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3.2 Understanding Your Options

Survivor Interviews and Testimonies

  • Unfounded Sexual Assault: Women’s Experiences of Not Being Believed by the Police - Women’s perspectives about their experiences with police are not represented in research. This qualitative study explored women’s experiences when their sexual assault report was disbelieved by the police. Data collection included open-ended and semi-structured interviews with 23 sexual assault survivors. Interviews covered four areas including the sexual assault, the experience with the police, the experience of not being believed, and the impact on their health and well-being. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9136376/
  • Being Silenced: The Impact of Negative Social Reactions on the Disclosure of Rape - Survivors are also likely to receive negative reactions from formal support providers. Negative reactions from professional sources may be particularly harmful for survivors. When “experts” doubt survivors, hold them responsible for the assault, or refuse to provide assistance, survivors may question both the effectiveness of such services and the usefulness of reaching out for help to anyone at all. Unfortunately, negative reactions from community system personnel appear to be all too common. Rape victims frequently report receiving negative or unhelpful reactions from legal and medical personnel. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1705531/


 

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