This study examined the frequency and correlates of barriers to reporting sexual victimization to law enforcement. Participants were 127 female undergraduate sexual assault victims who completed self-report surveys. The most frequently reported barriers were âI handled it myselfâ and âI didn't think it was serious enough.â Factor analysis of the reported barriers items revealed two factors: shameot wanting others involved and did not acknowledge the event as a crimeâ/handled it myself. Shameot wanting others involved was positively associated with physical injury, being victimized by a relative, and self-blame. Acknowledgment/handled it myself was negatively associated with being victimized by a relative. Findings suggest that intervention efforts should focus on increasing acknowledgment, decreasing negative reactions to disclosure, and decreasing victims' self-blame.View full textDownload full textKeywordsacknowledgment, barriers, reporting, self-blame, sexual assault, shame, victimizationRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2011.613447
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