ADULT VICTIMS
OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
INTRODUCTION
Sexual assault is non-consensual sexual contact. Women and men of all ages, as as children, can be victimized by sexual assault. A rapist may be a stranger, acquaintance or a relative of a victim.
There is no boundary for who might be raped. Almost 18%, or 17.7 million women, the United States have been victims of rape or attempted rape sometime in their lives.
Of the 12.1 million who have been raped, 39%, or 4.7 million women, were raped than once.
The United States has the highest rate of rape of any country that publishes such statistics;
13 times higher than Great Britain and 20 times higher than Japan.
Victims of sexual assault might take years to recover from the physical and effects caused by the rape. Victims may suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. often experience a sense of shame, humiliation and self-blame, which may lead them keep rape a secret.
STATISTICS
An estimated 302,100 women and 92,700 men are forcibly raped each year in United States.
These estimated numbers are thought by experts to be lower than actual incidence.
Using slightly broader definitions of rape and sexual assault, and broader age range, the National Institute of Justice estimated that there were 1.1 rape and sexual assault victims in 1992.
According to a study conducted by National Victim Center, 1.3 women age 18 and over in the U.S are forcibly raped minute; 78 per hour; 1,871 per day, or 683,000 per year.
Department of Justice. 1998.
National Center for Victims of Crime. The National Women’s Study. Arlington, VA., 1992.
Kilpatrick et al, 1992.
Tjaden, Patricia & Thoennes, Nancy. Prevalence, incidence and Consequences of Violence Women: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. Washington, D.C.: National Institute Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, 1998.
American Medical Association. Facts About Sexual Assault. Chicago, IL: American Medical Association,
1997.
Travis, Jeremy. The Extent and Cost of Crime Victimization: A New Look. Washington, D.C.: National Institute Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, 1997.
Kilpatrick D.G., Edmunds, C.N. & Seymour, A. Rape in America: A Report to the Nation. Arlington, VA:
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Because some rape victims are assaulted more than once, the incidence of exceeds the number of rape victims. According to the National Violence Women Survey, women who were raped in the previous 12 months averaged 2.9 rapes,
and men who were raped averaged 1.2 rapes. This translates into 876,100 against women and 111,300 rapes against men in the previous year.
One in four female college students reported they had been the victims of attempted completed rapes; 80% were victimized by boyfriends, friends or acquaintances.
At least one in three women in the world has been beaten, coerced into having sex, otherwise abused in her lifetime. The abuser is usually a member of her family.
Males were 30% more likely to be victims of violent crimes in general, but females 14 times more likely to be victims of rape or sexual assault.
An estimated 91% of rape and sexual assault victims were female, and nearly 99% the offenders in single victim offenses were male.
While only 1% of women who were not sexually assaulted in childhood report abuse as an adult, 1/3 of women who are sexually abused in childhood report sexual victimization.
IN ILLINOIS
Between 1994 and 1998 the number of criminal sexual assaults reported to Illinois enforcement fell 19%, from 7,610 to 6,156. The rate per 100,000 citizens declined 64.75 to 51.75.
Sexual assaults declined more steeply in the state than in Cook County, but the City Chicago’s decline was more marked than the decrease in suburban Cook County, Cook County’s decrease was more dramatic than in the collar counties, which with a much lower base.
Victim Center, 1992.
Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998.
Koss, Mary P., Gidycz, C. And Wisneiwski, N. “The Scope and Prevalence of Sexual Aggression and in a National Sample of Higher Education Students.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, pp. 162-170,
1987.
Population Reports: Ending Violence Against Women, 2000.
Rennison, Callie M. Criminal Victimization, 1998: Changes 1997-98 with Trends 1993-98. Washington, D.C.:
Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1999.
Greenfield,, Sex Offenses and Offenders. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1997.
Moeller, T. P., Bachman, G.A., Moeller, J.R., “The Combined Effects of Physical, Sexual, and Emotional Abuse Childhood: Long Term Health Consequences for Women,” Child Abuse and Neglect, Vol. 17, pp. 623-40, 1991.
