What Types of Rapes are Reported to the Police? Situational and Spatiotemporal Factors

To be able to remove obstacles to reporting rape, such obstacles must first be better understood. In the present cross-sectional survey study, we examined whether situational and spatiotemporal factors were associated with rape victims’ police reporting in Finland. We analyzed the experiences of 185 victims who had visited a sexual assault referral center. We did not identify any associations between situational factors and rape reporting. However, victims who had experienced physical violence and/or use of weapons or been injured were more likely to report if the perpetrator was a stranger compared to a non-stranger. Also, we found limited evidence that the environment might influence reporting. The observed variation in experienced rapes suggests that there is no typical rape. Understanding this can diminish wrongful assumptions about what constitutes rape.