What victims tell us about their sexual assault offenders: age, sex, victim-offender relationships, and type of threats (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali AL-Asadi
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Male Victims ◽  
Physical Force ◽  
Female Ratio ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
Female Perpetrators ◽  
Assault Victims ◽  
Sexually Offended ◽  
Male To Female

BACKGROUND Sexual assault perpetrated mostly by males against mostly females is a serious crime that seems to remain relatively stable when other crimes have significantly declined. Many factors are involved in sexual assaults. Undertaking these factors and their relationships with one another is essential to designing and providing more efficient and empirically-based preventative and intervention programs. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine and analyze what victims of one sexual assault who sought therapy tell us about their sex, age at which they were assaulted, the sex and age of the perpetrator, the relationship with the perpetrator, and the type of threats used to gain their compliance. METHODS Therapists at eight sexual assault centers around the province of Alberta, Canada, completed a questionnaire on each of their clients over seven years. A total of 1525 participants, of which 1417 (92.92%) were female, and 108 (7.08%) were male victims of one sexual assault, were included in this study. Descriptive analyses were carried out on the six variables of concern in this study. RESULTS Female victims sought therapy by a ratio of 13:1 relative to male victims of one sexual assault. Victims seeking therapy reported that they were sexually assaulted by 1492 male and 33 female perpetrators, a 45:1 male to female ratio. Most female perpetrators (42.2%) were aged 30 years and older, followed by 39.4% aged 1-17 years. Most male perpetrators (46.2%) were aged 18-29 years, followed by 30.6% aged 30 and older. Perpetrators sexually offended mostly against their aged counterpart victims except for those aged 30 and older, who were involved in more cases of one sexual assault against a person in every age group. Over 90% of assaults were committed by a person known to the victim—acquaintances, friends, and dates comprised over 50%, and strangers 12.9% of cases. At 51.5%, physical force was the most common type of threat used by all perpetrators, followed by drugs and alcohol (13.2%), bribes and promises (11.5%), using weapons or threats of a weapon (9.2%). CONCLUSIONS Female victims of sexual assault seek help more readily than males. The majority of victims of sexual assault are females, whereas the overwhelming majority of perpetrators are males. In addition, perpetrators of sexual assaults are mostly known to the victims and have some relationship. Finally, physical force is the threat used most often to gain victims' compliance.

Real men can't get raped: an examination of gendered rape myths and sexual assault among undergraduates

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 314-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina L. Reitz-Krueger ◽  
Sadie J. Mummert ◽  
Sara M. Troupe
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Male Victims ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
Relative Neglect ◽  
Male Rape Myths

Purpose While awareness of sexual assaults on college campuses has increased, the majority of efforts to address it are focused on female victims. The relative neglect of male victims may be due in part to problematic rape myths that suggest men cannot be sexually assaulted, especially by women. The purpose of this paper is to compare rates of different types of sexual assault between male and female undergraduates, and explore the relationship between acceptance of traditional rape myths focused on female victims, and rape myths surrounding male victims. Design/methodology/approach Students at a mid-sized university in Pennsylvania (n=526) answered an online questionnaire about their own experiences of sexual assault since coming to college, as well as their endorsement of male and female rape myths. Findings While women experienced more sexual assault overall, men were just as likely to have experienced rape (i.e. forced penetration) or attempted rape. Acceptance of male and female rape myths was significantly correlated and men were more likely than women to endorse both. Participants were also more likely to endorse female than male rape myths. Research limitations/implications By analyzing sexual assaults in terms of distinct behaviors instead of one composite score, the authors can get a more nuanced picture of how men and women experience assault. Practical implications Campus-based efforts to address sexual assault need to be aware that male students also experience assault and that myths surrounding men as victims may impede their ability to access services. Originality/value This paper contributes to our knowledge of a relatively understudied topic: undergraduate male victims of sexual assault.

scholarly journals Prevalence of HIV among victims of sexual assault who were mentally impaired children (5 to 18 years) in the Mthatha area of South Africa

