Sexual victimization of women and girls in the U.S..: An analysis of risk and trends
Item
-
Title
-
Sexual victimization of women and girls in the U.S..: An analysis of risk and trends
-
Identifier
-
d_2009_2013:63ec43b001df:11818
-
identifier
-
12415
-
Creator
-
Siddique, Nahid Julie Ahmad,
-
Contributor
-
Karen J. Terry
-
Date
-
2013
-
Language
-
English
-
Publisher
-
City University of New York.
-
Subject
-
Criminology | Social research | Womens studies | crime trends | rape | risk factors | sexual assault | victimization | violence against women
-
Abstract
-
Despite more than four decades of scholarship that has established both feminist criminology as a critical perspective in the field and victimology as a necessary element of integrated theories of crime and victimization, there are still many inconsistencies in the literature about the nature and extent of sexual violence and victimization in the United States. The current study used Lifestyle Exposure Theory (LET) and Routine Activities Theory (RAT) as conceptual frameworks to investigate personal risk of sexual victimization and macro-level trends in sexual victimization of females. Data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) was used for the analyses. Results indicate that personal risk of sexual victimization is strongly associated with demographic variables, such as age, marital status, and cohabitation status; risk factors for sexual victimization differ from risk factors for other violent crime victimizations; risk factors for sexual victimization vary by type of victimization and victim-offender relationship; and the situational contexts of sexual victimization differ from other violent crime victimization. Furthermore, results indicate that the decline in sexual victimization rates between 1992 and 2005 was part of an overall decline in violent victimization of women; however, the factors generally credited with the crime decline of the 1990s and 2000s, such as changes in policing and incarceration, are insufficient in explaining the decline in sexual victimization. Other cultural factors related to sexuality may be relevant in conceptualizing the "rape decline" in the United States. Directions for future research are discussed.
-
Type
-
dissertation
-
Source
-
2009_2013.csv
-
degree
-
Ph.D.
-
Program
-
Criminal Justice
