Will any woman do? Police, gender and rape victims

Assumptions are often made that women police officers wig respond more sympathetically to rape complainants than their male colleagues. In the research study presented here, 48 women complainants of rape and sexual assault expressed their Lieu's of the extent to which they considered the gender of the interviewing officer to be important and commented on the ways in which the men and women involved with their case interacted with them. The results showed that, overall, gender per se was not the determining factor of complainant satisfaction. Professionalism, warmth and sensitivity were the qualities most desired and these were not exclusively associated with gender. This suggests that not only is it possible for some male officers to be sensitive victim interviewers, but also that being female does not automatically denote possession of the key attributes required for victim interviewing. Some rape complainants, however, expressed a strong Preference for women officers. This places the onus on the police not simply to provide a woman officer - the "any woman will do" scenario - but to ensure the availability of trained and experienced women and men officers.