IL Criminal Justice Information Authority, “ Trends in Illinois Crime: 1994 – 1998,” Trends and Issues Update, 1(1), June, 1999, www.icjia.org.
IL Criminal Justice Information Authority, “Trends,” The Compiler, www.icjia.org.
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Cook County accounts for almost half of all criminal sexual assaults in Illinois.
In 1995, 4,742 reports of child sexual abuse were indicated by the Illinois Department Children and Family Services.
ASSISTED BY ICASA CENTERS
In FY 2000, 9,574 adult, adolescent and child survivors of sexual assault, child abuse and sexual harassment and 3,008 significant others were served by the sexual assault crisis centers of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Of these,
1,829 were adult survivors of child sexual abuse. In addition, 8,980 contacts were also served. This includes victims and significant others. The frequent age range of victims served was 18-29 years old; the second most was 13-17 years old.
RACE
According to recent data from the U.S. Justice Department, there were no differences in the rate of rape/sexual assault among racial groups.
Approximately 81% of rape victims are white; 18% are African American, and 1% are other races.
In a 1994 survey, 44.8% of African American women, 38% of white women, 25.6% Latina women, and 21.1% of Asian American women had histories of child abuse.
The National Violence Against Women Survey found that American Indian/Native women were the most likely to report rape victimization; Asian/Pacific women were the least likely. Hispanic women were less likely to report than non-
Hispanic women. The survey found the following rates of reported victimization by rape:
17.7% of white women; 18.8% of African American women; 6.8% of Asian/Islander women; and 24.4% of women of mixed race.
American Indian sexual assault victims were most likely to report offenders of a race; approximately 90% were estimated to have white or black assailants.
Ibid.
IL Department of Children and Family Services, Coalition Commentary, IL Coalition Against Sexual Assault,
Summer/Fall, 1997.
“Statistics on Rape in Illinois.” IL Coalition Against Sexual Assault, 2001.
Greenfield, 1997.
Facts About Violence Against Women; Majority Staff, Senate Judiciary Committee; www.eng.usf.edu; July 31,
1990.
Urquiza, Anthony J. and Goodlin-Jones, Beth L. “Child Sexual Abuse and Adult Revictimization with Women Color. Violence and Victims, 1994. 9(3): 223 – 232.
Tjaden and Thoennes, Nov., 1998.
Greenfield, Lawrence, and Smith, Steven. American Indians and Crime. U.S. Department of Justice, Office Justice Programs, 1997.
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PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Persons with disabilities are at 1.5 to 5 times the risk of sexual abuse and assault as members of the general population.
Of the most frequent crimes against people with disabilities, more than 90% are offenses.
90% of the girls and women referred to the Seattle Rape Relief Disabilities Project had been exploited by relatives or other people they knew.
Of sexual abuse victims who have disabilities:
• 75% were developmentally disabled;
• More than 40% were mobility impaired;
• 15% were hearing impaired;
• 37% had multiple disabilities.
• Almost 80% were female.
Among developmentally disabled adults, as many as 83% of the women and 32% of men have been victims of sexual assault.
Severe behavior problems in developmentally disabled adults were often a result traumatic sexual abuse by multiple perpetrators, which usually began in childhood.
98% of perpetrators of sexual abuse against persons with disabilities are male.
More than 1/3 of the boys, and more than 1/4 of the girls, with disabilities who sexually abused were physically abused as well. Almost one in five suffered injuries; almost 9% were seriously injured, such as having a bone broken; more 7% contracted a sexually transmitted disease; almost 2% became pregnant; and 1% died as a result of assault.
Sobsey, Dick, R.N., Ed.D., Violence and Abuse in the Lives of People with Disabilities: The End of Acceptance? p. 52, 1994.
Carmody, M. “Invisible Victims: Sexual Assault of People with an Intellectual Disability.” Australia and New Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 17, pp. 229-236, 1991.
