This brochure presents guidelines for victims of rape and sexual offenses in preparation for the legal and medical procedures which will follow the reporting of such an assault. The brochure states the hope that these guidelines will be useful to a victim in regaining control over the situation and in managing a difficult situation effectively.…

Shaver's Defensive Attribution concept suggests that subjects who perceive themselves as similar to a rape victim attribute less responsibility to the victim, thus protecting themselves against blame should they ever be victims. Studies have supported this interpretation for females, but have reported difficulty interpreting the responses of…

Presents a model for a sexual assault survivors' group (SASG), which posits that the aftermath of the sexual assualt can be resolved. Describes issues for leaders, selection of members, setting, format and themes, and group development issues such as bonding, establishing closeness, and letting-go. (LLL)

Extends previous research on date rape by assessing trauma symptoms and sexual self-esteem among college women who had, or who had not, been raped. Results indicate that rape victims had significantly more trauma symptoms and lower sexual self-esteem compared to other women, thus suggesting date rape's significant consequences. (RJM)

Reviews three studies that deal with prevalence and aftermath of sexual assault. Presents data on childhood and adulthood prevalence of sexual assault and describes characteristics of victims of assault and the effect of sexual assault experiences on psychological functioning. Notes that studies suggest areas that require attention in counseling.…

Reasons are presented why rape education programming for women who have been sexually victimized may need to be different and separate from general programming. A process for identifying high-risk women is described. "Inoculation," a counseling group process, is described. Evaluation, feedback, and recommendations are reported. (EMK)

Clinical practice has supported the use of structured interviews with perpetrators and victims of sexual offenses. However, empirical studies have not examined the differential utility of structured interviews and self-report questionnaires for obtaining information about sex offenders' modus operandi. Compares the ability of these two assessment…

In this study we examined the ability of a modified Sexual Experiences Survey (SES; Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987) to assess sexual victimization among a local community sample of women (n= 1,014). Women who reported sexual victimization were interviewed regarding the most recent incident. Those who responded negatively to all SES items…

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…

In the primary article, the societal norms that encourage violence against women are reviewed, from both the current and historical viewpoints. Violence in all its forms when used on adolescent women is a contributing factor in many other problems. Both young men and young women learn stereotypes and misinformation about women provoking violence…

This document is a group leader activity guide to accompany a sexual assault prevention program focusing on information for male teenagers. Background information, large group activities, comments for small group leaders, extension activities, activity sheets, and transparency masters are included for 15 group activities. These topics are covered…

This study examined the effects of victim gender and type of crime on college students' attributions of responsibility to the victim for the crime. Male (N=48) and female (N=48) undergraduates responded to one of four experimental vignettes depicting either a rape or a robbery committed by a male stranger against either a male or female victim.…

Rates of sexual assault on women are sufficiently high that women live with a lifelong, pervasive fear of violence. Research has just begun to identify and analyze the health and mental health effects of sexual assault on victims, and studies are investigating the social and individual motivations of perpetrators. This document contains a…

Crime victims and their problems have become the focus of considerable attention. In order to determine the effects of sexual assault versus other types of violent crime, and of completed crimes versus those attempted but not completed, 2,004 adult women (a response rate of 84.1%) completed telephone inteviews with female interviewers. Subjects…

This paper provides a review of Benjamin Mendelsohn's delineation of a typology of criminal victims. The typology consists of six categories: (1) completely innocent victims; (2) victims with minor guilt; (3) voluntary victims; (4) victims more guilty than the offender; (5) victims who alone are guilty; and (6) the imaginary victims. It is noted…