Police Interviews of Sexual Assault Reporters: Do Attitudes Matter?

Rich, Karen; Seffrin, Patrick M.

doi:10.1891/0886-6708.27.2.263

Cited by 75 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(56 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…While a rape reporter may feel more comfortable with a policewoman, men with low rape myth acceptance and good interviewing skills may be more helpful than a woman without these characteristics (Rich & Seffrin, 2012). In addition, assigning a female may not always be possible since a small percentage of officers are women and agencies have difficulty retaining them (P. Y.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, higher levels of training are associated with improved attitudes toward victims (Brown & King, 1998;Rich & Seffrin, 2012), though a causal relationship has not been established. When attitudinal change does occur, it may be short lived absent ongoing reinforcement and peer support (Brecklin & Forde, 2007;Lonsway et al, 2001).…”

Section: Implications For Policy and Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, they had better victim interviewing skills (Rich & Seffrin, 2012). Policewomen with low rape myth acceptance may convey the empathy necessary to elicit good formal statements from victims, ostensibly improving case outcomes (Patterson, 2011).…”

Section: Gender Gendered Institutions and Rapementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following a rape, survivors are most likely to confide in their female relatives and friends (Ullman, 2010); therefore, women are more likely than men to realize they are acquainted with rape survivors and to be familiar with their concerns. As a result, female officers may be more likely to seek out sexualassault-related training (Rich & Seffrin, 2012) and experience it as beneficial. At interdisciplinary conferences, they may encounter other professionals who work with rape survivors.…”

Section: Gender Rape and Specialized Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Birds of a Feather or Fish Out of Water? Policewomen Taking Rape Reports

Rich

2014

Feminist Criminology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Police departments and victim advocacy organizations are gendered institutions. In addition, rape is a gendered crime with most victims being female and most perpetrators male. On the job, female officers may experience harassment, discrimination, and pressure to conform. Rape cases may present unique challenges for them given these dynamics. A total of 429 police officers were quantitatively surveyed on colleagues' comments about rape victims, utilization of victim advocates, perceptions of raperelated training, and inclination to encourage loved ones to make reports. Significant gender differences were identified in most areas. Results are discussed in relation to previous research on gender and police work.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Implications For Policy and Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gender Gendered Institutions and Rapementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gender Rape and Specialized Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Birds of a Feather or Fish Out of Water? Policewomen Taking Rape Reports

Rich

2014

Feminist Criminology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Scholars who study rape myth acceptance among criminal justice professionals have found that police and prosecutors of both sexes have been known to endorse rape myths (Aronowitz, Lambert, & Davidoff, 2012;Rich & Seffrin, 2012;Suarez & Gadalla, 2010). In studies of rape myth acceptance among police officers, many have found that a significant proportion of police officers ascribe to rape myths particularly as they relate to a victim's credibility and blameworthiness (Goodman-Delahunty & Graham, 2011;Page, 2010;Sleath & Bull, 2012).…”

Section: Chapter Ii: Literature Review Theoretical Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

role of the victim-assailant relationship in sexual assault case attrition

Siller¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Estimates show that one in six women in their lifetime will be the victim of a sexual assault. Of those victims, the majority are assaulted by someone known to them and do not report the assault to police. Victims who do report the assault are unlikely to see their case move forward in the justice system. The current study examines the correlates between sexual assault case attrition and the role of the victim-assailant relationship in sexual assault case processing. A dearth of literature dedicates extensive time exploring whether the victim-assailant relationship differentially influences case outcomes. Such studies fail to examine how the victim-assailant relationship influences extralegal and legally relevant factors, particularly as those factors relate to criminal justice outcomes. This dissertation contributes to the literature by assessing whether different victim-assailant relationship groups impact certain case characteristics and how that impact influences the trajectory of a sexual assault case.Data for this study come from a sample of sexual assault complaints that were forwarded to an urban Northeastern prosecutor's office from the local police department between 2005 and 2011. The analyses explore the outcomes of arrest, the filing of criminal charges, and whether the case was carried forward to prosecution. Findings reveal that cases involving intimate partner sexual assault have a higher probability of charging and that the link between intimate partner assault and arrest is mediated by whether the victim was using drugs or alcohol at the time of the assault. Additionally, extra-legal and legally relevant factors contributed to the probability of arrest, the filing of criminal charges, and whether the case was carried forward. The overarching goal of the research is to better understand the processing of sexual assault complaints in the criminal justice system. Implications for implementing policy and practice changes within the 5

show abstract

Female Officers and Sexual Harassment on the Job

Brodeur

Reitzel

2019

The Encyclopedia of Women and Crime

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sexual harassment is unlawful workplace conduct that creates a hostile work environment for the victim. Despite its pervasiveness, sexual harassment is largely underreported due to fear of reprisal from superiors and fellow officers or because officers are sometimes unaware that incidents are sexual harassment or they ignore such instances in order to maintain their career. Research on sexual harassment of female officers reveals that there are many negative psychological and physical health effects from increased rates of work‐related stress, anxiety, and depression, to negative respiratory and cardiovascular effects, and to lower job satisfaction and a higher likelihood of burnout.

show abstract

Police Interviews of Sexual Assault Reporters: Do Attitudes Matter?

Cited by 75 publications

References 39 publications

Birds of a Feather or Fish Out of Water? Policewomen Taking Rape Reports

Birds of a Feather or Fish Out of Water? Policewomen Taking Rape Reports

role of the victim-assailant relationship in sexual assault case attrition

Female Officers and Sexual Harassment on the Job

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About