After a sexual assault, survivors have the option of seeking a medical forensic exam, which includes medical evaluation and treatment, as well as forensic evidence collection. Forensic evidence is collected in a sexual assault evidence kit (SAEK) and typically released to police to aid in the investigation and potential prosecution of the assault. However, 20% to 25% of survivors who have a SAEK collected do not report their assault to police at that time and choose instead to have their SAEK stored for possible future use. This study sought to understand the reasons for not reporting among this group of survivors. We examined medical records of 296 individuals aged 18 and older who had documented their reasons for not reporting to police in their medical record and used a non-theory-driven coding framework to conduct a reflexive thematic analysis based on that data. We identified four themes: Reporting Won\'t Help, Reporting Will Harm, Not Now, and Not What I\'m Here For. These data illustrate that survivors are making an active choice which, for many, was based on concerns that reporting would not meaningfully help their situation or may even make their situations worse. For some survivors, the decision to have forensic evidence collected without a police report was based on their needs at that moment, whereas for other survivors it was based on their desire to move on from the assault more permanently. Practice and policy recommendations are discussed, including the importance of providing survivors information about what police reporting would look like in specific circumstances as well as ensuring that financial concerns are not a barrier to survivors receiving post-assault medical care without forensic evidence collection.

Social support plays an important role in children\'s well-being after experiencing a potentially traumatic event (PTE). One such source of support is the parent-child relationship, specifically by discussing the event. However, current literature provides no consensus on whether parents and children communicate about PTEs, in what way they might communicate and how this affects the child. Hence the goal of the current study is threefold, to explore: (a) whether parents and children communicate about PTEs, (b) what this communication looks like, and (c) how this affects children\'s well-being. These questions are answered by means of a systematic literature review. Articles were eligible for inclusion if it was an empirical study on communication between parents and children about a PTE that the child (under 18 years) had experienced. Initial searches in electronic databases provided 31,233 articles, of which 26 were deemed eligible for inclusion. Results show that most parents and children have discussed PTEs, but that this may depend on cultural background. What the parent-child communication looks like depends on various factors such as, age of the child, tone, and child\'s initiation of discussion. Parental post-traumatic stress symptoms seem to negatively impact communication. The results of the impact of communication are less clear-cut, but it seems to have a predominantly positive effect on the child\'s well-being, depending on parental sensitivity. Clinicians should be watchful for parental symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and can focus on promoting parental sensitivity and responsiveness when discussing PTEs with their child or on creating a joint narrative within families.

Reports of sexual offences have increased in recent years, with many cases involving allegations against high-status individuals (e.g., Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby). In addition, many of these cases have involved allegations against the defendant from multiple victims, with long delays in reporting of the alleged assault. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of defendant occupational status (low vs. high), defendant race (White, Black), number of allegations (one vs. five victims), and the length of reporting delay (5, 20, or 35 years) on mock-juror decision-making. Mock-jurors (N = 752) read a mock-trial transcript describing a sexual assault case. After reading the trial transcript, mock-jurors were asked to provide dichotomous and continuous guilt ratings, as well as ratings regarding their perceptions of the defendant and victim. Results revealed that mock-jurors rendered more guilty verdicts, assigned higher guilt ratings, and perceived the defendant less favorably and the victim more favorably, when the defendant was White (as opposed to Black) and when there were multiple allegations against the defendant. The current findings suggest that defendant race and the number of allegations are highly influential in the context of a sexual assault case.

The recent attention focused on child sexual abuse (CSA) disclosure pathways has highlighted complex psychological processes that influence disclosure both for children and adults. Some authors have suggested that such processes may differ between children and adults yet few studies have examined distinct samples within the same study. This paper addresses this gap by exploring adolescent (n = 20) and adult (n = 10) experiences of disclosure of childhood sexual abuse. Interviews were conducted with both samples, using the same interview schedule and a comparative analysis was conducted of the key themes identified from a grounded theory analysis. Those themes that were found to be common to both samples included pressure cooker effect, telling would make it worse, and self-blame. Themes that were found to be more prevalent in the adolescent sample included police/court involvement, concern for other children, being asked, and peer influence. It is suggested that such potential differences reflect the changing social context over the past few decades which is characterised by increased awareness of sexual abuse as a crime and the risks of recidivism of offenders.

Research has found associations between intercollegiate athletics and risk for sexual violence, and that sexual violence is more pervasive at colleges and universities with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athletic programs, relative to NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and no athletic programs. Simultaneously, sports involvement is linked with prosocial values and there are documented developmental benefits of sports participation. College athletic programs hold promise for fostering sexual violence prevention but there is limited knowledge about how student-athletes conceptualize sexual violence and how athletes, coaches, and administrators perceive available prevention and response programs. We conducted seven Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and 21 In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) with student-athletes, athletic directors, and coaches from public university Division I (n = 2) and Division II (n = 1) campuses. We assessed perceptions of sexual violence, knowledge and opinions of available prevention and response programs, and sought input on how to bridge gaps in campus sexual violence policies. Student-athletes associated sexual violence with alcohol in their relationships with peers and asymmetrical power dynamics in relationships with coaches and faculty. Athletes felt strong connections with teammates and sports programs but isolated from the larger campus. This created barriers to students\' use of services and the likelihood of reporting sexual violence. Athletes felt the mandatory sexual violence prevention training, including additional NCAA components, were ineffective and offered to protect the university and its athletic programs from legal complications or cultural ridicule. Athletic staff were aware of policies and programs for reporting and referring sexual violence cases but their knowledge on how these served students was limited. Student-athletes were uncomfortable disclosing information regarding relationships and sexual violence to coaches and preferred peer-led prevention approaches.

Experiencing victimization in childhood increases risk of adulthood revictimization, and it is important to understand what may contribute to such risk. One factor that may help to explain the increased risk of future victimization is disclosure. However, the literature is mixed as to whether disclosure of prior victimization is helpful for protecting against adverse outcomes, and much of the research on disclosure focuses solely on sexual victimization. The current study examines the relationship between various forms of childhood and adulthood victimization and whether disclosure moderates this relationship. In addition, this study investigates whether characteristics of disclosure are associated with revictimization risk. The sample included 275 undergraduates (M age = 19.52 years; 75.6% female, 77.5% non-Hispanic White or Caucasian). Participants reported on previous history of various forms of childhood and adulthood victimization. They also reported whether or not they had disclosed childhood victimization, and, if so, characteristics related to disclosure. Results revealed that number of childhood victimization experiences significantly predicted number of adulthood victimization experiences, and nearly every type of childhood victimization significantly increased risk of experiencing each type of adulthood victimization. Disclosure did not moderate the relationship between childhood and adulthood victimization. Participants who disclosed were more likely to disclose crime and peer/sibling victimization and disclose to parents or friends. Positive reactions to disclosure were more common than negative reactions; however, 75% of disclosers received at least one negative reaction. Finally, revictimized individuals received more overall negative reactions than nonrevictimized individuals. They also received more reactions characterized by the person they disclosed to trying to take control of their decisions or treating them differently. Results highlight the importance of examining relationships between various forms of victimization, considering how characteristics of disclosure relate to risk of revictimization, and the importance of educating potential support networks about appropriate responses to disclosure.

Adolescents experience alarmingly high rates of sexual violence, higher than any other age-group. This is concerning as sexual violence can have detrimental effects on teens\' personal and relational well-being, causing long-term consequences for the survivor. Still, adolescents are hesitant to report the assault or seek out services and resources. When an adolescent survivor does seek out services, they may interact with a provider who is a mandatory reporter. This scoping review sought to synthesize the current U.S.-based research on the role, challenges, and impact of mandatory reporting (MR) in the context of adolescent sexual assault. Database searches using key words related to MR, sexual assault, and adolescence identified 29 peer-reviewed articles. However, none of these articles reported on empirical investigations of the phenomenon of interest and instead consisted of case studies, commentaries, and position papers. The scoping review was expanded to provide a lay of the land of what we know about the intersection of adolescent sexual assault and MR. Results of the review indicate that though implemented broadly, MR policies vary between individuals, organizations, and states and have historically been challenging to implement due to this variation, conflicts with other laws, tension between these policies and providers\' values, and other factors. Based on the available literature, the impact of MR in the context of adolescent sexual assault is unknown. There is a critical need for research and evaluation on the implementation and impact of MR policies, especially in the context of adolescents and sexual violence.