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Banwari L. Meel
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Close Relative ◽  
Female Ratio ◽  
Nelson Mandela ◽  
Mentally Impaired ◽  
Assault Victims ◽  
Record Review ◽  
Male To Female ◽  
Impaired Children

Background: Protection of children has been identified as a priority in South Africa. Despite a commitment to uphold children’s rights, much still needs to be done for the safety of mentally impaired children.Method: This is a record review of attendees at the Sinawe Centre from 2001 to 2005. It is the only centre in the Mthatha area that provides care for sexually assaulted persons and it is affiliated to the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital. All mentally impaired victims of sexual assault were recorded on the register.Results: During the study period, 1,268 individuals, of whom 32 were profoundly mentally impaired, attended the Sinawe Centre following sexual assault. Of these mentally impaired individuals, 28 (87.5%) were below the age of 18 years. Two were males while the rest were females, giving a male to female ratio of 1:15. A close relative was implicated in 29 (90.6%) of the cases. Among the victims were six (18.7%) epileptics who were on treatment. One was 13 years old and pregnant. Four were HIV positive on screening.Conclusion: Over 2% of the sexual assault victims attending the Sinawe Centre were mentally impaired. Of these, 12.5% were HIV seropositive.

scholarly journals SEXUAL ASSAULTS AND MEDICAL APPROACH

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenan Kaya
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Mental Disease ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Physical Force ◽  
The World ◽  
Assault Victims ◽  
First Time ◽  
Clinical Legal Medicine

Sexual abuse can be accompanied with physical force, threatening, horrifying, drugging and / or misuse of the consents such as the unable ones to give consent because of their underage and / or mental disease. It is a major problem in all over the world as well as our country.    Most of the sexual assault victims are actually also child abuse cases. This study aims to contribute to the solution of these abuses and assaults as well as to increase the awareness of the clinical examiners. We designed this study to present the data and increase the benefit for to prevent these abuses. 154 cases had been evaluated at our department in between the dates of October 2012 and January 2014. The ages varied as in groups such as 0-12, 12-15, 15-18 and over the age of 18. The majority of the cases (46.7%) were in the 12 – 15 age group. 25.9% were aged as 15 – 18 and 15.6% were over the age of 18. Only 11.8% were under 12 years of age. The youngest victim was seven years old while the oldest one was 27 years old. 135 cases (87.7%) were female and only 19 of the cases (12.3%) were male. 66 cases (42.8%) had been examined for second time while 88 cases (57.2%) had come to our unit for the first time. 60 cases (39%) have been abused repetitively. 94 cases (61%) defined that they have been abused for the first time. Way of the abuse is evaluated via history taken from victim and demand letter sent to us by facilities. It is claimed that 94 cases (61%) had been abused vaginally while 40 cases (26%) had been abused anally, and 20 cases (13%) had been abused both vaginally and anally. When we analyze the abusers’ profiles in majority of the cases (87%), the victim knows the perpetrator long before the event happens. Violent findings accompanied with sexual abuse in 14 cases (9.1%). The sexual assault victims should not be traumatized repeatedly by clinicians as well as the official authorities. The major point should be the victim’s higher benefit and it should always be protected. Key words: Sexual Abuse, Examination, Clinical Legal Medicine

scholarly journals Medico-Legal Findings in Victims and Accused of Sexual Assault

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-17
Author(s):  
Raj Kumar Karki ◽  
Pankaj Kumar Singh ◽  
Abdul Sami Khan
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Male Victims ◽  
Pattern Of Injury ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Genital Injury