Webb, Tracy. “Abuse of the Disabled: Violence against Women with Disabilities.” Working Against Violence in Community. www.nrps.com/disabled.htm.
Sobsey, p. 83.
Stimson, L. And Best, M.C. Courage Above All: Sexual Assault Against Women with Disabilities. Toronto, Women’s Network Canada, 1991, cited in Sobsey, Dick. Violence and Abuse in the Lives of People with Disabilities:
The End of Silent Acceptance? 1994.
Ryan, cited in Sobsey, Dick.
Turk, V. and Brown, H. “Sexual Abuse of Adults with Learning Disabilities.” Cited in Sobsey, Dick.
Sobsey, Dick. 1994.
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61% of rape victims were sexually assaulted before the age of 18.
In a 1991 survey conducted by the National Victim Center, 29% of all forcible occurred when the victim was under 11 years old, and another 32% occurred when victim was between 11 and 17.
40% of men incarcerated for rape said their victims were children; 80% said their was under age 18.
38% of acquaintance rape victims are 14-17 years old. The average age of adolescent and college victims is 18.5 years.
Women aged 16-25 are three times more likely to be raped than other women.
90% of rape victims under age 13 knew their attacker.
Two of three victims 18-29 years old had a prior relationship with the rapist.
More than 60,000 rapes of women older than 50 years of age are reported annually.
A study of older rape victims, age range of 55-87; mean age of 68.8, it was found
that:
• 79% were attacked by strangers;
• Most attacks were in the victim’s home, after the perpetrator broke in or got under false pretenses;
• 9.4% of the victims reported the rape to the police, compared to 24.5% of control group of women aged 18-43;
• 50.9% of the older women sustained genital injuries, compared with 13.2% of control group. Of the women who suffered genital injuries, 37% were enough to require surgical repair.
Of older sexual abuse victims identified by professionals in one study:
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• 86% were women, 14% were men;
• The victims were almost all over age 85 and functioned at a poor or very level;
• 98% of the abusers of both sexes were male;
• Over half the abusers of the women were their adult sons, and 14% were husbands;
• Male victims were abused 2/3 of the time by “friends” and 1/3 of the time housekeepers;
• Most of the women were vaginally raped; more than 3/4 of the men were raped.
American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Adolescence. “Sexual Assault and the Adolescent.” Pediatrics.
1994; 94(5): 761-765.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Warshaw, 1988.
Bureau of Justice Statistics. Criminal Victimization in the United States. U.S. Department of Justice, Washington,
D.C. 1991.
Greenfield, Lawrence A., Sex Offenses and Offenders: An Analysis of Data on Rape and Sexual Assault.
Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1997.
Greenfield, 1997.
Ramin, Satin, Stoen, Wendel, “Sexual Assault in Postmenopausal Women,” Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1992.
Muram, D., Miller, K. & Cutler, A. “Sexual Assault of the Elderly Victim.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence, March,
1992, pp. 70-76.
Victims with household incomes under $7,500 were twice as likely as persons in general population to be victims of sexual assault.
Per capita rates of rape/sexual assault were highest among persons age 16 to 19, income persons, and urban residents.
GENDER
7.7% of men surveyed by the National Crime Survey reported being sexually assaulted.
Excluding rapes in institutions, about 9% of all rape victims are men.
In a 1994 study of 1,800 inmates in a Midwestern state prison, 22% of male said they had been forced to have sexual contact against their will at least once incarcerated.
Male rape victims suffer more physical injuries than females, either because weapons used or because multiple offenders are involved.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
In a study of college students, it was found:
• 16.9% of those surveyed reported they were gay, lesbian or bisexual;
• 11.8% of gay men reported they had been forced to have sex against their will,
compared with 3.6% of the heterosexual men;
• 30.6% of lesbians reported they had been forced to have sex against their will,
compared with 17.8% of heterosexual women.
Vol. 5(2), 1993.
Bureau of Justice Statistics.. U.S. Department of Justice, National Crime Victimization Survey. Washington, D.C.
1996.
Greenfeild, 1997.
Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice. Female Victims of Violent Crime, 1991.
National Crime Victimization Survey, Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice,
1995.
Dallao, M. “How to Make Your Facility Safer.” Corrections Today. Dec., 1996, p. 100.
Scarce, Michael. Male on Male Rape: The Hidden Toll of Stigma and Shame. Insight Books, New York, 1997, in Sexual Assault Report, March/April 1999, Vol. 2, No. 4.
Duncan, D. “Prevalence of Sexual Assault Victimization Among Heterosexual and Gay/Lesbian
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More than 70% of rape or sexual assault victims knew their attackers, compared about half of all violent crime victims.
77% of completed rapes are committed by someone known to the victim.
90% of the rape victims under age 13 knew their attacker, as did 2/3 of victims aged to 29.
Approximately 28% of victims are raped by their husbands or boyfriends, 5% by relatives, and 35% by acquaintances.
90% of sexual assault victims who knew their attacker did not report the attack to police.
60% of men raped by other men knew their attackers.
MARITAL RAPE
14% of married women have been raped by their husbands.
Women who did not finish high school reported four times more incidents of marital than women who received their diploma.
Women sexually abused as children were three times more likely to be victimized by husband.
In 70% of the marital rape cases, the husband had been drinking.
Of women raped and/or physically assaulted after age 18, 76% were attacked by current or former husband, partner or date.
Nearly 25 million women and 7 million men are raped and/or physically assaulted by intimate partner in their lifetime. Each year, 1.5 million women and 834,000 men are assaulted.
Rennison, Callie M. Criminal Victimization, 1998: Changes 1997-98 with Trends 1993-98. Washington, D.C.:
Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1999.
Bureau of Justice Statistics. Sex Offenses and Offenders 1997. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice.
Greenfield, Lawrence A., Sex Offenses and Offenders: An Analysis of Data on Rape and Sexual Assault.
Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1997.
Bureau of Justice Statistics. Violence Against Women. U.S. Department of Justice. 1994.
Bohmer, C. & Parrot, A. Sexual Assault on Campus. Lexington Books: New York, p. 31, 1993.
Warshaw, Robin. I Never Called It Rape. Harper and Row, 1988.
Russell, D.E. Rape in Marriage. Indiana University Press, Indianapolis, IN, 1990.
Finkelhor & Yllo, 1985.
Finkelhor & Yllo, 1985.
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Sexual assault occurs most frequently in the following places:
• 40% in the victim’s home;
• 20% in the home of a friend, relative or neighbor;
• 10% on the street;
• 7% in a parking lot or garage.
According to the National Crime Victimization Survey:
• 33.7% took place at the victim’s • 21.3% at or near a friend, relative or acquaintance’s home.
68% of sexual assaults occur at night, between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
SELF DEFENSE
Studies have consistently found that resistance to sexual assault is much more in avoiding attack than a passive response. Active resistance includes actions range from screaming and running away to the use of physical force. responses include crying and pleading with the attacker.
Opinions differ on whether the use of physical force in resisting an attack results in physical injury to the victim.
Screaming, calling for help, threatening, running and hiding are effective ways avoiding sexual assault. Forceful resistance also decreases the possibility of completed sexual assault. Forceful resistance includes hitting, kicking, scratching the use of weapons.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control found that women who used forceful methods defense were injured at a rate three times higher than women who used other methods of defense, such as running or screaming. However, this study did not whether the forceful defense began after the violence had already escalated, whether the defense was a response to increased violent activity by the offender.
Another study, which examined the circumstances surrounding women’s sexual assault,
found that 85% of the women who used physical force did so in response to offender’s initiated violence. The other 15% reacted to the offender’s verbal aggression.
The potential for physical injury was found to be no greater for women who forceful defense than for those who used other active means of resistance.
Finkelhor & Yllo, 1985.
Tjaden, Patricia & Thoennes, Nancy. Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women:
Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Justice, U.S.
