Text

"Making sense" of rape: a review of presumptions relied upon by the supreme court in decisions on rape

---

How many adults and children in the United States have ever been raped? How many victims are raped each year at the national, state, and local levels? How does the scope of the problem in one setting compare to that in another (e.g., urban vs. rural; New York vs. California; Pacific vs. midAtlantic regions)? Without answers to these questions, it is impossible to know the magnitude of the rape problem in a particular setting or to put it in perspective. Public policymakers, the public health system, the criminal justice system, and rape crisis centers cannot estimate the success of their efforts to prevent rape, apprehend and punish rapists, and provide effective services to rape victims without such information. Further, efforts to advance practice and policy are impeded when decisions are based on inaccurate, mixed, or contradictory statistics. Unfortunately, existing sources have produced inconsistent estimates on the prevalence of rape. As a result, service providers and policymakers have been faced with the burden of approximating the degree to which each source accurately estimates the true prevalence of rape at the national, state, or local level. In turn, this process hinders sound, efficient decision making. This paper is designed to help public policy officials, health care professionals, and other pertinent professionals understand how rape in America is measured, what the numbers mean, and what the limitations are of existing research. From a public policy perspective, it is imperative to have good data about the magnitude and nature of a problem in order to prepare a proper public policy response. Public policy is about allocation of resources, and more resources are generally allocated to big problems that affect many citizens than to small problems that affect only a few (Kilpatrick & Ross, 2001). Thus, obtaining accurate information about rape is relevant to public policy because it provides data about the magnitude of the problem. Second, it is important to have the best information possible about rape cases. Such information is necessary for the criminal justice system to determine how many total cases of various types of rape exist, the proportion of cases reported to police, the disposition of cases (i.e., the outcome of criminal justice system processing of cases), and needs for victim services provided by the criminal justice system as well as by community-based organizations. Third, having sound information about the prevalence, nature, and consequences of rape is the foundation of the public health approach toward rape prevention (see Kilpatrick, in press). M

---

Availability

KP.IV.000137

KP.IV URS m

My Library

Available

Detail Information

Series Title

-

Call Number

KP.IV URS m

Publisher

Quezon City : Women's Legal Bureau., 2001

Collation

28p. ; 21 cm

Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

-

Classification

KP.IV

Content Type

-

Media Type

-

Carrier Type

-

Edition

-

Subject(s)

Kekerasan terhadap perempuan
Kekerasan seksual
Perkosaan

Specific Detail Info

-

Statement of Responsibility

-

Other version/related

File Attachment

Comments

---

You must be logged in to post a comment