Rape Against Adolescent and Emerging Adult Females

Abstract

Increased research attention to sexual violence in recent decades has resulted in greater understanding about these crimes. This work consistently finds that younger females are at the greatest risk for sexual assault and that certain correlates are related to sexual violence. Little is known about the situational contexts in which sexual assault, particularly rape, occurs as well as possible differences between adolescent and emerging adult female victims. We analyze 2012 National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data using conjunctive analysis of case configurations to identify the situational contexts most commonly occurring for these age-groups for rapes reported to police. We also discuss the policy implications of our findings and how NIBRS might be used to better inform policy.