Reporting Sexual Assault Victimizations to Law Enforcement

Abstract

As part of a larger study examining the characteristics of sexual assault victimizations in Alaska as observed and recorded by sexual assault nurse examiners, 101 patients in Bethel, Fairbanks, Kodiak, Kotzebue, Nome, and Soldotna provided information about their decision to report their victimization to law enforcement. The report documents who these patients consulted prior to reporting, the actions and reactions that patients received from others, how patients initially attributed blame, and how concerned patients initially were about disbelief and negative reactions from others. The report also examines whether patients had begun to take control over the recovery process, the amount of time elapsed from assault to examination, and what factors predict the amount of time elapsed from assault to examination.