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The Bureaucratic Burden of Identifying Your Rapist and Remaining "Cooperative": What the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Tells Us About Sexual Assault Case Attrition and Outcomes

NCJ Number
255796
Journal
American Journal of Criminal Justice Dated: 2020
Author(s)
Rachel Lovell; Laura Overman; Duoduo Huang; Daniel J. Flannery
Date Published
2020
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study analyzed a large sample of sexual assaults over almost two decades in one urban U.S. jurisdiction with previously untested sexual assault kits that were initially not successfully adjudicated (n=717).
Abstract
The study examined patterns of attrition through descriptive statistics and predictors of attrition using continuation-ratio modeling. Findings provide a more comprehensive framework for examining attrition, exploring the bureaucratic burden placed on victims to identify who sexually assaulted them and to remain engaged in a potentially harmful process and system. Implications suggest this burden could be eased by increased trauma-informed victim support and protocols, as well as increased use of forensic evidence. 90 references (publisher abstract modified)