Survey of Sexual Assaults Survivors

7. WOMEN’S AWARENESS OF THE POSSIBILITY OF RECORD DISCLOSURE

The survey respondents were asked if they had been aware of the possibility of record disclosure before they made their decision whether or not to report.  Of the 101 women who responded to this question, over a third (40) said that they were not.  In fact, two women only learned about the possibility of record disclosure “in court”.

The (61) women who were aware of the possibility of record disclosure were asked how they found out about it. Some of the women provided more than one response, for a total of 85 responses. Table 7.1 indicates that the most frequent source of information was the women’s centres (37), followed by the media (21) and, to a lesser extent, other women (13).

TABLE 7.1 INFORMATION SOURCE ON POSSIBILITY OF RECORD DISCLOSURE
INFORMATION SOURCE NUMBER
From women’s centre 37
From media 21
From other women 13
Other 12
During investigation/court 2
Total 85

The same 61 women were asked about the type(s) of information they were most worried about being disclosed.  The women who answered this question provided a total of 79 responses. These are presented in Figure 7.1.

FIGURE 7.1 - INFORMATION SURVIVOR MOST WORRIED ABOUT BEING DISCLOSED

FIGURE 7.1 - Information survivor most worried about being disclosed
[ Description ]

The most frequent, single response to the question concerning the type of information disclosed was “any personal information”.  Most of the other responses were related to information concerning the problems or issues stemming from their experiences of sexual abuse, including their past sexual behaviour or relationships, drug and/or alcohol addictions, psychiatric histories and histories as sex trade workers.

Further, some women feared that their experiences of abuse or other personal information such as their sexual orientation would be revealed to members of their families or others close to them. Only six women indicated that they had no concerns about their records being disclosed.  These women recalled being so angry over what happened or so concerned for their own safety or the safety of others following the abuse that the possibility of record disclosure became secondary.