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Sexual Assault of Women at Work in Washington State, 1980 to 1989

NCJ Number
157880
Journal
American Journal of Public Health Volume: 84 Issue: 4 Dated: (April 1994) Pages: 640-642
Author(s)
B H Alexander; G M Franklin; M E Wolf
Date Published
1994
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This study used workers' compensation data to describe rapes of women workers that occurred in Washington State between 1980 and 1989.
Abstract
The sample included 63 rapes committed in the workplace. Victims tended to be younger than other women working in the same occupation. More than half the rapes occurred during evening and night shifts, and 85 percent occurred when the victim was working alone. Eighty-six percent of the offenders were strangers to their victims, 11 percent were coworkers, and 3 percent were patients in the institutions where the rapes occurred. Twenty-two occupations were identified from the original data. Taxi drivers had the highest rate of work-related rape, followed by job training and related services, and veterinary services. Isolation of women from their fellow workers and the public appeared to increase their risk of incurring at-work assaults. 4 tables and 14 references