ABSTRACT
This chapter is an analysis of thousands of case reports over the course of more than 20 years to examine how interactions between police and women who reported being sexually assaulted by a current or former intimate partner reflect the larger cultural conversation about what “counts” as rape. Across the nation, hundreds of thousands of sexual assault kits, also known as rape kits, have languished, untested in evidence storage facilities across the United States. Generally, victims sexually assaulted by a stranger are more likely to report their sexual assault to the police than those sexually assaulted by a partner or acquaintance. Social scripts can act as both prescriptions for normative cultural behaviors and guides for what a person could expect to feel and think in particular situations. Practitioners, particularly law enforcement officials, should be aware of the roles expected behaviors play in how they form opinions of victim credibility.
