Why Is Abuse Often Underreported?

Data sources are great for the distribution of official statistics; however according to the text, most of the data relates to a small group of offenders, such as those who are arrested and convicted. Although the data sources are useful, they do possess some weaknesses. For example, one of the weaknesses of Uniform Crime Reports or the UCR is the reliance of official statistics and voluntary police reporting. Self-reports are also not fully reliable in National Crime Victimization Surveys or NCVS. However in my opinion, the most significant weakness is the fact that abuse is often underreported and sometimes not recognized. It is very important to take this weakness into consideration because it interferes with the victim getting justice and the validity of data results. If the abuse is not reported then it is not included within the data sources. There are a number of reasons as to why abuse is often underreported, which will be later discussed.
The fact that the majority of sex crimes go underreported says a lot about the society we live in. All of the reasons mentioned contributes to the problem in some way. Even …show more content…
Sex crimes should be properly reported, investigated, accounted for, and properly handled in all police departments. A prevalent issues within a number of police departments all over the nation is the undercounting of reported rapes. Several departments have been known to substantially undercount rapes that were reported by victims creating “paper” reductions in crime. Some law enforcement need to trust victims more, make sure they are safe after reporting their incident, and provide all the resources that are available to assist victims during their times of distress. Perhaps training on sex crimes and how they should be properly handled should be implemented and required for all officers and all police departments to