Department of Justice, 1998.
Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998.
Greenfield, 1997.
Criminal Victimization in the United States, 1994.
Greenfield, 1997.
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Passive resistance – crying and pleading – is ineffective, and may even encourage attacker. In cases of acquaintance rape, arguing has also been found to be ineffective.
A study of convicted rapists found that … lack of resistance became (for the rapist)
consent. As long as the victim survived without major physical injury (apart from sexual assault), the rapist concluded a rape had not taken place.
IMPACT ON THE VICTIM
Almost 1/3 of victims of sexual assault suffer from rape trauma syndrome, a type post-traumatic stress disorder.
Symptoms, which can occur months or even after the incident, may include fear, emotional numbness, flashbacks, nightmares,
obsessive thoughts and anger.
Victims of sexual assault often suffer from a sense of shame, humiliation and self-
blame, which frequently leads them to keep the rape a secret. If the victim was by a person known or related to her, she also may suffer from a severe lost of trust in
others and in herself. She may also fear revenge and be terrified for her life.
1/3 of rape victims have seriously considered suicide, and 13% actually attempt it.
Women who were sexually assaulted but do not perceive that they were rape (e.g., they may not realize the behavior to which they were subjected constituted crime), reported more self-blame and as much distress about the rape as did who did realize they had been raped.
Marchbanks, 1990 and Ullman, Sarah E. and Knight, Raymond A. “Fighting Back: Women’s Resistance to Rape.”
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 7 (1), March, 1992.
Ullman, 1992.
Levine-MacCombie, Joyce and Koss, Mary P. “Acquaintance Rape: Effective Avoidance Strategies,” Psychology Women Quarterly, Vol. 10, 1986.
Scully, Diana. Understanding Sexual Violence: A Study of Convicted Rapists. Unwin Hyman, 1990; and Ullman,
1992.
National Victim Center. Rape in America. 1991.
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REPORTING SEXUAL ASSAULT
In 1995, persons age 12 and over reported an estimated 260,300 attempted completed rapes and almost 95,000 threatened or completed other sexual offenses.
The number of violent sexual offenses reported by victims 12 and older in 1995, offense for every 435 residents, was down significantly from the number reported 1993, which was one offense for every 625 residents.
In 1994 and 1995, 1/3 of rape/sexual assault victims said they had reported the crime law enforcement. The most common reason for reporting was to prevent further by the offender against the victim; the most common reason for not reporting was the matter was considered personal.
ARREST RATES IN ILLINOIS
In Illinois, 6,062 cases of criminal sexual assault were reported to police in 1999.
In Chicago, the number of criminal sexual assaults reported declined by 5% 1995 and 1996, and by 7.5% between 1996 and 1997.
ARREST AND PROSECUTION RATES IN U.S.
In 1995, law enforcement agencies reported that about half of all reported forcible (34,650) were cleared by arrest. 94,500 arrests were made for other sex offenses. per capita rate of arrest for rape and sexual assault, 50.3 per 100,000 residents, the same as in 1983.
In the 75 largest counties in 1992, one in 20 violent felony charges filed were for rape.
About half of rape defendants are released prior to trial, and half of those posted bond.
In 1996, 30,057 felony convictions in state courts were for sexual assault. On average,
rapists served an average of 61 months or 51% of their 120 month sentence.
More than 2/3 of convicted rape defendants received prison sentences; the term imposed was just under 14 years. About 2% of convicted rapists received sentences.
Rape/sexual assault offenders account for almost 5% of the total correctional in the U.S.
Frazier, Patricia and Seales, Lisa. “Acquaintance Rape is Real Rape.” Researching Sexual Violence Women, Schwartz, Martin, ed., pp. 54 – 64, 1997.
Greenfeld, Lawrence, 1997.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Illinois State Police, Crime in Illinois, 1999. www.state.il.us/isp.
Illinois State Police, Crime in Illinois, 1997. www.state.il.us/isp.
