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When you get on an airplane, you trust that the airline has hired the best pilots they can find. You put your faith in the belief they’ve been adequately trained and they can safely fly the plane. The last thing you want to hear from the airline is “These are decent pilots with good intentions.”[1] Given the choice, we would want an experienced captain like Cheslie B. “Sully” Sullenberger [2] at the controls rather than a “decent pilot with good intentions.” The public is no different. They want to know that those who are tasked with the investigation of sex crimes and the management of sex offenders in their community have the appropriate knowledge and training to do the job.
Over the past twenty years, there have been significant advances in the field of sex offender research, management and the understanding of victim trauma. These advances have helped our understanding of victim needs and interests, offender behaviors and risk, treatment effectiveness, evidence collection and analysis, and effective supervision strategies. The field of sexual victimization and sex offender management has become very specialized. For example, actuarial risk assessment tools have been developed to measure an offender’s static and dynamic risk of re-offending. There have been advances in the collection of evidence for DNA analysis. We now know there are actions and reactions that can cause a victim further trauma. Researchers have identified three reasons why some social support might be ineffective in assisting victims and might even lead to serious consequences for them. These include: making the victim feel isolated and alone, dismissing the victim’s feelings as insignificant, and implying that the victim should not feel as bad as they do. [3]
All professionals who have a role in the process must possess specialized knowledge about sex offenders, victims, and effective interventions, and should make ongoing efforts to remain abreast of emerging research and promising practice in the field of sex offender management. Such knowledge is critical to facilitate informed and responsible decision-making by all parties, at all levels, and throughout all aspects of the offender management process. In the absence of specialized knowledge, none of the components of the Comprehensive Approach can be implemented effectively or responsibly. [4]
Detective Bob Shilling, the former Head of Crimes Against Children for INTERPOL and the Seattle Police Department Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit, highlights the burden faced by victims in having to disclose the “unpleasant secret.” Speaking at several national conferences, he’s asked attendees to close their eyes and think about the most pleasurable sexual experience they’ve ever had in their life. After about 15 seconds, Detective Shilling walks into the audience and says, “OK, who wants to tell me about their experience,” while aimlessly pointing like he is going to call on someone. “The look of terror on their faces is very telling,“ he says. He then tells the audience, “You were all terrified that I was going to call on you to talk about one of the most pleasurable sexual experiences you’ve ever had in your life. Remember that terror. Now think of how a victim feels when he or she has to talk about one of the worst sexual and intensely personal experiences they’ve ever had in their life, and do it before so many people.”
IF a victim of sexual assault decides to report the crime, consider who, and how many people they have to tell. Usually the first person to know is a trusted friend. The friend may encourage the victim to report the crime to the police. A call is made to 911 and a patrol officer is dispatched. The patrol officer takes the primary incident report and ensures the victim receives medical attention. At the clinic or hospital, the victim has to tell the intake social worker, SANE nurse and possibly a physician. As the investigation progresses, the victim has to talk to the case detective and perhaps a victim advocate for the law enforcement agency or prosecutor’s office. The victim has to talk with the prosecutor and in some cases a grand jury, and defense investigator. There may be a deposition with the prosecutor, defense attorney and a court reporter. If the case goes to trail the victim has to tell the details to the judge, jury, defendant, bailiff, and anyone else in the courtroom observing the trial.
Victims can experience a wide range of responses to their disclosure including: healing responses (feeling comforted and supported), hurtful responses (creating further distress and anger) and negative social reactions such as being stigmatized by hearing rape myths applied to them.[5] Rape myths have been defined as “attitudes and beliefs that are generally false but are widely and persistently held, and that serve to deny and justify male sexual aggression against women.”[6] While rape myths have no factual basis in reality, many people still apply them to victims of sexual abuse7] Rape myths support sexual violence by shifting blame to the victim (they must have done something to cause it), minimizing sexual violence and its impact (boys will be boys – they’ll get over it), and stigmatizing victims (only bad girls get raped). These rape myths can make it difficult for victims to report their abuse or access assistance.
Unfortunately, some victims find that their entire life becomes an open book. The fact that the victim was so terrified they couldn’t remember every single detail in the exact order it happened becomes an issue of contention in court. How were they dressed? What did they say? Had they been drinking? How long had they known the perpetrator? These are issues a victim ultimately faces. It is no wonder that sexual assault is one of the most under-reported crimes there is.
As law enforcement officers, how we respond to sexual violence can go a long way in helping the victim heal. We have an obligation to investigate allegations of criminal conduct to the fullest extent. We also have an obligation to be empathetic and compassionate – a responsibility to do no harm. We don’t want to cause secondary victimization or trauma because of an insensitive response. Victims who report and receive a disastrous response (disbelief, lack of protection or support) have more long term negative trauma than those who never tell.[8] Victims of non-stranger rape were found to be at particular risk of secondary victimization by system “helpers” subjecting them to increased psychological distress and delayed recovery.[9]
There should be no preconceived ideas of how victims are “supposed” to react or respond. An example would be a comment regarding the veracity of a victim, such as, “I’m not sure they’re telling the truth. They didn’t act like a victim.” Every victim is different, and their survival responses to trauma will be different. Some victims will try to get away. Some may fight the perpetrator. Some may freeze, figuring that if they comply, they may not be hurt as badly.
