title: Factors that correlate with injury sustained by survivors of sexual assault.
abstract: A retrospective study of 440 cases of reported sexual assault was undertaken in order to identify factors that correlated with which victims sustained physical injury. Overall, 40% sustained nongenital and 16% genital injury, but most injuries were not severe. Which victim was injured strongly correlated with her age and race, the race of her assailant, and whether he had a weapon. White victims sustained both genital and nongenital injury almost twice as often as black victims. Whether she knew her assailant was less important, unless the victim was a child. Survivors attacked by a single assailant were injured as often as survivors of a "gang rape." Conclusions drawn from these data must take into account that these victims choose to report the event to the authorities, and self-reporting bias might explain some of the findings. Approximately half the victims seen sustained no injury. Apparently, physical injury is not a inevitable consequence of being raped.
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D005836:Genitalia, Female / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D011902:Rape; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013714:Tennessee; D044465:White People; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000209:etiology*