Background: Sexual assault is one of the heinous and barbarous crimes and continues to plague our nation. It is present in every countries cutting across boundaries of culture, race, gender, relationship, social standing and the extremes of ages. The current study aims to analyze the incidence of sexual assault cases, their socio-demographic parameters, incidence to reporting time and relationship of the assailant with the victim and pattern of injury for evaluation of sexual assault. Materials and Methods: The medico-legal reports of 102 sexual assaults cases were retrieved and analyzed retrospectively which was examined by Department of Forensic Medicine from October 2019 to September 2020 at Dhulikhel hospital.  All the data were entered in SPSS version 25 and results were ascertained. Results: Out of 102 samples, 52 female victims and 48 accused were analyzed. Two were male victims of sodomy. The mean age was 20.54±10.78 and 27.67±11.08 for victim and accused respectively, the most vulnerable being unmarried teenagers. Most of the accused and victims were familiar with each other (81.25%) and the common incident locale was victim’s own house. Genital injury was seen in 53.85% and general injury in 32.7% of the victims. Only 13.46 % victims and 12.50% of accused were brought for examination on the same day. Genital injury had significant association with age (p=0.003) and day of examination (p=0.029). Four of the victims were positive for pregnancy test. Conclusion: Hence this study aims to highlight that sexual assault is a catastrophe and there is a dire need of educating the vulnerable groups.

Impact of poor evidence management on DNA profiling in sexual assault and homicide: A case report

2021 ◽  
pp. 002581722096648
Author(s):  
Naresh Kumar ◽  
Pooja Puri ◽  
SK Shukla ◽  
Deepa Verma
Keyword(s):  
Case Report ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Dna Profiling ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Her Family ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
Vaginal Swabs ◽  
Biological Evidence

Increasing numbers of female victims of violent sexual assaults are being murdered with the aim of concealing the identity of the perpetrator. Proper handling and analysis of evidence is very important in gaining a conviction in many criminal cases. After evidence is collected, due precautions must be taken to ensure that the integrity of the sample is maintained, and chances of contamination are minimised. This paper presents a case study where improper handling of biological evidence led to loss of evidentiary value, and the semen could not be located on the vaginal swabs and victim’s garments due to improper preservation of samples. However, the DNA from the nail of a decomposed finger helped identify the victim, and the suspect was apprehended based on the clues given by her family.

Making the Call: College Students’ Legal Consciousness and Hypothetical Activation of Police for Sexual Assaults

2021 ◽  
pp. 107780122110211
Author(s):  
Trish Oberweis ◽  
Dayna Henry ◽  
Stacey Griner ◽  
Ekaterina Gorislavsky
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Contact ◽  
Legal Consciousness ◽  
Sexual Assault Prevention ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Assault Victims ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Willingness To Report ◽  
Assault Prevention

Research has identified the necessity of sexual assault victims to label their experience as criminal to initiate reporting. However, barriers exist in labeling uninvited sexual contact as criminal. This study examined college students’ assessments of whether eight nonconsensual behaviors met the legal definition of sexual assault, and whether such behaviors should be reported to police. Results indicated students acknowledged the nonconsensual behaviors as criminal; however, gaps were identified between awareness that the acts were criminal and willingness to report to police. Findings demonstrate a need for continued efforts for sexual assault prevention among college students.

scholarly journals Sexual Assault: Social and Stranger Rape

1987 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Edward Renner ◽  
Carol Wackett
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Relative Frequency ◽  
Medical Attention ◽  
Physical Injury ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Assault Victims ◽  
To Receive

The Service for Sexual Assault Victims in Halifax reviewed 474 cases of sexual assault handled over a three-year period to determine the nature and relative frequency of social and stranger sexual assault. Women are most likely to be sexually assaulted by a man who is known to and often trusted by them. Women who are raped in a social context are less willing than those raped by a stranger to seek help at the time of the assault, to receive medical attention, or to report the rape to the police. They are also less likely to be threatened with physical harm or to receive physical injury. The cultural values which are responsible for the high frequency of sexual assaults by men who are known to their victims, and for the reluctance of the women to disclose the assault, are discussed.

scholarly journals An experimental investigation of victim blaming in sexual assault: The roles of victim sexual orientation, coercion type, and stereotypes about bisexual women

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Dyar ◽  
Brian A. Feinstein ◽  
RaeAnn Elizabeth Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Lesbian Women ◽  
Bisexual Women ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
Assault Victims ◽  
Influence Perceptions

Bisexual women are more likely to be sexually assaulted and to receive negative reactions to disclosures of sexual assault than heterosexual and lesbian women. However, few studies have examined the extent to which victim sexual orientation and related factors influence perceptions of sexual assault victims and perpetrators. To fill this gap, the current study used an experimental manipulation to examine the influence of victim sexual orientation and coercion type on perceptions of sexual assault victims and perpetrators. Participants (N = 826) were randomly assigned to read one of nine vignettes in which the sexual orientation of the female victim (bisexual, lesbian, heterosexual) and the type of coercion (verbal, physical, alcohol incapacitation) were varied. Then, participants were asked a series of questions about the victim and the perpetrator. Results indicated that bisexual and heterosexual female victims were both perceived as having wanted to have sex with the perpetrator more and as having “led the perpetrator on” more than lesbian victims. In contrast, victim sexual orientation was not associated with explicit ratings of victim or perpetrator responsibility or victim suffering. Bisexual female victims were also perceived as more promiscuous than both lesbian and heterosexual female victims. In turn, perceiving the victim as more promiscuous was associated with perceiving the victim as more responsible, having wanted to have sex with the perpetrator more, having “led the perpetrator on” more, and suffering less, and with perceiving the perpetrator as less responsible. In sum, our findings suggest that efforts to reduce sexual violence toward bisexual women should attend to negative attitudes toward bisexual women, especially the perception of bisexual women as promiscuous.

Reported Cases of Sexual Assault in Civil Hospital Sanghar

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 2251-2252
Author(s):  
Muhammad Qasim Ahmed Khan Memon ◽  
Pardeep Kumar ◽  
Nadia Aslam ◽  
Ejaz Ahmed Awan ◽  
Shabir Ahmed Cheena ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retrospective Study ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Study Design ◽  
Associated Factors ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Civil Hospital ◽  
Assault Victims

Aim: To evaluate the sexual assault against male and female. Study design: Retrospective study Place and duration of study: Civil Hospital Sanghar from 1st January 2020 to 31st December, 2020 Methodology: Forty two cases of sexual assault and recognize the associated factors were enrolled. The age between 6-35 years and either gender were included. Result: There were 28.6% females and 71.4% males, highest victims were among age between 6-18 years was 17(40.5%), illiterate was 23(54.7%), assaulted by a neighbour was 30 (71.4%) and time lapse <1-2 days was 19(45.4%) sexual assaults. Conclusion: Majority of victims were males, assailant relationships of neighbour and illiterate. Keywords: Sexual assault, Victims, Assailants

Management of DNA evidence collected on adolescents in sexual assault investigations: A 10-year review from a large Italian rape centre

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 232-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Piccinini ◽  
Giulia Vignali ◽  
Paolo Bailo ◽  
Giussy Barbara ◽  
Giuseppe Gennari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Female Adolescent ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
Dna Evidence ◽  
Dna Analyses ◽  
Chain Of Custody ◽  
Relevant Role ◽  
Biological Evidence ◽  
Assault Victims

Little research is available on the actual forensic use of genetic analyses performed in sexual violence cases, despite their relevant role in legal processes. The present retrospective study aimed to contribute to filling this gap in research, evaluating the actual number of serological/DNA analyses that followed medical examination of female adolescent victims of sexual violence. The study was performed in a large rape centre in Milan (North Italy) by analysing all medical records of female victims of sexual violence aged 13–19 years in the period from January 2006 to December 2015. The total number of sexual assault victims examined aged 13–19 years was 599. In 473 of the cases, biological evidence had been collected. The gathering of biological evidence was accurately performed (double swab technique) in multiple anatomical regions on the victims’ bodies, and clothes were acquired when biological stains were present or could be present. Proper handling under chain of custody for all the items collected followed in every case. Despite all of this, serological/DNA analyses were requested in only 9/473 (1.9%) cases. Procedural issues possibly affecting the magistrates’ decisions not to use DNA extensively as an investigative tool are also discussed.

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