Most of us are familiar with the term “fight or flight.” This term was coined by physiologist Dr. Walter Cannon of Harvard University Medical School in 1929, when describing the human response to threat. Since that time, researchers have determined there are really four phases to how we respond to danger: Freeze, flight, fight, and fright (or tonic immobility).
A human’s first instinct is the freeze response. It’s the “stop, look, listen” response associated with fear. Research has demonstrated that prey that remain “frozen” during a threat are more likely to avoid detection because the visual cortex and the retina of predatory animals primarily detect moving objects.[10]
The next response in the sequence is an attempt to flee. If this response is unsuccessful, there will be an attempt to fight. The success of either response depends on the size, speed, agility, and strength of both the victim and the predator. Finally, there is “fright” or the tonic immobility response. Tonic immobility is an instinctive response used when a vulnerable person (or animal) is confronted with a life-threatening situation involving a larger and quicker predator. “Tonic immobility may enhance survival when a predator temporarily loosens its grip on captured prey under the assumption that it is indeed dead, providing the prey with an opportunity for escape. It is also a response that may be adaptive in humans when there is no possibility of escaping or winning a fight.”[11] This explains why some victims may appear extremely passive during a sexual assault. All they want to do is survive.
There are many internal and external factors that influence a victim’s willingness to report or engage with the criminal justice system. Some of these factors include spiritual beliefs, past life experiences – including those with the criminal justice system, developmental level, the extent of psychological trauma or post-traumatic stress (not all victims will meet the clinical criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder), the support received from formal and informal helpers, cultural issues, the severity of the sexual assault, the victim’s relationship with the perpetrator and the age of the victim.
Some victims will report immediately and for others there may be a reporting delay of weeks or months. A victim’s delay in reporting should not be seen as an indicator of untruthfulness. The victim is trying to cope with the impact of what has occurred to them and they are trying to make sense of it. How the victim interprets the experience leads to different psychological symptoms such as depression, anxiety, denial, or no reaction which then manifests into different behaviors for each survivor of sexual assault.[12]
[1] Shilling, R. and Hover, G; (2010) The Prevention of Sexual Violence: A Practitioner’s Sourcebook, (9) 173-192; Neari Press , Holyoke, MA.
[2] Cheslie B.”Sully” Sullenberger rose to fame when he successfully ditched US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River off Manhattan, New York City, on January 15, 2009, after a large flock of birds disabled both of the plane’s engines. Captain Sullenberger is credited with saving the lives of all 155 people aboard the aircraft.
[3] Kaukiinen, C. and DeMaris, A., (2009) Sexual Assault and Current Mental Health: The Role of Help-Seeking and Police Response; Violence Against Women 15(11) 1331-1357; Sage Publications
[4] Center for Sex Offender Management (2007) The Comprehensive Assessment Protocol: A Systemwide Review of Adult and Juvenile Sex Offender Management Strategies; US DOJ, WA D.C.
[5] Ahrens, Campbell, Ternier-Thames, Wasco, and Sefl (2007) Deciding Whom to Tell: Expectations and Outcomes of Rape Survivors’ First Disclosures; Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31, 38-49
[6] Lonsway, K.A. & Fitzgerald, L.F. (1994). Rape myths in review. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18, 133-164.
[7] Ben-David, S. & Schneider. (2005). Rape perceptions, gender role attitudes, and victim-perpetrator acquaintance. Sex roles, 53, 385-399.; Withey, C. (2007). Female rape-an ongoing concern: strategies for improving reporting and conviction levels. Journal of Criminal Law, 71, 54-87.
[8] Hindman, J. (1990, Rev. 1999) Just Before Dawn – From The Shadows of Tradition to New Reflections in Trauma Assessment and Treatment of Sexual Victimization; Jan Hindman Press
[9] Campbell, R., Sefl, T., & Barnes, H. E. (1999). Community services for rape survivors: Enhancing psychological well-being or increasing trauma? Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 847-858; Banyard, Moynihan, Walsh, Cohn, Ward (2010) Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25, 242-256
[10] Ibid
[11] Bracha, H. Stefan, Ralston, Tyler C., Matsukawa, Jennifer M., Williams, Andrew E., Bracha, Adam S.;
Does “Fight or Flight” Need Updating? Psychosomatics 2004 45: 448-449
[12] Fanflik, Patricia; Victim Responses to Sexual Assault: Counterintuitive or Simply Adaptive?; National District Attorneys Association, Alexandria, Virginia (2007)