The scope of rape: Implications for the clinical treatment of victims.
Abstract
Argues that official crime statistics underestimate the problem of rape because many sexual assaults (SAs) are never reported. Criminal victimization studies (CVSs) fail to adequately assess the scope of rape underreporting because they require a victim to conceptualize herself as a rape victim and eliminate from consideration a number of SAs where the offense was not legally classified as rape due to variations in state criminal statutes. CVSs also fail to provide information of high clinical relevance since they focus only on rape, not on lesser degrees on sexual victimization, and limit consideration to a 12-mo period. Some SA cases are not included in CVSs because the victim was too young to qualify as a rape victim but would instead be viewed as an incest or child abuse victim. Research to estimate the prevalence of rape without incorporating these limiting assumptions is reviewed. This research greatly expands the scope of rape beyond that indicated by official statistics. Anxiety, depression, withdrawal, and relationship difficulties (symptoms of the delayed post-traumatic stress disorder [DPTSD]) are the most common complaints in psychotherapy. The long latency and the wide range of symptoms of DPTSD make it difficult to establish a connection between the presenting symptoms and past SA. The difficulty is magnified if the SA emerges only after psychotherapy has progressed for some time. The scope of rape suggests that the clinician should more often consider SA as a possible etiological factor for the patient with these complaints. (20 ref) (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)