A Procedural Justice Theory Approach to Police Engagement with Victim-Survivors of Rape and Sexual Assault: Initial Findings of the ‘Project Bluestone’ Pilot Study

"I Want to Be Heard": Rape Victims' Encounters With Swedish Police

Interactions with police are vitally important to victims' ability to process their trauma. This study focused on the experiences of victims who reported a rape to police in Sweden. Thirteen women participated in interviews; the material was analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Findings include lack of information and the role of luck in finding an understanding officer; some found comfort, and some felt violated once again. Long processing times bound participants to their trauma. Findings highlight the need for improved knowledge of trauma among police, victims' needs for information and rights to support, and structural barriers that need to be addressed.

A Qualitative Analysis of Victims' Perceptions of Procedural Justice for Sexual Victimization

Sexual violence is a prevalent crime that is heavily underreported. Police behaviors when responding to such crimes can influence decisions to report. Furthermore, there is a dearth of knowledge on the relationship between procedural justice tenets (e.g., dignity/respect, trustworthiness, fairness/neutrality, and having a voice) and survivors of sexual violence decisions to report. The current study uses 55 semistructured interviews with survivors of sexual violence across the United States to explore procedural justice tenets on individuals' decisions to report their victimization (or not). Findings underscore the importance for police to interact with survivors with tenets of dignity/respect. Practical implications are further discussed.

"Stop Giving Us What You Think We Need. Come to Us and Ask Us What We Need": Justice Perceptions Among Survivors of Domestic Abuse

Justice is typically thought of as a product of the criminal legal system. However, prior research has found that survivors of domestic and sexual abuse may also value other factors outside of the legal system. This study explores perceptions of justice held by 96 survivors of domestic abuse. Responses to an online survey indicate that perceptions of justice are complex and multifaceted. Survivors often spoke of justice as accountability, restoration, postabuse support, and validation. The findings highlight the many justice considerations, and solely emphasizing criminal legal system outcomes may be misguided. Implications for additional research and practice are provided.

Rape Victims' Perceptions of Quality of Encounters With the Swedish Police

This study focused on raped women's perceptions of their encounters with Swedish police, with a specific focus on quality of encounters, trust, questions asked during police interviews, and perceptions of justice. One hundred and six rape victims, 74 of whom had reported to the police, answered a web-based questionnaire. Results show that where officers explained their line of questioning the perceived intrusiveness of the questioning was lower, as was the level of perceived victim-blaming. Higher quality police encounters were associated with higher trust in the legal system and in police work, and with higher levels of received justice. Findings highlight the importance of trauma-informed policing as a response to sexual assault and provide insights which might help inform policy and practice developments, both in Sweden and more generally.

What can We Learn from Police Data About Timeliness in Rape and Serious Sexual Offence Investigations in England and Wales?

The issue of timeliness in rape and other serious sexual offence investigations has been raised in a number of inspections and reviews, and there are policy imperatives to decrease delays, but there has been little exploration of police data to understand what contributes to them and enable practical recommendations or options. This paper explores what official data from two police forces participating in Operation Soteria Bluestone tell us about the timelines of these investigations, what this reveals about the gaps in policing data, and what additional knowledge can be gained from qualitative methodologies, in this instance case file analysis and case reviews.