Large-scale longitudinal study evaluates sexual assault survivor experiences with police, highlighting disparities. Most women report positive interactions, though Latinas and low-income survivors face challenges.
Background Over 100,000 women present for emergency care after sexual assault (SA) annually in the United States. No large-scale prospective studies have assessed SA survivor experiences with police. Aims To evaluate SA survivor experiences with the police. Methods A large-scale longitudinal study was conducted of women who received SA nurse examiner examinations after presenting to the emergency department following SA at 12 sites ( n = 706). Results At six weeks ( n = 630), most women were interested in speaking with the police (75%), spoke with police, and reported positive experiences. Latinas and women with lower income were less likely to speak with police ( χ 2 = 4.76, p = 0.0370; χ 2 = 11.37, p = 0.0008). Survivors with greater posttraumatic stress and previous trauma report worse experiences with police. Qualitative comments provide key points for police to consider. Discussion This study demonstrates high contact and overall satisfaction with police. However, disparities remain among Latinas, survivors with lower socioeconomic status, and survivors with previous life trauma.
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McLean et al. (2025) studied this question.
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