents information on the consequences of rape and sexual assault for female victims. The study provides the percentages of completed rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault of females that were reported to the police in 1992-2000. The report provides the percentage of victims that were injured and treated from a completed rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault. It presents the percentage of those who reported to the police, and the percentage of those victims who received treatment and whose victimization was reported to the police.

Highlights include the following:

All rapes, 39% of attempted rapes and 17% of sexual assaults against females resulted in injured victims, 1992-2000.

When a rape or sexual assault was reported to the police, the victim was the most likely to report it.

45% of injured female victims of a reported attempted rape compared to 22% of injured victims of an unreported attempted rape received medical treatment, 1992-2000

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Reasons for not reporting to law enforcement authorities:

When victims of rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault did not report the crime to the police, the most often cited reason was that the victimization was a personal matter:

Rape: personal matter, 23.3%; fear of reprisal, 16.3%; police biased, 5.8%.

Attempted rape: personal matter, 16.8%; fear of reprisal, 11.3%; protect offender, 9.9%.

Completed and attempted sexual assault: personal matter, 25.3%; reported to different official, 12.4%; fear of reprisal, 11.3%.

The victim-offender relationship and informing the police:

The closer the relationship between the female victim and the offender, the greater the likelihood that the police would not be told about the rape or sexual assault.

When the offender was a current or former husband or boyfriend, about three-fourths of all victimizations were not reported to police (77% of completed rapes, 77% of attempted rapes, and 75% of sexual assaults not reported).

When the offender was a friend or acquaintance, 61% of completed rapes, 71% of attempted rapes, and 82% of sexual assaults were not reported.

When the offender was a stranger, 54% of completed rapes, 44% of attempted rapes, and 34% of sexual assaults were not reported to the police.

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