NCJ Number
228433
Date Published
June 2009
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Using data from Australia's 2005 Personal Safety Survey (PSS), this study examined the extent to which surveyed assault incidents were perceived by victims as crimes, aspects of such incidents that predict victims' perceptions, and any variations in findings by sex.
Abstract
The survey found that only 44 percent who reported experiencing assault incidents as described in the survey perceived the incident as a crime. Male victims under 25 years old were less likely than other assault victims to perceive an assault as a crime; and women victims of assault were less likely to perceive such an incident as criminal if the perpetrator was known to them. The severity of the assault increased the likelihood that the assault would be perceived by the victim as a crime; however, the location of the assault was predictive of perceptions of criminality for male victims only. These findings indicate that how victims perceive incidents defined under the law as criminal offenses determines whether they report the incidents to police for subsequent processing by the criminal justice system. The findings also suggest that strategies for reducing violence should address victim perceptions of what constitutes a violent crime under the law. The 2005 PSS sampled 16,413 individuals (11,861 females and 4,552 males). The survey obtained demographic data from each respondent, as well as information on any history of childhood abuse, harassment, experiences of partner violence, stalking, and violence. The analysis focused on 1,557 victims' most recent incident of physical assault perpetrated by a male offender that had occurred within the past 5 years. 2 tables, 3 figures, and 28 references