Difficulties in follow-up of rape victims

It has been generally recognized that it is important to do follow-up counseling with rape victims, not only for good clinical care but also to establish a research data base on the long-term effects of rape. In our study we had difficulty achieving ongoing follow-up on many of the victims. Although our sample was small, it seems representative of certain populations of rape victims previously described in the literature and in crime statistics. Several factors inherent in the trauma of rape make follow-up difficult--the victim's defenses of denial and suppression, the characteristics of some women who are more vulnerable to rape, the response of some victims to change their phone numbers and addresses following a rape, and anger at the assailant being projected on to the "assault" of the follow-up. In working with rape victims it is important to be aware of these inherent difficulties in follow-up and try to devise methods of dealing with them.