“There is No Time”: Swedish Professionals’ Perspective on Rape Victim Treatment

Abstract

Rape victims often face secondary victimization when interacting with the legal and healthcare systems, a risk that is exacerbated by the attitudes and practices of the professionals they encounter. This study, drawing on responses (N = 237) from police employees, prosecutors, and healthcare personnel, aimed to investigate rape victim treatment from the perspective of these professionals. Our investigation was two-fold: through a web survey, we first examined how professionals’ beliefs in a just world, acceptance of rape myths, and demographic factors influence their estimations of false reporting and trust in the justice system. We then used open-ended questions to identify perceived barriers, problematic practices, and areas for improvement within their professional roles and the overall system handling rape cases, providing both quantitative and qualitative data. Prosecutors and healthcare professionals reported significantly lower levels of estimations of false reports than police, with no significant difference between the two; additionally, prosecutors displayed the highest trust in the legal system, significantly greater than both police and healthcare professionals, whereas no significant difference was found between healthcare professionals and police. Overall, the professionals requested more specific knowledge on how to treat victims of rape and identified several perceived barriers (e.g. lack of resources, deprioritizing, and legislation) and problematic practices (e.g. interview practices and medical examination practices) that may cause secondary victimization. Practical implications for meeting and treating rape victims are discussed.