These summaries were written by SVPEP staff and are based on original papers published within the last 3 years. The information available on this web site is provided as a public service and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the Arizona Department of Health Services, or the University of Arizona. To conduct an individual search or locate older articles use the Search Summary Database which includes over 600 articles related to sexual violence.

Clay-Warner, J., & Burt, C. H. (2005). Rape reporting after reforms: Have times really changed? Violence Against Women, 11, 150-176.

This article outlines changes in rape reporting behavior in the aftermath of reforms such as those instituted by rape shield statutes and definitional and evidentiary requirements for rape as a crime. Furthermore, the authors review the current literature on rape reform legislation, changes in reporting behaviors, and factors impacting the reporting of rape. In this study, analyses of data collected from the National Violence Against Women (NVAW) Survey demonstrated that, although rapes committed post-1990 are more likely to have been reported than those committed prior to 1974, despite legislative reforms in this domain simple rapes are under-reported in comparison to aggravated rapes.

Topics: disclosure; legal responses; prevalence

Deer, S. (2005). Sovereignty of the soul: Exploring the intersection of rape law reform and federal Indian law. Suffolk University Law Review, 38, 455-466. [Posted October 2007]

Key Points:Native American women experience more sexual violence than non-Native women, and attacks on Native women are more violent. Jurisdictional problems and limited law enforcement resources may contribute to the problem.

Summary: Rape and sexual assault rates are higher among Native Americans than any other ethnic or racial groups. The level of violence used is also higher. Native American women were struck more often during attacks, and physical injuries in addition to the rape were also more common. Weapons were used three times as often. Although most sexual assault occurs within races, perpetrators of sexual violence against Native people are more likely to be white. The high rates of violent crime in Indian Country may be directly related to jurisdictional problems and to the lack of resources for law enforcement and justice systems. For example, tribes do not have criminal jurisdiction over anyone who is not enrolled in a federally recognized tribe (arrests may be made but the courts cannot prosecute.) These factors create vulnerabilities that may be exploited by sexual offenders. The author attempted to reconstruct how tribes dealt with rape before colonization by reviewing oral traditions and belief systems as well as historical European-American documents. While varying by tribe, there is evidence that tribal women’s sexual autonomy was respected more than in European cultures, and that pre-colonization tribal justice systems considered rape a serious crime with established penalties. Recommendations for addressing sexual violence include considering the historic role of rape as a tool of conquest and how the deliberate weakening of tribal justice systems impacts accountability for perpetrators of rape.

Limitations: This article is a review of existing laws and data, and does not present specific recommendations for practice.

Topics: legal response; racial/ethnic differences

Finch, E., & Munro, V. E. (2005). Juror stereotypes and blame attribution in rape cases involving intoxicants: The findings of a pilot study. British Jounal of Criminology, 45, 25-38.

This study addresses the issue of drug-assisted rapes by presenting the results of a pilot study involving juror stereotypes and blame attributions. Foremost, the authors outline some of the difficulties in defining drug-assisted rape; particularly, the impact drugs such as Rohypnol and GHB have by inducing amnesiac effects and reducing the possibility of consent. Noteworthy is the very fact that the inability to provide consent lies at the core of what defines rape. However, the authors note also that the issue of consent is without legal specification – whether in its definition or in determining the absence or presence thereof. The pilot study involved two focus groups and a trial simulation whereby four themes influenced the participants’ decision-making process: victim’s responsibility, defendant’s intentions, the parity of the parties’ intoxication, and the victim’s response to intoxication. Participants’ attribution of blame and responsibility were impacted by misperceptions concerning the actual impact of such drugs, belief in rape myths, and consideration of the defendant’s motivation in administering intoxicants.

Topics: legal responses; myths/stereotypes; vulnerability

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Updated 09/19/08