NCJ Number
125925
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 81 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1990) Pages: 267-313
Date Published
1990
Length
47 pages
Annotation
The overall context of official decision-making within which cases of sexual assault against women are reviewed are defined largely by the requirements of the administrative and legal processes.
Abstract
It has been suggested that cases of sexual assault against women are not pursued vigorously (1) if the woman failed to act consistently with the prevailing ideas about appropriate female behavior, and (2) if she was single and not living under the "protection" of her father. In order to assess the validity of these allegations, two formal decisions were examined: (1) the police officers' decision to treat the victim's complaint as legitimate, and (2) the prosecutor's subsequent decision to accept the police officers' judgment and initiate formal proceedings against some individual. These two decisions effectively determine which incidents will be taken seriously and which victims will be afforded the full redress of the law. Data from Chicago on the processing system for sexual assault cases is presented and discussed. The study yields four general findings: (1) there is variance between cases where identity of the assailant was the primary issue and cases where consent of the complainant was a potentially significant issue; (2) evidentiary and instrumental variables are the most pervasive and influential in the discriminant analyses of the decisions studied; (3) victim willingness to prosecute is more complex than a simple statement of victim violation; and (4) variables derived from gender-based conflict theory are statistically significant in some of the secondary, more informal police decisions. 24 references, 12 tables, and 3 figures.