Victim and assault characteristics that predict law enforcement reporting among sexual assault victims who seek post-assault medical care

• In Event: Panel 1: Sexual Assault and Sexual Assault Kits

Abstract

Roughly 20% - 25% of sexual assault victims who seek post-assault medical care choose the “non-report sexual assault kit (SAK)” option, in which forensic evidence is collected but not released to police for investigation at that time. Although this option has been widely available since 2009, little research has explored what factors differentiate victims who choose the non-report SAK option from those who immediately release their SAKs to police for investigation of the assault. Toward this end, we coded victim, offender, and assault characteristics associated with all non-report SAKs (n = 334) and a systematic random sample of full report SAKs (n = 296) collected at a large forensic medical unit between 2010 and 2021. Using logistic regression, we identified multiple variables that significantly predicted whether a victim chose a full report or non-report SAK (R2 = .162, p < .001) including victim race, injury, length of time between the assault and medical forensic exam, and memory loss. These findings highlight multiple barriers to reporting and will be used to discuss avenues through which medical and legal help-seeking systems can maximally support both reporting and non-reporting victims.

Authors

• Rachael Goodman-Williams, Wichita State University

• Jessica Volz, Adventsist Health Care

• Samantha Smith, Wichita State University