University Study Finds That Many Women Regret Their Decision on Whether or Not to Report a Sexual Assault

Carol Anne Marchetti, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing at Northeastern University in Boston, has conducted a study finding that a large percentage of women who have been sexually assaulted regretted their decision on reporting, or choosing not to report, the assault. Marchetti, who is a certified sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) found that 70 percent of all women who did not report being assaulted, later regretted their decision. But she also found that many women who reported being assaulted later regretted the decision. She notes that women who receive professional counseling after a sexual assault were less likely to regret their decision on reporting the crime.

Dr. Marchetii is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts in Boston. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the Boston College School of Nursing.

Dr. Marchetti’s research was published in the Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association.