SEXUAL VIOLENCE SURVIVORS OFTEN EXPECT SYSTEMS TO FAIL OR HARM THEM, STUDY FINDS

FAIRFAX, Va., Oct. 7 -- George Mason University issued the following news release:

University survivors of sexual violence are forced to perform a constant, exhausting "calculus" - weighing risks, safety, stigma, emotional costs, institutional consequences, and likelihood of being believed - when deciding whether and how to seek help.

New George Mason University-led research published in Violence Against Women helps to illuminate why so many survivors avoid reporting sexual violence, finding that most expect institutional systems to retraumatize them or fail them.

Drawing on participant responses from students in the University of California system who are survivors of sexual violence, researcher created the Survivors' Calculus as a fram...