Silenced Survivors: A Systematic Review of the Barriers to Reporting, Investigating, Prosecuting, and Sentencing of Adult Female Rape and Sexual Assault.

ABSTRACT: Sexual victimization of adult women remains an underreported crime. This systematic review identified and synthesized the barriers to reporting, investigating, prosecuting, and sentencing cases of sexual assault and rape against adult women in Western countries. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, a comprehensive search was conducted on August 3, 2023, across databases including PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Scopus, ProQuest Central, Web of Science, MedNar, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. Studies meeting the inclusion criteria provided relevant information on the decision not to formally disclose, investigate, prosecute, or convict incidents of sexual assault and rape of adult women. We included 28 studies and identified

SUBMITTER: Wieberneit M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11545439 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature