Abstract
BackgroundSexual assault is a prevalent crime against women globally with known negative effects on health. Recent media reports in Canada indicate that many sexual assault reports are not believed by police. Negative reporting experiences of sexual assault have been associated with secondary victimization and trauma among survivors. However, little is known about the impact that being sexually assaulted and not believed by police has on a survivor’s health and well-being. The purpose of this study was to explore women’s experiences of not being believed by police after sexual assault and their perceived impact on health.MethodsWe conducted open-ended and semi-structured interviews with 23 sexual assault survivors who were sexually assaulted and not believed by police. The interviews explored the self-reported health impacts of not being believed by police and were conducted from April to July, 2019. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and entered into NVIVO for analysis. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s analytic method.ResultsAnalysis revealed three salient themes regarding the health and social impact of not being believed by police on survivors of sexual assault: (1) Broken Expectations which resulted in loss of trust and secondary victimization, (2) Loss of Self, and (3) Cumulative Health and Social Effects. The findings showed that not being believed by police resulted in additional mental and social burdens beyond that of the sexual assault. Many survivors felt further victimized by police at a time when they needed support, leading to the use taking of alcohol and/or drugs as a coping strategy.ConclusionReporting a sexual assault and not being believed by police has negative health outcomes for survivors. Improving the disclosure experience is needed to mitigate the negative health and social impacts and promote healing. This is important for police, health, and social service providers who receive sexual assault disclosures and may be able to positively influence the reporting experience and overall health effects.
Highlights
Sexual assault is a prevalent crime against women globally with known negative effects on health
In North America, police response to sexual assault has been highly criticized based on a culture of victim blaming and stereotyping which result in disbelief of sexual assault reports [18, 19]
Participant characteristics Of the twenty-three women who participated in the study, approximately half self-identified as Caucasian (n = 12; 52%) or Indigenous (n = 11; 48%)
Summary
Sexual assault is a prevalent crime against women globally with known negative effects on health. Recent Canadian media reports indicate that these societal myths are abundant in law enforcement, as a high number of sexual assault reports are not validated, and many sexual assault cases have been classified as “unfounded” [22]. According to the criminal code of Canada, when a case is classified as “unfounded” by the police, it is determined that a crime neither occurred nor was it attempted in the first place [23]. A positive step was recently taken to minimize the use of the term "unfounded" through expanded Canadian crime reporting options; the change in codes does not automatically translate into increased belief of women’s sexual assault reports to the police. While the term unfounded is specific to Canadian reporting, evidence exists that not being believed by police is a widespread issue and not unique to Canada [25, 26]
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