Constructing the rapist

Patterns of Reporting Sexual Violence to the Police

Bibliographic Data

ID3025985
AuthorsShelby Holme, Shelby Holmes (0009-0007-5505-681X, Davidson College), Natalie Delia Deckard (0000-0002-5288-1458, Davidson College, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume25
Issue5
Pages679-693
Publication date2019-09-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Identities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1350-4630 • E-ISSN: 1363-0296
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13504630.2018.1562888
OpenAlexW2908597061
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited56

Existing research establishes the importance of social identities and public discourse in reifying existing power structures. By examining the poignant case of the crime of sexual violence, we explore the construction of the identities of rapist and victim. In this paper, we look specifically at police reporting of sexual violence as perpetuating a ‘common sense’ of criminalization, with the identity of the rapist serving as the primary factor of police reporting. We employ regression analyses of victim responses in the 2015 National Criminal Victimization Survey in order to understand the dynamics behind victim reporting. This research confirms the hypothesis that, in the case of sexual assault, rape victims are more likely to perceive the bodies criminalized in public discourse – particularly Black offenders – as those as having committed crimes, and are therefore more likely to engage with the state through police reporting

Criminology · Medical emergency · Poison control · Sexual assault · Sexual violence · Sociology · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Medicine · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub