Introduction

The current guidelines implemented by the Commission of Peace Officers Standards and Training indicate that the first response officer of sexual assault should contact a Rape Crisis Center to provide the victim with aid. However, for minors, the procedure and policies are unclear and up to the officer and the victim’s guardians to determine the amount of mental aid the victim receives. This is problematic as parents and guardians have varying views on the assault than the minor and can also have biases which would reduce the willingness to get their child help. So, the current guidelines for police dealing with sexual assault victims leave a hole in the system where the minors who have been violated are vulnerable to manipulation. This leads to the question: To what extent does the way police officers interview and interrogate young sexual assault survivors allow the officer to manipulate victims’ narratives?

Leading the Victim Through Questions to the Police Officer’s Desired Answers

    Often times, police officers will jump to the easiest and most convenient conclusion, even if it means compromising the truth and the feelings of the individual, in this case, the childhood sexual assault (CSA) victims. In the article, “Symptoms and Long-Term Outcomes for Children Who Have Been Sexually Assaulted” written by Raymond E. Webster, a practicing PhD wielding psychologist, Webster writes, “Some SA [Sexually Assaulted] children have been found to show a cluster of behaviors referred to as compulsive compliance (Crittendon, 1992). This cluster is characterized by the abused child being highly compliant to the demands and requests of adults” (qtd. in Webster 537). Because CSA victims are usually abused by someone who yields power, the investigations, to some extent, may mimic their abuse dynamic. This will make the victims especially susceptible to be “highly compliant to the demands and requests” of their officer (Webster 537).  For example, in the article,“‘Nobody Deserves This’: Adolescent Sexual Assault Victims' Perceptions of Disbelief and Victim Blame from Police” written by Megan Greeson, a psychologist with a specialist in sexual violence against women, she discusses a study lead by the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program. They interviewed adolescent victims who were completed with their investigation and asked them to review their experience in the questioning. One girl elaborated on her experience and said that the police bombarded her with questions such as“‘Are you sure that’s how it happened? … Are you sure that, you know, you didn’t really want it? Are you sure you tried to put up a fight?’ And it… wasn’t even like he was asking me” (Greeson et al. 97). Because of the compulsive compliance that many CSA victims show, this type of questioning can lead the officer to an easy conclusion, which the police officers are often looking for. So, police officers are therefore able to manipulate their victims through taking advantage of their compulsive compliance by using blustering questions.

Instilling Guilt and Shame into Victim

Most CSA victims do not have an effective coping mechanism, due to their young age, so they internalize their feelings, especially those of guilt and shame. In Raymond Webster’s expert opinion, he believes that “these feelings of guilt and shame often intensify, and can become substantial influences on how the child adjusts to the teenage and adult years” (Webster 539). These victims usually have an overwhelming sense on shame and guilt, that the officers can manipulate and force the child to drop their cases due to fear and grief. For instance, in a seventeen year old CSA victim’s anecdote she says, “after talking to [the officer], like I kept telling myself, ‘Well, maybe I could have done this to stop it. Well maybe I should have done this… [the officer] makes me feel uncomfortable about like continuing with the case, like nothing is going to happen, so why bother” (Greeson 103). So, when an officer instills more feelings of guilt for having not stopped the assault, they can coerce the victim into dropping the case, therefore making the case easier for the officer. Through forcing more guilt onto an already shamed child, the officer can force the victim to give in and drop her case.

    Solution

However, in a few simple steps, the police investigation of CSA victims can help protect the child rather than make them even more vulnerable. If the government was able to provide additional funding for the police force for education of the disorders of CSA victims and of the potential their actions has on CSA victims, the process of investigating the abuser will be much more favorable. Additionally, the government needs to ensure that proper policies are set in place so police officers know exactly who to contact and how to assist the child they are helping. Through education and policies, CSA investigations can help to honor and bring justice to the victim.

Works Cited

Greeson, Megan R., et al. “’ Nobody Deserves This’: Adolescent Sexual Assault Victims’ Perceptions of Disbelief and Victim Blame from Police.” Journal of Community Psychology, vol. 44, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 90–110. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1002/jcop.21744.

Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence.

Webster, Raymond E. “Symptoms and Long-Term Outcomes for Children Who Have Been Sexually Assaulted.” Psychology in the Schools, vol. 38, no. 6, Nov. 2001, p. 533. EBSCOhost.