NCJ Number
91103
Journal
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology Volume: 16 Issue: 3 Dated: (June 1983) Pages: 93-105
Date Published
1983
Length
13 pages
Annotation
A survey of 94 rape victims who came to a sexual assault clinic in the Queen Victoria Medical Center in Melbourne, Australia, explores characteristics of victims' short-term reactions to rape and the impact of a new 24-hour crisis counseling service.
Abstract
Data were collected from doctors and social workers on all victims over 14 who entered the clinic between November 1978 and May 1979 when the counseling program was introduced, allowing social workers to be present when the rape victim first entered the hospital. All but one of the victims had reported the crime to the police. Women under 25 comprised 70.6 percent of the sample, and most victims were single, separated, or divorced. Only 47.4 percent were raped by a stranger, 37.9 percent knew their attacker, and 13.7 percent were raped by more than one assailant. Approximately 59 percent sustained some degree of injury. Only 55 percent of the victims chose to see the social worker, probably because of a particular doctor's recommendation. Some degree of actual or threatened violence was associated with 81 percent of the rapes, and 34 percent of the victims reported they coped by neither physically nor verbally resisting. Physical symptoms reported at the crisis stage included headaches, muscular tension, gastrointestinal upset, and genitourinary complaints. Almost three-quarters of the victims also reported anxiety and depressive symptoms, commonly fear and guilt. Many victims perceived significant others as unsupportive following the rape, and the social worker appeared to fill this void. Followup surveys indicated that the counseling service increased use of the sexual assault clinic. Tables, 10 footnotes, and 8 references are included.