The Outside Looking in: Examining Reasoning Behind the Choice to Report Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence

Abstract

This essay looks into reasons women have for reporting or not reporting domestic violence and sexual assault. While this topic has received a considerable amount of research from scholars, it still has not received the attention it should. When the #MeToo movement went viral, these issues started to become more salient in society, however there was still backlash, insinuating that there is still a large amount of misunderstanding around the issues of domestic violence and sexual assault. In this paper, I use my outsider looking in lens to examine reasoning behind the choice to report. Through looking at previous research in addition to my own case studies, I discover personal and institutional reasoning involved in the choice to report, in addition to details such as severity and assailant.