Supporting Victims of Sexual Assault: The Effect of “Real Rape Mythology” and “Worthy Victim” Stereotypes on Police Decisions Regarding Service Referral and Advocate Involvement in Sexual Assault Cases

Abstract

Police undertake a range of decisions following a sexual assault disclosure. Research has not examined the decision to provide service referral information or engage a victim advocate during the formal response. This study used a purposive sample of 436 sexual assault police case files from a large, urban agency to understand how “real rape” mythology and “worthy victim” schemata affected these decisions. Three multivariate binary logistic regression models revealed that visible victim injury and case classifications of family violence increased responding officer service referral. Investigator service referral decreased when victims were women of Color but increased when cases had greater evidentiary strength. Increased victim resistance strategies, training, and investigator service referral increased advocate involvement. Implications and future research are discussed.