Despite the high incidence of sexual assault, doubt about allegations is common. Previous research suggests that victims expressing positive or no emotion are perceived as less credible than those expressing negative emotions. However, little is known about which specific negative emotional expressions contribute to credibility in this context. In…

Sexual violence on college campuses is a significant concern, with research indicating that approximately one-third of female students and one-tenth of male students may experience it during their college years. The risk is higher for college women nationwide, and the impact on physical and mental health is substantial. Studies often highlight…

Objective: Researchers compared rape victimization based on self-identification to the current federal legal definition in a pilot study of college students. Methods: The sample was comprised of 1,648 (69.8% female; 30.2% male) college students who completed the Sexual Experiences Survey-Short Form Victimization (SES-SFV) online. Results: Based on…

This study examines victim, offender, and offence characteristics associated with sexual assaults by strangers of older women compared to those against younger women. Cases are obtained from the Serious Crime Analysis Section of the United Kingdom National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA; formerly Centrex). All possible cases of rape, attempted…

Objectives: This article presents a systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing distress in adult victims of rape and sexual violence. Method: Studies were eligible for the review if the assignment of study participants to experimental or control groups was by random allocation or parallel cohort design. Results:…

Although research has shown that undergraduate women are at high risk for experiencing sexual assault, little research has been conducted with undergraduate women who are attending a historically Black college or university (HBCU). The purpose of this research is to document the prevalence of different types of sexual assault among undergraduate…

An experimental study evaluated the efficacy of a sexual assault risk-reduction program on 279 college women that focused on learning characteristics of male perpetrators and teaching bystander intervention techniques. After seeing The Women's Program, participants reported significantly greater bystander efficacy and significantly greater…

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has several deleterious effects on health and well-being, including increased risk for rape in adulthood. Such revictimization experiences are linked to negative mental health outcomes. The vast majority of literature on prevalence and impact of sexual revictimization has focused on heterosexual women. In an effort to…

Research on violence against women has consistently revealed that rape-myth acceptance (RMA) is high correlated with rape rates and victim blaming. Other research has shown that education about violence against women is a useful strategy for lessening or stopping various types of violence, particularly rape. Using data gathered at a medium-sized…

Psychological symptoms, abuse characteristics, abuse disability, and coping were assessed in college women who either did or did not acknowledge victim status relative to rape or intimate partner violence. Women were asked directly whether they had experienced intimate partner violence or rape. They also completed the Conflicts Tactic Scale (CTS)…

The present study evaluated whether virtual reality (VR) can enhance the realism of role plays designed to help college women resist sexual attacks. Sixty-two female undergraduate students were randomly assigned to either the Role Play (RP) or Virtual Role Play (VRP) conditions, which were differentiated only by the use of VR technology in the VRP…

Rape affects one in seven women nationwide. Historically, most rape victims do not report rape to law enforcement. Research is needed to identify barriers to reporting and correlates of reporting to guide policy recommendations that address such barriers. We investigated the prevalence of reporting rape among a national sample of women (N = 3,001)…

To what extent does the length of the marriage or the wife's faithfulness to the husband influence the perception of responsibility or trauma in marital rape? In the current study, each participant was presented with one of four marital rape vignettes. The vignettes varied only in the length of the marriage (3 years or 15 years) and the fidelity…

The present study examined psychiatric, physical, and quality-of-life functioning in a sample of 270 women veterans receiving outpatient treatment at a Veterans Affairs medical center. Participants were interviewed regarding their civilian (CSA) and military sexual assault (MSA) histories, and data regarding quality of life and health outcomes…

Rape resistance trainings need to prepare women to recognize and resist sexual assault across a range of experiences and contexts. To help address this need, this research used an investigation of 415 college women who completed a survey about their situational responding to an experience of acquaintance sexual assault. A previously established…