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Beyond the Campus: Unacknowledged Rape Among Low-Income Women

NCJ Number
221814
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 14 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2008 Pages: 269-286
Author(s)
Heather Littleton; Carmen Radecki Breitkopf; Abbey Berenson
Date Published
March 2008
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study investigated factors associated with unacknowledged rape among a sample of 1,033 low-income women.
Abstract
The study found that 16 percent of the women in the sample reported having experienced forced, unwanted sex or sex while being incapacitated or unconscious since the age of 14. In addition, results showed that unacknowledged rapes, unwanted sexual experiences not classified as rape, as compared with acknowledged rapes, involved less force by the assailant; less resistance by the victim; and more alcohol use by the victim and assailant and were more likely to occur in the context of a romantic relationship. Results also showed that unacknowledged victims disclosed their experiences less often and reported fewer feelings of stigma. This study investigated unwanted sexual experiences among a sample of 1,033 low-income women who had visited 1 of 2 university-administered family planning clinics in southeast Texas between July 2005 and February 2006. The average age of the women in the sample was 27; 33 percent were European-American, 51 percent were Latina, 12 percent were African-American, and 5 percent were other or unidentified. For 52 percent of the sample, the yearly household income was $15,000 or less. The women were asked to complete several behaviorally specific screening questions assessing experience of forced, unwanted sex or sex that occurred when the woman was incapacitated or unconscious. Limitations of the current study and implications for future research are discussed. Tables and references