DOI: 10.3886/icpsr03051.v1
title: Reporting Sexual Assault to the Police in Honolulu, Hawaii, 1987-1992
title: Version 1

description: This study was undertaken to investigate factors
facilitating and hindering a victim's decision to report a sexual
assault to the police. Further objectives were to use the findings to
assist in the design of effective intervention methods by sexual
assault treatment centers and community education projects, and to
present significant findings useful for community policing and other
criminal justice initiatives. Survey data for this study were
collected from female victims of nonincestuous sexual assault
incidents who were at least 14 years of age and sought treatment
(within one year of being assaulted) from the Sex Abuse Treatment
Center (SATC) in Honolulu, Hawaii, during 1987-1992. Data were
collected on two types of victims: (1) immediate treatment seekers,
who sought treatment within 72 hours of an assault incident, and (2)
delayed treatment seekers, who sought treatment 72 hours or longer
after an assault incident. Demographic variables for the victims
include age at the time of the assault, marital status, employment
status, educational level, and race and ethnicity. Other variables
include where the attack took place, the victim's relationship to the
assailant, the number of assailants, and whether the assailant(s) used
threats, force, or a weapon, or injured or drugged the
victim. Additional variables cover whether the victim attempted to get
away, resisted physically, yelled, and/or reported the incident to the
police, how the victim learned about the Sex Abuse Treatment Center,
whether the victim was a tourist, in the military, or a resident of
the island, the number of days between the assault and the interview,
and a self-reported trauma Sexual Assault Symptom Scale measure.
description: Victimization surveys of both the general
 population and various special populations (e.g., college students and
 children) have for many years documented a relatively high incidence
 and prevalence of sexual assault. Many victims, however, do not report
 sexual assaults to the police. Underreporting of sexual assault to the
 police is important because of its negative impact on the potential
 apprehension, arrest, and conviction of violent sex offenders. It may
 also bias comparisons of sexual assault cases with other criminal
 offenses. Although previous research has shown that a number of
 variables influence whether a victim reports an abuse incident, such
 as the type of sexual assault, the victim's demographic
 characteristics, and the level of post-assault trauma, there have been
 conflicting findings as to which specific variables within these
 dimensions are most important. This study was undertaken to
 investigate factors facilitating and hindering a victim's decision to
 report a sexual assault to the police. Further objectives were to use
 the findings to assist in the design of effective intervention methods
 by sexual assault treatment centers and community education projects,
 and to present significant findings useful for community policing and
other criminal justice initiatives.
description: Data for this study were collected from female
 victims at least 14 years of age who sought treatment (within one year
 of being assaulted) from the Sex Abuse Treatment Center (SATC) in
 Honolulu, Hawaii, during 1987-1992. The SATC, at the time of data
 collection, was the sole treatment center providing comprehensive
 services to sexual assault victims on the island of Oahu, where the
 city of Honolulu, the state capital and most densely populated urban
 area, is located. Data were collected on two types of victims: (1)
 immediate treatment seekers (ITS victims) and (2) delayed treatment
 seekers (DTS victims). ITS victims were those who sought treatment
 within 72 hours of an assault, and DTS victims were those who sought
 treatment 72 hours or longer after an assault. The ITS subsample were
 interviewed using the SATC emergency room intake form, which was a
 structured self-report instrument administered by an SATC staff social
 worker when intake occurred during office hours, or by a member of the
 crisis intervention team on call during evenings, weekends, and
 holidays. The DTS subsample were interviewed using a general
 counseling form administered by an SATC social worker during the
initial counseling session.
description: Demographic variables for the victims include age
 at the time of the assault, marital status, employment status,
 educational level, and race and ethnicity. Other variables include
 where the attack took place, the victim's relationship to the
 assailant, the number of assailants, and whether the assailant(s) used
 threats, force, or a weapon, or injured or drugged the
 victim. Additional variables cover whether the victim attempted to get
 away, resisted physically, yelled, and/or reported the incident to the
 police, how the victim learned about the Sex Abuse Treatment Center,
 whether the victim was a tourist, in the military, or a resident of
 the island, the number of days between the assault and the interview,
and a self-reported trauma Sexual Assault Symptom Scale measure.
description: Response Rates: Unknown.
description: Presence of Common Scales: Self-reported trauma was measured with the Sexual
 Assault Symptom Scale, a 32-item instrument measuring psychological
distress.
description: Convenience sampling.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: Reporting Sexual Assault to the Police in Honolulu, Hawaii, 1987-1992
description: Female victims of nonincestuous sexual assaults living in
Honolulu, Hawaii.