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. 2025 Sep 23.
doi: 10.1097/JFN.0000000000000573. Online ahead of print.

Experiences of Women Sexual Assault Survivors With Police in the Early Aftermath of Assault: Results From a Large-scale Prospective Study

Benjamin S McLean  1 , Sara Rodríguez  1 , Andrew Tungate  1 , Andrea A Massa  1 , Jeffrey Ho  2 , Grace A Burud  1 , Megan Lechner  3 , Jenny Black  4 , Jennie Buchanan  5 , Gordon Reed  6 , Melissa Platt  7 , Ralph Riviello  8 , Catherine Rossi  9 , Israel Liberzon  10 , Sheila A M Rauch  11   12 , Kenneth Bollen  13   14 , Samuel A McLean  1 , Sandra L Martin  15
Affiliations

Experiences of Women Sexual Assault Survivors With Police in the Early Aftermath of Assault: Results From a Large-scale Prospective Study

Benjamin S McLean et al. J Forensic Nurs. .

Abstract

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 (χ2 = 4.76, p = 0.0370; χ2 = 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.

Keywords: Police; posttraumatic stress; sexual assault; women’s health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Update of

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