NCJ Number
124969
Journal
Social Problems Volume: 37 Issue: 2 Dated: (May 1990) Pages: 149-162
Date Published
1990
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Interviews with 378 victims (90 percent female) of attempted or completed rape by a stranger between 1979 and 1985 revealed that it is usually better to resist an attempted rape.
Abstract
Victims who resisted were less likely to have the rape completed against them than were those who did not resist and not significantly more likely to be injured. Resistance with a gun, knife, or other weapon was most effective in preventing completion; unarmed forceful resistance, threatening, and arguing were least effective, but generally did not provoke rapists to inflict injury. The rape itself is usually the most serious injury the victim suffers, as only three percent received such injury after resistance. Thus, the strategy of refraining from resistance in order to avoid injury is questionable. 6 tables, 29 references. (Author abstract modified)