When the Victim Can’t Remember
Author: Ann Wolbert Burgess.; Kathleen Brown.; Ashley Paine.; Denise Viscuso.
Source: Volume 03, Number 02, February/March 2002 , pp.21-23(3)
< previous article |next article > |return to table of contents
Abstract:
It is not uncommon for victims to have gaps in memory when recounting details of a sexual assault according to rape crisis counselors, sexual assault examiners, police and prosecutors. It may be unclear as to the cause of the memory failure and questions are raised: Is it due to the use of alcohol; has the victim been given a drug to facilitate the sexual assault; was the woman rendered unconscious as part of the assault? Whatever the reason, the empirical literature in sexual assault remains silent in response to these questions.Keywords:
Affiliations:
1: Boston College; 2: University of Pennsylvania; 3: University of Pennsylvania; 4: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.