Low Victim Reporting
With only 5-20% of sexual assaults being reported, this brings to light many various considerations that must be discussed (Huhtanen). This low reporting rate comes from a variety of factors including but not limited to: societal bias, shame, re-traumatization, police interactions, religious affiliation, knowledge of the suspect, and fear of not being believed. Although these factors very greatly between individuals’ specific cases, there are a multitude of common contributing factors to the large gap that is seen with the reporting of sexual assault.
Societal Bias and Self-Blame
The fear of society’s ridicule and opinions on their assault often stops victim from pursuing justice. Societal bias does not just affect how those in society view the sexual assault, but also how the victim views it themselves. A study was performed on students attending a public university in the U.S. Southwest to examine how many sexual assault cases went un-reported as well as what the victims’ reasons were for not reporting the assault (Spencer et al.). Some of the major themes that were identified to have contributed to the victims not reporting their assault were their thinking it was not a big enough deal, being afraid, being too ashamed to report, and feeling as though they would be blamed for putting themselves in that situation (Spencer et al.).
Pertaining to the issue of feeling as though it was not a big enough deal, this demonstrates the internalized messages from society that are engrained in the minds of many individuals. Specifically, society’s encouragement to dismiss and downplay the severity of their assaults as well as the normalization of sexual assault (Spencer et al.). Another study, performed at Midwestern University, demonstrated similar results of negative notions pertaining to the downplaying of the assaults contributing to the decision to not report (Holland and Cortina). It was found that many of the participants in this study stated a feeling that their assault was insufficiently severe and due to the lack of completed rape in many cases, this lead the victim to feel as though this would be considered merely a normal part of culture (Holland and Cortina). In such situations, victims have formed this belief due to the downplaying nature of society in which many individuals believe that sexual assault is often something that can simply be handled by the victim on their own. Not only does this cause many individuals to not report their assaults, but it also creates more deep-rooted trauma in the victim caused by avoidance of the incident.
Victims are often riddled with self-blame and shame, thinking that they are the reason that such a thing would happen to them. Society’s inclination to victim blame has become an integrated thought in the minds of many victims. In considering the option to report the assault, many individuals face the shame of not wanting friends or family members to know about their sexual assault (Sable et al.). Additionally, they face the unsettling notion that many victims are not believed by those they confide in. They are told that it either is not a big deal or that they should not have put themselves in that vulnerable situation. This causes many to hold themselves responsible for their sexual victimization, feeling ashamed to say that it was the perpetrator’s fault rather than their own (Spencer et al.). In some cases, other societal factors such as religious beliefs, familial expectations, or societal expectations lead members of society to view victims as guilty of going against their religion, conducting themselves in an unrespectable and low manner, and being deserving of what it was that happened to them. Many victims have stated that they feel as though they are to blame due to their alcohol or drug use on the night of the incident or due to the notion that sexual assault is a normal occurrence and they should not have put themselves into that situation, feeling as though they lead the perpetrator on (Spencer et al.; Holland and Cortina). It has also been found that this notion of the assault being caused by alcohol or sexual energy is largely stated and believed by males more than females (Monica Romero-Sanchez). With this belief being engrained in the minds of many, they start to believe it as well. This feeling of guilt and self-blame causes many victims to have increased traumatic symptoms and causes them to feel as though they should not report.
Relationship to Perpetrator
Depending on the relationship that the victim had with the perpetrator prior to the assault, they may often be more or less likely to report them. A study done examining the reporting of sexual assault by non-strangers to the police found that victims often respond differently when the perpetrator is an acquaintance of theirs (Felson and Paul-Philippe). Specifically, many are likely to be too embarrassed to report sexual assaults committed by a known person as well as believing that acquaintance assault is minor as compared to if the sexual assault were by a stranger (Felson and Paul-Philippe). In many cases, more often seen with female victims, individuals feel as though they have a role to protect their perpetrator (Spencer et al.). This is often due to the fact that the assailant was either an acquaintance, friend, family member, or intimate partner. In the consideration of reporting the assault, they often fear ruining the perpetrators life and chance at professional success upon accusing them of sexual assault. Additionally, when the assailant is a family member, victims often feel as though if they report, they will not be believed (Felson and Paul-Philippe). The issue of believability when considering familial assault is very prominent. Many fear that if they were to report and are subsequently shut down or told that that could not have occurred, then they may also face repercussions from the perpetrator. Similarly, in cases of a previous or current intimate relationship with the perpetrator, many victims fear reprisal by their partner upon reporting (Felson and Paul-Philippe). Ultimately, this makes the justice system very intimidating for many individuals as well as creating a feeling of excess trouble and a lack of desire to report.
Distrust of Criminal Justice Proceedings
Many individuals have also been seen to mention that they do not feel as though the police could do anything for them and, therefore, do not report their assault. A large portion of sexual assault cases do not ultimately result in a conviction of any kind. One reason for this is the issue of believability when the crime is reported. Furthering the potential feeling of self-blame and downplaying of severity in many individuals, they often feel as though they will immediately be written off by police, stating that police will be ineffective and biased against them.(Sable et al.) It is known that the criminal, civil, and administrative systems dealing with rape and sexual assault are all in need of a great amount of reform (Slyder). The legal response to rape of includes a large amount of credibility discounting (Tuerkheimer). When police officers and prosecutors confront an allegation of sexual violence, they often doubt the trustworthiness of the complainant and skepticism (Tuerkheimer). This demonstrates the perpetuated idea that defendants are often believed over the plaintiffs. Often, defense attorneys have been seen to use stereotypes to prejudice juries against the victims, lowering the chances of prosecutions and conviction (Sable et al.). This fear of bias, judgement, lack of punishment to the defendant, and potentially re-traumatization within these individuals often overrules their consideration to report. Likewise, with the lengthy and mentally tiring process of the trial that would ensue, many may convince themselves that their sexual assault was too minor to be worth such a process.
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