Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #112797

Jenny Chu, MPH(c)¹, Alan M. Smith, MPH¹, Leslie Upledger Ray, MA, MPPA¹, Sharon Pacyna, MPH, RN¹, Suzanne Lindsay, MPH, MSW, PHD², Brian Spitzberg, PHD³, and John Elder, PhD⁴. (1) Health and Human Services Agency, Division of Emergency Medical Services, County of San Diego, 6255 Mission Gorge Rd, San Diego, CA 92120, 858-232-5991, jenny.chu@gmail.com, (2) San Diego State University, Institute of Public Health, 6505 Alvarado Road, Suite 115, San Diego, CA 92120, (3) School of Communication, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanille Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-4561, (4) Center for Behavioral and Community Health Studies, San Diego State University, Graduate School of Public Health, 9245 Sky Park Court, Suite 221, San Diego, CA 92123

Background: The National Violence Against Women Survey states that 1 in 6 women will experience an attempted or completed rape during their lifetime. In addition, 33-70% of rape incidents involve alcohol use by victim and/or offender. Objectives: This study will analyze how alcohol usage in sexual assault cases influence types of victim injury outcome. Methods: This analysis used a database containing all sexual assault evidentiary examinations performed on adult females in a large metropolitan county from 2000-2003. Variables examined included victim ingestion of alcohol, victim's perception of suspect's ingestion of alcohol, relationship, age group, victim ethnicity, and bodily and genital injury. Chi-square analyses were performed for categorical variables and logistic regression was used to control for potential confounders. Results: Older women were significantly more likely to experience bodily injury and younger women were more likely to suffer from genital injury. Also, genital and bodily injury were found to be positively correlated with each other. Victim/suspect alcohol usage did not appear significant in the study. Conclusions: Information derived from this study may be useful for law enforcement agencies and legal prosecutors who may apply the results to supplement reasons why certain types of injures are and are not present in sexual assault cases in certain situations in order to push specific sexual assault investigations to trial that might not originally have been accepted in the legal system.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.Discuss the association between alcohol use and sexual assault injury outcome
• 2.Explore potential avenues for sexual assault prevention
• 3.Explain how different victim-perpetrator relationships may increase alcohol use among victims prior to sexual assault.

Keywords: Sexual Assault, Alcohol

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.