Models of response to sexual violence: a multiple case study of community collaborations and sexual violence case attrition

• In Event: Diverse Populations and Diverse Needs: Variation in How Victims of Crime are Served by the Criminal Justice System

Abstract

Every year in the US over a million women are raped, yet many do not report their victimization to anyone and most never make a report to the police. For decades, police, prosecutors, victims, advocates, and researchers have documented many barriers to criminal justice system response to sexual violence. While there have been improvements in response to this crime including implementation of coordinated responses of health, mental health, and criminal justice systems (e.g., sexual assault interdisciplinary councils and sexual assault response teams), there remain gaps in our knowledge of how diverse models evolve and their impact on criminal justice system outcomes.

Relying on a multiple case study design, this paper examines models of response to sexual violence in 5 jurisdictions representing diverse communities across the US as part of an NIJ-funded study of sexual violence case attrition. Our case study design captures multiple models of sexual violence response in real-world context and includes rural, suburban and urban areas with ethnically diverse populations. We examine the role of environmental differences and constraints, resources and funding, as well as, the legal and social context of the models implemented in each community.

Authors

• Linda Williams, University of Massachusetts, Lowell

• Alyson Traficante, University of Massachusetts, Lowell

• April Pattavina, University of Massachusetts, Lowell

• Melissa Schaefer Morabito, University of Massachusetts, Lowell

• Juliana Huard, University of Massachusetts, Lowell