NCJ Number
89443
Date Published
1980
Length
81 pages
Annotation
The manual discusses the characteristics of sexual assault crimes, the work of the Missouri-Kansas Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (OCSA), and procedures for official response to sexual assault, including police, hospital, and prosecutorial responses.
Abstract
The material presented is based upon the experience and research of OCSA, national studies, and expert analysis in the bistate, eight-county areas in and around Kansas City, Mo. The discussion of the characteristics of sexual assault crimes focuses on the victim, the rapist, and the ecology of rape. Emphasis is given to the violent nature of the crime and the aggressive tendencies of the offender, the victim's needs, and patterns of rape attacks. The portrayal of OCSA discusses its basic program elements of victim services, coordinated empathetic professionals at all stages of the criminal justice system, and public awareness education. The work of the OCSA Assistance Center is also described. Consideration of the police response to a rape incident presents principles and techniques for investigating sex crimes, with particular attention to the manner of relating to the victim so as to help her through the trauma of the incident and gain her cooperation in the investigation. Procedures for the hospital examination are also discussed, including the collection of physical evidence from the victim. Attention is given to efficient and effective prosecution and the humanization of treatment for sexual assault victims in the criminal justice system, the psychological response of a rape victim, and some findings from attempts to develop a psychological profile of the rapist.