Sexual assault and intimate partner violence (IPV) are common experiences in women, but few studies have examined correlates of social reactions experienced by victims telling others about assault. This systematic review identified 30 studies through searches of research databases on correlates of social reactions to disclosure of sexual assault or IPV in samples of adult victims or disclosure recipients. Studies showed evidence of greater negative social reactions for Black and Hispanic victims, less educated, and bisexual victims. More extensive trauma histories in victims were related to receipt of greater negative social reactions, whereas assault characteristics (e.g., victim-offender relationship, alcohol use, perpetrator violence during assault) were sometimes associated with negative reactions. In terms of postassault factors, more psychological symptoms, self-blame, avoidance coping, less perceived control, and less posttraumatic growth were related to more negative social reactions. Disclosure characteristics, telling informal sources, and telling more sources were related to more positive reactions, whereas telling both formal and informal sources was related to negative reactions. Demographic, attitudinal, and relational factors were related to disclosure recipients\' intended social reactions. Future research needs to examine how various factors relate to social reactions in the context of theory, and clinical treatment and interventions should use this information to identify and intervene with victims to reduce negative social reactions and their psychological impacts and to increase positive social reactions particularly from informal support sources.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been identified as a global health problem with increasing mental health consequences. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Nigeria, couples were compelled to spend more time together, regardless of their pre-existing challenges. Our study aims to determine the prevalence of IPV, its forms, and mental health implications among Nigerian households amid the COVID-19 lockdown. A cross-sectional study was implemented which used the snowball sampling technique to recruit 474 participants across 31 states in Nigeria. A semi-structured online questionnaire was distributed using the WhatsApp platform. The relationship between IPV, its forms, and associated factors were analyzed using descriptive analysis and logistic regression with significant value at p ≤ .05 and confidence interval of 95%. Majority (98.1%) of the participants had at least a college degree and 90.1% were employed. Overall prevalence of IPV ranged from 7.2% to 13.5%. Using the lockdown as the landmark, higher prevalence was found before than during the lockdown across physical, emotional, financial, and sexual forms of IPV. Emotional form had the highest prevalence both before and during the lockdown with 11.4% and 3.8% respectively. Furthermore, 22.6% of participants reported that the lockdown affected their mental health. Hopelessness, feelings of failure, being irritable, and constantly under strain were psychological symptoms significantly associated with IPV amid the lockdown. Decreased prevalence of IPV were found in the early phase of the pandemic, suggesting that couples can experience less partner violence during periods of confinement. Our study supports existing evidence that forms of IPV have negative mental health consequences on abused partners.

Within the current study, we examined themes of college students\' reasons for choosing not to formally disclose (report) sexual assault. To complete this objective, we examined tweets (n = 1,297) that used the WhyIDidntReport hashtag in which a user also made reference (within the same thread) to being enrolled at a college or university during the time (and aftermath) of the assault. We deemed Twitter a particularly valuable platform, offering insight into the hidden figure of crime, as users described events, feelings, and perceptions after the event that led to them not formally disclosing. Further, it provides a large sample of cases of women and men who recognize their assault as an assault (at least in hindsight), while also providing open-ended, unstructured explanations of their rationales and motivations. Using an inductive approach, we established broad themes that were then refocused into common barriers of formal disclosure or the continuation of formal disclosure. Subthemes included anticipated social reactions (stemming from vicarious and direct experiences), internalized emotions, often stemming from social reactions (normalization, shame, and blame), victim and offender status, and victim-offender relationship. Three overarching premises were developed from the analysis including (a) victims\' internalizations of experiences and observations, (b) the interaction of social factors of the victim, offender, and the victim-offender relationship, and (c) the continual and compounded decision-making process of formal disclosure. These conclusions were then examined within theoretical models, including Black\'s Behavior of Law Theory (specifically morphology and stratification), Overstreet and Quinn\'s intimate partner violence stigmatization model, and Chaudoir and Fisher\'s disclosure process model. Lastly, we provide programmatic recommendations, which includes retailoring current bystander intervention curricula to include more focus on social reactions and social support in anticipation of college students being recipients of sexual assault disclosures by friends and acquaintances.