The Criminal Justice System’s Response to Sexual Violence

• Published in: Violence against women Vol. 18; no. 2; pp. 169 - 192
• Main Authors: Spohn, Cassia, Tellis, Katharine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-02-2012; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Crime; Crime Victims; Criminal jurisdiction; Criminal Justice; Criminal Law; Decision Making; Decisions; Domestic violence; Female; Humans; Judicial process; Law Enforcement; Legal reform; Male; Police; Rape; Reform; Sex crime; Sex crimes; Sexual abuse; Sexual Assault; Sexual Partners; Victims; Violence; charging; unfounding; sexual assault case outcomes
• ISSN: 1077-8012; 1552-8448
• DOI: 10.1177/1077801212440020

The legal reforms of the 1960s and 1970s notwithstanding, sexual assault is a crime characterized by underreporting and case attrition. In this article, the authors synthesize research examining the criminal justice system’s response to sexual assault. The authors begin by examining research on the victim’s decision to report the crime to the police. This is followed by a discussion of the findings of sexual assault case processing research, with a focus on the criminal justice system’s response to aggravated and simple rape and to intimate partner sexual violence. The authors end the article with a discussion of questions that research has yet to adequately answer.