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A Portland, Ore., study in 1990 found that only 1.6% of rape complaints determined to be false, compared to 2.6% of stolen vehicle reports.
Law enforcement officers may decide not to prosecute a case of sexual assault many reasons. The vast majority of these cases are not false, or made-up, reports. factor in the unfounding of a case is the degree of force used by the offender and level of resistance exhibited by the victim. Lack of medical corroboration may also a case to be unfounded.
ABUSE BY PROFESSIONALS
The problem of sexual assault and abuse committed by professionals against has received more public attention in recent years. Clergy, psychologists psychiatrists, social workers, health care workers, teachers and others in sometimes take sexual advantage of those entrusted to their care.
People who are sexually abused by someone who is supposed to help demonstrate the same symptoms as others who are sexually assaulted. Additionally,
they may also develop a severe lack of trust, since they have been betrayed by who are supposed to help or protect them. Since people generally go to clergy psychologists seeking guidance and counseling, it is likely that their original are exacerbated by a sexual involvement with a professional helper.
PREVALENCE
93% of victims of professional abuse are women.
The ratio of male to female offenders is nine to one.
A survey by the American Psychological Association found that 3.5% of the therapists and 2.3% of the women admitted having sex with a client during the course therapy. 14.2% of the men and 4.7% of the women had sex with a former client.
A survey by the Maine Psychological Association found that 16% of the had direct knowledge of sexual contact between clients and psychologists; 4% of complaints about another psychologist involved sexual conduct.
A survey by the Wisconsin Psychological Association found offenders distributed the following professions:
• 34%
• 19%
• Social 13%
• 11%
• 6%
• Marriage 4%
• 1%
A survey conducted by the Center for Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Abuse that 12.6% of clergy said they had sex with a church member. 47% of were sexually harassed by clergy colleagues.
The Presbyterian Church stated that 10%-23% of clergy have “inappropriate behavior or contact” with clergy and employees.
According to a survey reported in the Journal of the American Medical (JAMA), 10% of psychiatrists admitted to having sexual relations with their patients. a report published by the Public Citizen Health Research Group, 28% of were disciplined for sex related offenses, a far higher rate than any other specialty group.
According to a report published by the Public Citizen Health Research Group, number of all doctors disciplined for sexual misconduct doubled from 1990 to 1994.
Of total disciplinary actions taken against physicians, 5.1% were for sexual abuse patients or other sexual misconduct.
14.1% of ministers surveyed admitted to engagement in sexual behavior that judged to be inappropriate for a minister.
A study of women graduate students found that 9% reported coercive dating and with faculty members. Of the 13% who engaged in consensual dating with members, 30% experienced “pressure to be sexual.”
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs.
Ibid.
Ibid.
81 Brown, Jodi; Lagan, Patrick. Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1996. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1999.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Cited in Burns-Smith, G. Hunter, S. And Walsh, C. “Equal Justice? Not Yet for Victims of Sexual Assault.”
Nebraska Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Coalition newsletter.
Franklin, James. “Sex Abuse by Clergy Called Crisis for Church.” Boston Globe, July 17, 1991.
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Schoener, Gary Richard et al. Psychotherapists’ Sexual Involvement with Clients: Intervention and Prevention.
Walk-In Counseling Center, 1990.
Schoener, 1990.
Schoener, 1990.
Schoener, 1990.
Schoener, 1990.
Franklin, 1991.
Schoener, 1990.
- Should Convicted Psychiatrists and Psychologists Be Listed As Sexual Predators? PR Newswire, Pinellas, FL.,
9/14/97. Available from Dow Jones Interactive Publications Library.
Physicians Disciplined for Sex-Related Offenses. Public Citizen health Research Group. 1996.
Seats, Jeff. The Journal of Pastoral Care, Winter, 1993.
Schneider, B.E. “Graduate Women, Sexual harassment, and University Policy.” Journal of Higher Education 58.
(1987), 46-65.
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1 Comment
August 20, 2008 at 10:00+00:00Aug
pathetic