Why don't more women report sexual assault to the police?

Age was not significantly associated with police involvement. The presence of physical injury, the fact that the assailant was a stranger, socioeconomic status below the group median, the year of the assault and the assault taldng place in Vancouver were variables significantly associated with police involvement (Table 1). In addition, the decision to involve police in a sexual assault case was usually made before the individual arrived in the emergency room (Fig. 1). Police involvement in these cases has decreased over time; the percentage of assault cases seen by the sexual assault service that involved the police was 76.7% in 1993, 73.3 % in 1994, 66.7% in 1995, 69.9% in 1996 and 57.4% in 1997. The reason for the declining rate of sexual assault reports to the police over the 5-year period we surveyed is not dear. It does, however, coincide with an increase in the proportion of women from outside Vancouver being treated by the service. These women may have chosen to come to Vancouver for examination and treatment because of the availability of post-HIV exposure prophylaxis or the relatively high-profile nature of the service. However, women from outlying communities are less likely to report an assault to the Vancouver police if the assault occurred outside the Vancouver area, and this may account for the declining rate. Regardless of how one interprets the trend, the reporting of sexual assault to police has not increased - sexual assault continues to be one of the most under reported crimes.1 Reasons for this merit further study, possibly of a more qualitative nature.