Outcomes of sexual assault: The effect of victim, offender, and situational factors on rape completion and victim injury

• In Event: Effects of the lifestyle of victims and offenders

Abstract

This study examines the victim, situational, and offender lifestyle factors that are relevant to sexual assault outcomes, specifically rape completion and victim injury. This will serve to determine what relationships exist and which factors interact to produce various offense outcomes as well as particular outcome combinations (e.g., rape completion AND victim injury). Whereas each independent variable on its own has been demonstrated to be related to either victim injury or sex crime completion, there has yet to be a study that combines all of these factors. As well, due to the current controversy in the literature as to the true effect of victim resistance, particular attention is given to this aspect of the crime. Multinomial logistic regression analyses are conducted, first using victim resistance as the dependent variable to determine what affects the degree of resistance, and then using various outcome combinations as the dependent variable to determine the effect of victim resistance and other factors on offense outcomes. Thus, analyses examine what leads to, not only victim injury and rape completion on their own, but also in combination. Implications of findings are useful for current policy with regard to offender rehabilitation, victim education, and, most notably, secondary prevention measures.

Authors

• Samantha Balemba, University of North Georgia

• Eric Beauregard, Simon Fraser University