Association between experiencing rape, police reporting, and self-reported health among women visiting three gynecology clinics in Sweden.

OBJECTIVE To describe the frequency of police reporting among rape victims based on two hypotheses: (1) victims of rape more often report poor health than those who have not been victims of any abuse, and (2) victims who report abuse to the police are more likely to state poor self-reported health than those who do not report any abuse. DESIGN Cross-sectional questionnaire study. SETTING Three Swedish departments of obstetrics and gynecology. SAMPLE From an original sample of 2,439 women, those who had experienced rape and those who had no history of abuse were included (n=1,319). METHOD Analysis of associations between self-reported poor health, rape, and police reporting among rape victims were assessed by multivariate models adjusted for type of abuse, perpetrator, and sociodemographic factors. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Odds ratios (ORs) for poor health among rape victims. RESULTS Rape was seldom reported to the police (23.5%, 44/187). Both hypotheses were confirmed; rape victims more often state poor health than non-abused women (adjusted OR 3.9; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.4-6.3), and women who had reported abuse to the police stated poor health more often than those who had not reported abuse to the police (adjusted OR 3.0; 95% CI 1.1-8.1). CONCLUSIONS Three of four rape victims had not reported any abuse to the police, and those who had were more likely to report poor health. Rape myths are prevalent in society and affect how victims of sexual abuse are treated both by formal and informal support providers, which in turn may affect the recovery and health of victims. Our results send an urgent message to the current debate on sexual abuse against women: Why do women not report rape to the police?