In order to learn more about the nature and prevalence of sexual assault, as well as to study the characteristics of survivors and assailants and monitor the assistance that survivors receive, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health collects data on sexual assaults reported to the centers. Sexual assault is defined as rape, attempted rape, or physical sexual assault such as inappropriate touching. The RCSS is an ongoing monitoring and evaluation system of the twenty publicly-funded rape crisis centers in the Commonwealth. RCSS data are based on reports of assaults to the state-funded Massachusetts rape crisis centers. The assault survivor, a friend, family member, or a professional may contact the center to make a report.
Centers collect data through hotline calls, in-person visits to the center, or both.
This report summarizes ten years of data, collected from 1988 through 1997. Telephone numbers are selected randomly and multiple attempts are made to reach each phone number. Surveys are conducted in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. Therefore, it is most useful to think of the data in this report as reflecting the demographics of survivors who contact centers, rather than reflecting trends in actual sexual assaults that occurred in the state. Throughout this report, unless otherwise specified, statistics combine completed rapes, attempted rapes, and physical sexual assaults.